Reckless Driving Class

When Omaha high-low is played pot-limit in tournaments, there are many opportunities to make high-percentage/skillful big bets – if you are willing to risk your stack.

Early in a $55 online pot-limit Omaha high-low tournament, you pick up an A-2-5-K with the ace suited in first position. With this very fine hand, you certainly do not raise before the flop, since you would like as much attendance as possible. So, you crawl in for $50. Unfortunately, no one raises, but you do get two other crawlers and both blinds for five-way action.

The flop comes Q-10-4 rainbow, not exactly what you had in mind. But, you do have a gutshot-straight draw and the 4 fits in nicely with your low cards. The blinds both check to you. What should you do in this position?

Although this flop does not look particularly attractive to you, it might look even less attractive to the other players. With two high cards in the flop, if you "prime the pot" with a $125 bet, it is quite likely that there will be very few callers. The next two players both call your $125 bet (possibly with good low cards) and both blinds fold. The fourth (turn) card is an offsuit 7 (all four boardcards are of different suits). As the first to act, what should you do?

Although you might be tempted to do something less than exciting and see the last card cheaply, you might be missing a good opportunity. Note that even if the river is a perfect low card and you make a big bet, you have nothing for high and you might even get quartered. Had both players who called on the flop folded instead, and both blinds called (perhaps with high pairs), the waitand- see approach would be more theoretically sound.

One of the most important principles in flop games is to prevent your opponents from seeing the last card whenever practical. And oftentimes you would rather not see the last card yourself – if you could simply win the pot. If you bet the pot ($625) in this situation, your opponents would probably expect you to have an excellent high holding (such as a set), and it certainly would not be worth calling with a low draw (for example, a hand like yours) for an odds-on half-pot.

So, you make the reckless $625 bet and they both slowly fold, as expected. But if either had called, the last card, which you didn't want anyone to see, just might have been a good card for you.

A few hands later, you are coasting along on a stack that's about twice the size of your original starting stack. With the button on your left, you have good position when you pick up another A-2-5-K, this time with the king suited (no, you do not have an A-2-5-K magnet). There are four callers around to you, so you raise the $50 initial bet to $150. The button folds, giving you last position, and five players call, including the big blind, making it six-way action (yes, you do like this situation).

The flop comes K-J-4 with two clubs (not your suit) – again, not a particularly good flop for you. The big blind leads with a $300 bet. Everyone folds around to you. Since you have kings with an ace kicker and many secondary prospects, you dredge up a call. The turn card is the 3, giving you excellent nut-low draws (which might scoop the pot) and a king-high flush draw. The big blind again leads with $300. What should you do here?

Now you have several great draws in addition to your pair of kings. If you call, you will win at least half the pot whenever you hit one of your good draws, or if you just happen to have him beat for high at the river. If you hit an ace, deuce, 5, or 6, or make your flush (18 outs in 44 cards), you will probably make a big bet that might get called. But with the other 26 cards, you would have only kings (which might win high – but only if you call his river bet). Also, that last card might make your opponent's hand.

However, if you now choose to go all in – that is, raise some $1,400 – he will probably fold unless he already has a set or top two pair. From his perspective, you probably do have a set to make this bet. You figure to win a high percentage of the time – whenever he folds, or calls and you hit. He thinks for a while, then folds.

What is basically happening in all of these situations is that by risking your stack, you gain the substantial equity of your opponent folding in addition to your prospects of getting a good river card. It is quite analogous to what the move-in specialists do in no-limit hold'em. And note that when you prevent your opponent from seeing a potentially favorable river card (which could be a disaster for you), you might be avoiding more disasters than you're risking with your reckless driving.