Asking for general advice: micro Omaha 8, P/L

[T50_Omaha8]

Let me preface by saying I don't play much PLO8, mainly just limit.
[ QUOTE ]

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to ME [7h 5c 8h 9c]
seat: calls $0.25
seat: folds
seat: folds
seat: folds
seat: folds
seat5: calls $0.25
seat: folds
ME: raises $0.25 to $0.50
seat: calls $0.25
actrosity: calls $0.25
seat5: calls $0.25

[/ QUOTE ]
Ewww. You're OOP and with an ug-dog hand. Think 35 suited if you play HE. Min raising here is pointless since this hand tends to be a loser, and you're committing yourself to a larger pot with a bad hand.
[ QUOTE ]
*** FLOP *** [Qc 6h 7s]
ME: bets $0.50
seat: calls $0.50
seat: calls $0.50
seat5: raises $3.90 to $4.40
bosoxmal: calls $3.90
seat: folds
seat: folds

[/ QUOTE ]
Well, you've hit one of the best flops (perhaps the best flop besides something spectacular like a full house) you can possibly hit. Not only do you have a pair and a 17 card wrap, but the board is also rainbow so a flush is unlikely. (Note that although your hand is double suited, you cannot put much faith in a flush you make. I therefore doubt hitting a flush with this hand will show much long run profit, if any.)

You lead out, which is bad. Low will be enabled the vast majority of the time, so you are usually playing for half to pot. You aren't ahead of any hands that will reraise you. You have pretty much nothing to show for high. And to top it off, you're out of position. You should fold to the reraise, since you would generally need very good odds to play such a draw. I generally play limit, and I would be hesitant to continue with this type of draw facing bets only a fraction the size of the pot. But alas, it continues.
[ QUOTE ]
*** TURN *** [Qc 6h 7s] [Kc]
ME: checks
seat5: bets $10.60 and is all-in
ME: calls $10.60

[/ QUOTE ]
Now it's time for an easier decision. Villian has moved all in, and the hand ends after your decision. You're getting better than 2 to 1 here, so you need 33% to be profitable to call. Considering villian's push screams top set, I think you probably have appropriate equity to call. (I'm out of town and thus can't run simulations, though.) It's close and this part of the hand is fairly unimportant. It should never have come this far.

Advice from rando: [ QUOTE ]
You need to take a shot at a higher level before your BR allows a permanent move up just to test the waters. There's no reason to nurse your BR slowly if you can take one shot at the 50 level and find that you destroy it better than half as well as you kill the 25 game (since, of course, your hourly rate would be equal at 1/2 the BB/100 hands).

[/ QUOTE ] I couldn't disagree more. Based on this HH, there's a lot of work to be done with your game and you don't understand many fundamental Omaha/8 concepts. This is a ~150 hand sample and is virtually meaningless in terms of long run winrate. Nobody can maintain to 100BB/100+ winrate you've displayed in these hands. Nobody.

Think of how different your results would be if you hadn't won the one hand you posted. You'd be $31 lighter and half your winnings would be gone. You belong at $25 for a good while, and you need to read books and better understand the game badly.

Just my honest opinion.

[LeeLoo]

[ QUOTE ]
Also, re/SB plays, at this level (when no raise before BB plays)I am sometimes tempted (what the hell, for 15 cents?) to play a KQ34, and then simply fold with no hit.

[/ QUOTE ]

Bad habit to get into that you will carry with you to the higher levels. Most people who play have the BR to play higher levels if they wanted to. Ex. someone deposits $100 on line and starts to play a new game he heard about called PLO8, he starts at the $25 tables because he wants to learn to play the game right. He knows he could have deposited a couple of grand and played at the higher levels. The point being it doesn't matter if it only costs 15c to complete, you are playing the $25 tables to learn the game. So, learn not to complete from small blind just because its cheap when your cards are trash. As far as your win rate over your few sessions. This is no indication of your ability with so few hands. You are not crushing anything yet so don't let someone swell your head by telling you that you are. Keep working and posting hands.

PS: One of the reason middle striaghts are so dangerous is that a low is usually on the board and you are getting free rolled (wait till your middle str8t gets beat a few times by a low with a 2,3 suited for a weak flush)or you are usually
playing the wrong end of the str8t when playing middle cards.

[swfl]

Thank you for your response. Over the past 200, or so, hands my over flops-seen has dropped to a little less than 30%. I still tend to play KJJT, KJT9, 2348, etc. However, I have avoided 5578, 7789, 5679, etc. I will see the flop with As3sQK, but will usually muck As3sTJ [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]. I can stand the needed discipline because I have all the time in the world. I do see guys playing 5 or even 6 tables at at time (to mitigate the boredom?) but, for me, I'd rather pay more attention to position and, especially, what others are doing. I have noticed that these guys playing 1/2 dozen tables play almost TOO tight which indicates they take little note of other players' tendencies.

Again, thanks for the terrific advice; I am noticing far fewer avoidable BB's.

[BradleyT]

Why the hell aren't you playing A3sTJ? That hand is a powerhouse.

[swfl]

I know; sorry, I mis-typed in a hand I WOULD play. I have a list of "attractive" hands (A489, for example), and I should have selected one of those for a comparison.

[kantu]

type "buzz" into the search engine here. his posts on 08 are awesome.

[swfl]

Thanks, Kantu; I had already seen his "starting hands" posts, and found the entire thread interesting.

