Cappelletti in Stockholm

In August, I spent several days in beautiful, modern Stockholm, the capital city of Sweden. Stockholm has a population of more than a million, spread out over a large number of islands. The downtown areas are highly Americanized. McDonald's, 7-Eleven, Subway, and Burger King are everywhere. Everyone I met spoke English, and most Swedes watch American TV and movies without subtitles. Stockholm has wonderful weather in the summertime - and I couldn't help noticing a very high percentage of attractive blond women in shorts.

While touring the Gamla Stan, "oldtown" Stockholm, which has the largest royal palace in the world, I happened upon the state-owned Casino Cosmopol - which has a large poker room. On that Thursday night, they were spreading four tables of no-limit hold'em with a 1,000 krona buy-in (about $170) and 20-20 blinds, two tables of no-limit hold'em with a 2,500 buy-in (about $420) and 50-50 blinds, and one table of pot-limit Omaha high (my favorite game) with a 2,500 buy-in and 50-50 blinds.

I was looking at about 5,000 in chips in my 50 blind, and after two crawlers, a player who had a mass of chips and had been doing a lot of betting, made it 200 to play. I was looking at a 9-7-6-5 single-suited, which was an easy call. Although I was out of position, most flops that were playable for me would not be good for the raiser.

In three-way action, the flop came K-8-6 rainbow, which was very good for me, as there were 17 outs that would give me a straight (any 10, 9, 7, 5, 4). I and the other caller checked to the raiser, who bet, as expected - but he bet merely 300.

I had been watching his previous activities and he usually bet about 500 or the pot (700) in these after-the-flop situations. But then, on more than half of the previous occasions, he backed off and checked after the turn and river. Thus, if I hit a straight card on the turn, I would not be able to trap with any great confidence that he would bet.

Keep in mind that one reason that he might have bet only 300 is that he might have a very good hand (for example, a set of kings) and would rather not fold anyone. And then there was yet another variable - the other player acting after me. So, should I call or raise with this hand?

Note that if I call and the player acting after me does not raise, there will be either 1,300 or 1,600 in the pot, depending on whether he calls or folds. If I hit a straight on the turn, the most I could bet would be well under half of my chips. When flopping or turning a straight (straights are notoriously "fragile," as they frequently lose to a river flush, full house, or higher straight), it is highly advantageous to get all or most of your stack into the pot before the next card is seen, thereby seriously decreasing your opponent's drawing odds by eliminating the fruits of a subsequent bet if he hits.

Thus, good pot-limit players often plan ahead and "spike" the pot to increase it to a size where they can get all or most of their chips (or their opponent's chips) in on the next round of betting - thereby negating the rebet. So, if I raised about 800 and he called, I would be able to bet 2,900 if I hit a straight on the turn (or more if the third player also called). Note that I did not fear a big reraise at that point, because even if he had a set of kings, with my 17 outs and two cards coming, I would win the pot about 60 percent of the time (according to simulations). Note also that if I judged that both opponents might fold to a big check-raise here (say, 1,000 to pot size), that probably would be the best action.

But this hand is a very good example of the importance of position. If I made a big raise here and hit, I could get all of my chips in the pot and force my opponent(s) to fold or gamble at bad odds. But what if I raise the pot here, get called, and then don't hit? If I were acting last, my opponent(s) would usually check to me, and I would have the option of seeing the last card for free or perhaps betting if I detected weakness. But acting first, if I didn't hit and then checked, I might well find myself facing a big bet (3,000 or more), which would require investing the rest of my chips at bad odds or folding. I certainly did not want to go there!

Finally, with another player acting after me who might add money to the pot or even do something big, there is much to be said for simply calling and seeing the turn card cheaply. After all, I was still on a draw.

So, I just called and the next player folded. Lo and behold, the 5 (the second diamond on the board) turned, giving me a nut straight. Because the lead bettor might well check it down after this scary turn card (the board now had an 8-6-5 possible straight), I decided that it was time to bet the 1,300 pot. I would be happy to take the pot right now, as I really did not want to see the river card, which might be a third diamond, or pair the board, or be a 7 or 9. He looked at me suspiciously, then called.

Unfortunately, the last card was the A, thus making it possible that a diamond flush would beat my straight. I checked, and fortunately, he also checked. I would not have liked facing a 3,000-plus bet. He saw my straight and mucked his hand. I did not see what he had.

In retrospect, if I had raised 800 after the flop, he might have folded then or he might have folded to my 2,900 pot bet after the turn. So, maybe I managed to extract the most chips by playing it the way that I did. In my opinion, these very delicate "paving the way" and setup considerations make pot-limit Omaha high the most skillful form of poker.

I also found another nice poker room in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, called The Olympic Poker Club, in the Royal Park Hotel and Casino. Hold'em, Omaha, Omaha eight-or-better, and crazy pineapple (discard after the flop) are spread there, and a no-limit hold'em tournament is held every night.

Formerly a career lawyer with the U.S. Department of Justice, Mike Cappelletti has written numerous books on poker and bridge, and is considered to be one of the leading authorities on Omaha. Mike has also represented the U.S. in international bridge competition, and he and his wife were featured in a four-page Couples Section in People magazine. His books include Cappelletti on Omaha, Poker at the Millennium (with Mike Caro), and Omaha High Low Poker.