Cappelletti in Biloxi

As I drove my rental car along the beautifully scenic coastal road, Route 90, toward Biloxi, I was happy to see that Hurricane Katrina had not devastated the 15 miles of pristine sand beaches and the picturesque little offshore islands with palm trees -- set in the azure Gulf waters. Some of us consider that Mississippi coastline even more beautiful than the drive along the French Riviera.

The weeklong regional bridge tournament was being held at the Biloxi Grand Casino, which was still recovering from Katrina. The poker room had not yet reopened.

After finishing the first evening of bridge, I heard a scouting report from a poker-playing friend that I would like the pot-limit Omaha game at the Beau Rivage. He was right. There were $500 buy-in, $5-$10 blinds, and $300 buy-in, $2-$5 blinds, pot-limit Omaha games, in addition to several hold'em games.

After several uneventful rounds, in my $10 big blind, I picked up the 7 6 5 3. A player on my left made it $25 to play and received four callers, including the small blind and me. The flop came Q 4 2. The small blind checked. I had nine flush cards and 11 straight cards (not counting hearts). Given that the other four players had roughly $400 to $1,000 in chips, what would you do with this hand?

Essentially, the three possibilities are: check and await further developments (let the other players carry the ball); "spike the pot" with a $50 bet, so that if you hit on the turn, you can then bet most of your chips; or, bet the $125 pot, which might fold everybody, or you might hit on one of the next two cards.

Each of those three options has some disadvantages. Checking and playing passively might reduce your investment, but since you have good winning prospects, it would be unsound to allow it to get checked around. Not only would that cost you money if you won, but giving a free card could end up costing you the pot. I normally do not like to check with good cards unless I sense that someone else is hot to bet.

Of course, betting the $125 pot is much more likely to win the pot immediately than a $50 spike bet, and it also might fold some flush draws (all of which would be better than yours), which might leave you with the only flush draw. The big problem with the $125 pot bet is that you are in the big blind. If you get one or more callers and do not hit on the turn, do you want to make another big bet? And if you check, you might well find yourself facing a big bet that would cost all of your remaining $400 in chips to see the last card.

Making a medium-size spike bet (say, $50) is unlikely to win the pot by everyone folding. It is the type of bet I would prefer to make when holding the nut-flush draw. If you get two callers and miss or hit a flush on the turn -- then what? Would you bet the $275 pot? I don't like acting from the big blind, especially when I'm guessing. So, what would you do here?

I didn't like betting, but I liked checking even less. So, I decided to press with a $100 bet. Because almost half of my winning equity was in making a flush, maybe my $100 bet would scare out a medium-size flush draw. And there also was some chance that everyone would fold.

Well, the next three players folded quickly, back around to the small blind, who made a studious call.

The turn card was the 8, which added two more sevens to my straight-making prospects. So, now I had a total of 13 straight-making cards in addition to the nine flush cards. Again, the small blind checked to me. What would you do now?
My mind raced to try to determine what the small blind might have. Queens up? A straight draw or a flush draw? He was a fairly active player, so if he had flopped a set, he probably would have led out. I really didn't think that he had a big hand. Since I had about $350 and there was about $325 in the pot, I decided that it was very likely that he probably would yield to pressure. So, I pushed in all of my chips and told the dealer that I wanted to bet the pot. My opponent said, "Don't bother counting," and tossed in his cards.

Of course, I am aware that I had risked my stack of almost $500 to win a mere $200. But, I won that $200 without cards -- and avoided what could have been a $200 or greater loss. When playing poker, sometimes you have to play poker.

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.