Sign Up For Card Player's Newsletter And Free Bi-Monthly Online Magazine

BEST DAILY FANTASY SPORTS BONUSES

Poker Training

Newsletter and Magazine

Sign Up

Find Your Local

Card Room

 

Heads Up

Push Every Small Edge

|  Published: Oct 03, 2008

Print-icon
 

Phil Galfond recently discovered pot-limit Omaha [PLO], yet he already plays in the highest-stakes games on a regular basis. Otherwise known as "OMGClayAiken" online, Galfond first honed his poker skills at the no-limit hold'em tables, but his abilities made for an easy transition. His PLO results attest to the fact that he has an in-depth understanding of the game. In addition to his cash-game winnings, Galfond also won his first World Series of Poker bracelet this summer in the $5,000 buy-in pot-limit Omaha (with rebuys) event.

When you are playing pot-limit Omaha, you want to push every small edge that you can. For example, if I have an overpair and a flush draw on the flop, I usually will bet it. Then, if my opponent makes a raise, I almost always will shove it all in. In a spot like that, I would expect to be a favorite over a pair and a wrap, or two pair and a gutshot. When you are playing PLO, much more than when you are playing no-limit hold'em, you have to price out your opponent's hands. Even a pretty bad hand has a lot of outs that could beat you, so you usually want to make a pretty big bet when you bet. In PLO, there are lots of situations in which you actually have the best hand but still want your opponent to fold. When playing PLO, you usually should err on the side of being overaggressive, hoping to push everyone out. There are lots of very good pot-limit Omaha players who make 95 percent of their bets the full pot size. I don't go that far, but I am sure they have their reasons for it, and I am sure that a big one is to price out the players who have draws. I like to switch up my bets, though, and I usually bet three-fifths to four-fifths of the pot, depending on the texture of the flop. For example, on a paired board or a three-heart flop, I don't need to price out draws, because I am either bluffing and want everyone to fold or I have the best hand and my opponents do not really have any outs.

To view the entire interview with Galfond, and other videos with top pros, please visit www.CardPlayertv.com and select the Strategy channel.