Knowing when to Hold 'Em

Hold 'Em and Omaha 8/b

I have been playing both - about 2/3 hold 'em and 1/3 omaha. Most poker blogs talk a lot about hold 'em. So today I plan to open some thinking about omaha 8/b.

One thing that attracts me to this game is the increased number of possibilities. As one of my buddies said when we were playing the other day - I like this game - you have to think!

Simply considered, omaha 8/b gives you 6 hold 'em possibilities playing both high and low. The permutations and combinations are greatly increased. Because of this, the game generally gets more action. Many hands go to the river - many hands!

You expect a much higher rate of seeing the flop. The flops gives you so many possibilities and so much heartache. I have seen it written that good omaha 8/b players can do much better than hold 'em pros.

I am still learning the game but would offer these tips.

• Winning high breaks down to 25% boats, 25% flushes and 25% straights - therefore if one of those is possible (in a low limit game) you must assume someone has it!
• Low hands are only possible 40% of the time. Therefore, even the coveted A2 is a shaky bet before the flop. You often have to pay to the river only to see your low get burned.
• Therefore, you want a high possibility on most hands. Flushes are desirable - so you love 2 suited hands, e.g., As6s2cQc gives you 2 good flush opportunities and a good low opportunity.
• Pairs are good - not great. If you flop a set, then you still will lose often to a straight or a flush - unless you make a boat.

I recommend trying this game online as an alternative. It does help you think and better concentrate on reading the board. Start with free play or very low stakes because it is very different.

Party and mucked hands

I am trying to understand why I had two intelligent comments that you could see what cards players see the river with on Party. I had hands emailed to me - and sure enough I could see what hands they lost with. However, in playing, when you click on hand history you get this instead.

** Dealing River ** [ Qc ]
ratchethead bets [15].
Kokomo23 raises [65].
JFMWD calls [65].
ratchethead calls [50].
Kokomo23 shows a flush, king high.
JFMWD doesn't show.
ratchethead doesn't show.
Kokomo23 wins 405 chips from the main pot with a flush, king high.

So I have to have an email sent of the hand to see what cards they did not show. On UB you can see in the hand history window.

So my original post on this is slightly mistake, but not totally inaccurate.

UB could upgrade their hand history email procedures - that is a weakness - especially for those who use Poker Tracker (which I should start using)>

Low Limit Hold 'Em

Maybe I'm finally learning. I seem to be a bit dense.

I have played on UB and Party for the past month. I have experimented with different games - hold 'em and Omaha 8/b - different table sizes - 10 ring and 6 ring - and different stakes. I have tried SNGs with modest success.

I realized the other night that to be successful I needed a clear plan. This plan should not waver. The plan would need a consistent method that fit the information which I had gleaned from all my readings and experience.

So I chose 6 handed ring 0.25/0.50 hold 'em on UB. I developed the following game plan -

• Fold weak starting hands - sure we all know that, but in play I (and many of you) get sucked in to calling to see the flop. I am mostly using the information from Abdul Jalib to pick starting hands - Hold'em Preflop Strategy According to Abdul
• Quickly fold when the opening hand is good (not great) and there is aggressive raising (unless the raisers are clearly maniacs)
• Liberal use of check raise when the flop is great
• Almost never raising until the turn (higher bets) - unless I am trying to drive everyone out, i.e. betting a strong pair to prevent flush and straight draws
• Calculating straight and flush draws after the flop and committing to a two round draw or not right then - the key here is that even with decent odds, it is rarely a good bet when you are head up with another player who is betting strong
• Deciding to play the occasional "flyer" hand - 10-7, 9-8, knowing that I will fold unless I get a great flop
• Occasionally letting me opponents know when I have played junk

Over the past 3 days I have done extremely well (average 10 or more BB/ hr.). Now admittedly I am playing a very low limit game with questionable players. I have had the fortune of running into enough maniacs that my deliberate style has had great success.

Of course I might just be lucky. This could be my rush. I will continue at this level for at least a week. If all goes well - then I will proceed to the .50/1 tables.

I do enjoy 6 handed better, as it gives me enough playing action so that I avoid boredom. Playing on the internet is generally much more boring than in a casino. I do better in this faster game because of attention span and it is much easier to peg ones opponents quickly.

More on Party and UB

I just considered another major advantage of UB. On Party losers muck their cards even if they see the bets on the river (unlike the rules in any B&M casino). If you look at the hand histories you do not see what they held.

UB does give you their cards if they see the bets on the river.

This is important if you are trying to understand your opponents. What kinds of hands do they play? How much are they bluffing; how much did you just have a slightly better hand?

I use the hand histories on UB because they are much more informative. IMHO this is a major weakness of Party!

Remember, if you want to join UB email me and get the "friend" referral bonus (disclosure - I win also). I will give you my UB name to receive the bonus.

Party and UB

I play on both Party and UB (different handles). I plan to blog several times comparing the two. Some initial thoughts:

1. UB has a much better interface.
2. Joining a sit 'n go is frustrating on Party - much less so on UB
3. When searching for a game, UB gives you much more information (including flop rates)
4. Party has more players
5. UB has more low stakes games - .01/.02 and .25/.50
6. Party has low stakes NL and PL
7. UB seems to have a higher concentration of better players.

If you are interested in joining UB, drop me an email and I will give you my handle for a referral bonus (we both win on this deal).