The Ambi-bet, or Raise

In my June 14, 2005, column, "Reckless Driving Class," I described two hands in pot-limit Omaha high-low in which you could substantially increase your percentage chances of winning if you were willing to make a big bet. The ambidextrous bet, or "ambi-bet," is essentially a tactical/speculative big bet made in high-low with values in both direction such that if called by one player, it would be unlikely to lose in both directions.



In a recent pot-limit Omaha high-low tournament (which I was fortunate enough to win), I was in the $100 big blind and my hand was the A 4 7 8. There was a $150 preflop raise on my right, leaving four-way action. The flop came nicely for me: K 7 3. Thus, I had flopped the nut-flush draw, a second-nut low draw, and a pair of sevens.



I had about $2,000 in chips. The rather aggressive preflop raiser on my right was the chip leader at our table with about $3,500 in chips, and the other two players had slightly less in chips than I had. Would you lead (bet) with this hand?



I did not like the prospects of betting, as the aggressive preflop raiser on my right might make a big raise. And I certainly wanted to see more cards – preferably without going all in. I thought I could almost count on the preflop raiser to bet at least a minimal amount. So, I checked, although under different circumstances, I might bet with this hand.



As if planned, the other two players checked around to the preflop raiser, who bet $300. Since he might well have raised preflop with an A-2, I decided to simply call and see the next card. One player called and the other player folded.



The next card was the 5, giving me a second-nut low (an A-2 in hand would be the nut low). I checked, the next player checked, and the preflop raiser bet another $300. He might well have made a bigger "pressure bet" here if he had an A-2. Although a big raise might conceivably buy the pot or at least get somebody out, I thought it was more likely to be called. So, I again called and silently rooted for the 2.



The river card was the 8, which gave me two pair (eights and sevens) for high to go along with my second-nut low. What would you do now with my cards?



Note that it would take four very specific cards for one hand to beat me both ways. With no full houses or flushes possible, the nut high for this hand would be a straight made with a 6 and a 9. If one of the players had a straight (9-6 or 6-4) or trips, his other two cards were not likely to be A-2. It was more likely to be the case in this hand for the preflop raiser to have an A-2 nut low, but then his other two cards would be unlikely to beat my high.



Thus, the stage was set for an ambi-bet, whereby I could make a large pressure bet based on my hand values in both directions. And in this hand, I also had the added potential of having second-nut values in one direction.



So, I moved all in with my remaining $1,400-plus in chips, which was what I might do with a 9-6. Note that this ambi-bet is essentially a bidirectional "hump" bet (see my Card Player column in the Jan. 15, 1993, issue, or Best of Cappelletti, Page 61), whereby the best of three medium hands figures to fold to a bet and a call ahead of him). But there was substantial extra safety here because I probably would have to get called by both opponents to lose both ways.



The first player slowly folded his kings and threes – which would have won high. When the preflop raiser started thinking about calling, I knew he didn't have a nut low. He finally said, "I gotta call ya." He also had an A-4 second-nut low, so he received one-fourth of the pot.



Note that this ambi-bet situation – that is, potential in both directions – also occurs in limit Omaha high-low, especially when your bet after the river card is likely to be raised by a player who has been doing the previous betting. That puts great pressure on the next player (the threat of the betting being capped), who might have a slightly better hand than yours in one direction.



Although the ambi-bet might be considered a hump bet or even a bluff, when it is made with second- or third-nut holdings, it is actually very sound and has an excellent chance of succeeding, as it is quite unlikely to lose in both directions. In actual practice, I have experienced a very high success rate with ambi-bets or raises when made with a second-nut holding.