I’m asking advice on the following 2 hands not because they were dream hands and I cashed VG on them, but I want to be assured that I played them correctly and it was not ALL blind luck! First my stats for the session:

During current Omaha H/L session you were dealt 48 hands and saw flop:
- 6 out of 6 times while in big blind (100%)
- 2 out of 5 times while in small blind (40%)
- 12 out of 37 times in other positions (32%)
- a total of 20 out of 48 (41%)
Pots won at showdown - 5 of 6 (83%)
Pots won without showdown – 2

Now the first of the, almost back-to-back, hands that will go to my head if I let them.



Transcript for game #xxx7630501128 requested by bosoxmal
*********** # 1 **************
Game #7630501128: Omaha Hi/Lo Pot Limit ($0.10/$0.25) - 2006/12/27 - 14:06:53 (ET)
Table 'Sita' 9-max Seat #6 is the button

Seat 1: ($24.75 in chips)
Seat 2: ME ($22.15 in chips)
Seat 3: ($6.50 in chips)
Seat 4: ($6.20 in chips)
Seat 6: ($20.85 in chips)
Seat 7: ($15 in chips)
Seat 8: ($13.45 in chips)
Seat 9: ($5.05 in chips)
Seat7 posts small blind $0.10
Seat8 posts big blind $0.25
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to ME: [Ad Td Ac 7h]
Seat 9: calls $0.25
Seat1: calls $0.25
ME: calls $0.25
Seat 3: calls $0.25
Seat 4: calls $0.25
Seat6: folds
Seat7: folds
Seat8: checks
*** FLOP *** [2c 9h Ah]
Seat8: bets $1.55
Seat9: folds
Seat1: folds
ME: calls $1.55
Seat3: calls $1.55
Seat4: folds
*** TURN *** [2c 9h Ah] [As]
Seat4 leaves the table
Seat8: bets $1.50
ME: raises $8.95 to $10.45
Seat3: calls $4.70 and is all-in
Seat8: raises $1.20 to $11.65 and is all-in
ME: calls $1.20
*** RIVER *** [2c 9h Ah As] [Jh]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Seat8: shows [9s 2d 2h 9d] (HI: a full house, Nines full of Aces)
MEl: shows [Ad Td Ac 7h] (HI: four of a kind, Aces)
ME collected $13.25 from side pot
Seat3: mucks hand
Seat3 leaves the table
ME collected $19.35 from main pot
No low hand qualified

*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $34.25 Main pot $19.35. Side pot $13.25. | Rake $1.65
Board [2c 9h Ah As Jh]

Note that 2 players left the table; one was Seat 4 (see next game, below).
This next game took place 5 minutes later.


Transcript for game xxx requested by ME
*********** # 1 **************
Game xxx Omaha Hi/Lo Pot Limit ($0.10/$0.25) - 2006/12/27 - 14:11:08 (ET)
Table 'Sita' 9-max Seat #2 is the button

Seat 1: ($23.65 in chips)
Seat 2: ME ($43.40 in chips)
Seat 3: ($24.75 in chips)
Seat 4: ($24.75 in chips)
Seat 6: ($21.45 in chips)
Seat 7: ($14.90 in chips)
Seat 8: ($9.50 in chips)
Seat 9: ($3.80 in chips)
Seat3: posts small blind $0.10
Seat4: posts big blind $0.25
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to ME[7s As 2h 5c]
Seat6: folds
Seat7: folds
Seat8: folds
Seat9: folds
Seat1: folds
ME: raises $0.25 to $0.50
Seat3: folds
Seat4: calls $0.25
*** FLOP *** [4s 5h 5d]
Seat4: checks
ME: bets $0.75
Seat4: raises $2.55 to $3.30
ME: calls $2.55
*** TURN *** [4s 5h 5d] [Jd]
Seat4: bets $7.35
ME: calls $7.35
*** RIVER *** [4s 5h 5d Jd] [Ac]
Seat4: bets $13.60 and is all-in
ME: calls $13.60
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Seat4: shows [4d 8d 3s 4c] (HI: a full house, Fours full of Fives; LO: 8,5,4,3,A)
ME: shows [7s As 2h 5c] (HI: a full house, Fives full of Aces; LO: 7,5,4,2,A)

ME: collected $23.60 from pot.

Seat 4 seemed (remember this is on-line) to be on tilt the entire hand; like that mouse had to be hit before it ran away. Going over the hand, I see he had me beat after the turn. It looks like he bet the pot, but had it been a larger bet, would I have called? I doubt if I could have gotten away from the hand. The A was right out of Poker Heaven!

I’m learning, slow but surely, and the one thing I try to focus on while the cards are being dealt is to think both sides, muck if an A2 hand smells like a quartering (or even worse), and that a split pot is like kissing your sister.

Thanks, in advance, for the analysis’ I hope to get.

[Grasshopp3r]

Hand 1. Good starter for highs, with the nut flush draw and top boat, though your low is not great. Limping is ok with two callers ahead. You can repot it on the flop with a short stack behind. Calling is not optimal as you could be trapping a lower set or a hear flush draw, plus the low has not hit. The rest of the hand played out fine, including the big reraise on the turn as you still want to charge potential low draws for the river card.

Hand 2. Good starter. You can raise more preflop, but that was fine. The villian's check raise on the flop is tempting to reraise, as you have a 5 and are drawing to 2 overboats. If you put him on a 5, he is drawing to a potentially higher boat, though if you put him on a pair of 4's, you are drawing to the winner. The turn call is marginal for the high as the jack could be helpful to the villian. He is betting like a madman here and you still have the nut low, so the call is ok for overall equity. The river call is fine as you have the nut high.