Pot-Limit Omaha Quiz

The game: $1-$2 online (six-max) with 30¢ antes, four-handed
Seat 3: Big blind ($827.20)
Seat 4: You ($400.60)
Seat 5: Button ($465.10)
Seat 6: Small blind ($221.95)

Preflop: You are dealt the A J 10 4 under the gun.

1. Should you:
a. Fold?
b. Call?
c. Raise?

Action: You ($400.60) open with a raise to $8.20, and the button and small blind both fold. The big blind ($827.20) reraises to $26.80.

2. Should you:
a. Fold?
b. Call?
c. Reraise?

Action: You call.
Flop ($55.80): J 7 3. Your opponent bets $45.

3. Should you:
a. Fold?
b. Call?
c. Raise?

Action: You raise to $190.80. Your opponent reraises to $628.20, setting you all in for $182.70 more, or $373.50 total.

4. Should you:
a. Fold?
b. Call?

Action: You call. Your opponent shows the K K J J, for a set of jacks.
Turn ($802.80): K
River ($802.80): Q. You win.

Grades and Analysis
1. a(0), b(5), c(10). Calling is better than folding, but a Broadway-wrap hand with a suited ace and a wheel card is way more than enough to open fire on the blinds from under the gun when four-handed.

2. a(2), b(10), c(0). You can’t reasonably fold for one more bet when you are guaranteed to be heads up with position after the flop; if you’re worrying about being dominated, you are playing the wrong game. That said, reraising (four-betting) is also incorrect, as doing so will only serve to neutralize your positional advantage, or otherwise set yourself up to get five-bet by A-A-X-X. Calling should be the play.

3. a(0), b(5), c(10). You have top pair with the nut-flush draw and some backdoor-straight possibilities in a medium SPR [stack-to-pot ratio] situation (SPR of 6.7) — judgment territory — and are facing a continuation-bet in a heads-up pot.

That said, with top pair and the nut-flush draw, you are well ahead of any drawing hand (you are a 71-29 favorite over the J 10 9 8, for top pair, an inside wrap, and smaller spades, as well as the 10 9 8 6, for the same wrap and spades, but without a pair), and just less than a coin flip against J-9-8-7 (46-54 if your opponent has spades, but 49-51 if he doesn’t). Meanwhile, you are 80-20 against the K Q J 10, for bare top pair, and a 59-41 favorite against the A A K Q, for bare aces.

Unless your opponent has a set (you are a 27-73 dog against the K♣ K♠ J♣ J♥, for top set), you are either a small dog or a big favorite. But at the same time, your opponent doesn’t have to be strong to continuation-bet on this flop when heads up.

You can’t reasonably fold against the continuation-bet, and calling is not the best play, either, in this judgment-territory situation. The play should be to raise and give your opponent a chance to fold A-A-X-X if he has it, and commit to the hand if you get called or reraised.

4. a(0), b(10). Having made the raise, you are pot-committed now, getting 3.4-1 to call.

Jeff Hwang is a semiprofessional player and author of Pot-Limit Omaha Poker: The Big Play Strategy and Advanced Pot-Limit Omaha: Small Ball and Short-Handed Play. His next two books — Advanced Pot-Limit Omaha Volume II: LAG Play, and Volume III: The Short-Handed Workbook — are slated for a late September release. He is also a longtime contributor to the Motley Fool. You can check out his website at jeffhwang.com.