Hello,

So I have been playing a sick amount of PLO the last few weeks. I have absorbed the material of many of the PLO videos from Cardrunners.com, have been reading some very good articles from a new PLO columnist in Cardplayer magazine and have been discussing and dissecting hands with a friend who is an excellent PLO player. I have been applying what I have learned at the lower limits and have almost exclusively been playing CAP games so that I can limit any potential losses. One thing that I have discovered is that there are actually regulars in the .25-.50 CAP PLO games. These are probably people who are good players and are on a limited bankroll and can't afford to risk moving up and going broke. My guess is that they are cashing out a small amount for beer and pizza once a month to eat in their dorm rooms. Anyway, for the most part, I have been playing very well. My PLO game has been progressing to the point where I feel I can hold my own with some of the better players.

Tonight, however, has been one of those nights. I am not hitting any of my wraps and bigger draws. My sets are getting outdrawn and some of the other usually PLO things that are standard for the game. I am not worried because I know that I am playing well. I have also been fortunate the last couple of weeks that a lot of my big hands were getting paid and I was hitting my draws, particularly in multi-way pots. My flopped hands have also been holding up against bug draws. But tonight that didn't happen too often. I ran into the nutstraight free roll twice (flopping or turning the nuts while your opponent has a flush draw or other outs to go with his nut hand). Both times my opponent hit. I also managed to pay off on the river with two pair, something I not only think is a bad play and hate doing, but I knew it was wrong both times. Either way I lost more buy-ins than I cared to and will have to take a break for a couple of hours before jumping back in.

There was something said in one of the Cardrunner videos that, while I knew it to be true, I found interesting. Often when players take a bad beat in PLO (or what a novice belives to be a bad beat but may not actually be one) they tend to tilt off a few more buy-ins on the next few hands. Often these are hold em players who don't know why their set was outdrawn by a 16 card wrap with a flush draw. They are an underdog and think they took a huge beat. So, even though am not someone who does this I am not totally immune to it. After losing a bunch of races, especially one in which I was a decent favorite to win, I feel that I even a short break can be a tremendous help. So in my case, I watch a little TV and post to the blog. By the time I get back to the tables I get to start over. It's my way of avoiding tilt in an action packed game. The money can fly around the table fast in PLO and if you are not playing at or near your best you can dump four or five buy-ins pretty quickly, something not as easily done in hold em.

Here's a quick hand that illustrates why novice players get upset when they lose a hand they think is huge. I lost this hand but the villain couldn't understand why I put my money in here as a "huge" underdog. I told him I was a favorite on the flop and was about 50-50 on the turn and he said I was nuts. Of course I was right but the hand shows the concept of the draw in PLO.

Me:
Villain:

Flop: [ ]

I checked and he bet half-pot on the flop. I raised hoping to get it in on the flop. I am 3-2 here and I am pretty certain that most, if not all of my draws are live considering this is heads-up. He flat called.

Turn: []

Not a great card but I also know that it hasn't changed my odds much. That card couldn't not have made his hand any stronger except to give him a wheel draw which would only make him call more but does not change my odds. I am exactly 50-50 here. I bet slightly less than the pot and he re-potted it and capped. I was getting 2.4-1 and did not hesitate to call.

River: []

I missed and he took down the pot with two pair. He asked me why I put it in on the turn like that as such a big underdog. He, of course, must have only seen the flush draw in which case he would have been correct. This was the mark of a complete novice PLO player for a few reasons. One, he put it all in with two pair which is not always a great idea. I have shown aggression twice in the hand and it's unlikely his two pair is good. There is also little I can fold on the turn with the odds I am getting. The fact that he was surprised that I called all-in on the turn shows his lack of understanding of the game. I will take a 50-50 shot getting almost 2.5-1 all day every day for the rest of my life.

Well, it was hands like this one that I haven't been winning tonight and that's how it goes sometimes. If I keep putting it in like this or better it will all come back. I prefer to be in better shape (like him turning over a lower flush and straight draw) but that doesn't always happen. So after my break, which will end shortly, I will hit the tables and continue to try and get it in with these odds. If I do I am sure to end up a winner.

See you on the felt,