Big O

As I’m wont to do occasionally, I’ve started playing in a new game. This one is not entirely new to me like Archie, but it has taken some adjusting to figure out hand strengths. I’ve been playing Big O, which is pot-limit Omaha eight-or-better with five cards. In other words, you’re dealt five cards and have to play two of them from your hand and three from the board. The pot is split between the best high hand and the best eight-or-better low (five unpaired cards eight or lower). The betting format is pot limit. I’ve played quite a bit of pot-limit Omaha high in my life and quite a bit of Omaha hi/lo in my life but not much pot-limit Omaha eight-or-better (PLO 8/ob) and very little Big O.

I also haven’t found much literature on the game, though I haven’t looked too hard yet. I’ve mostly been floundering around on my own, as per usual and figuring it out as I go along. I’ve run some sims on Pro Poker Tools since they have a five-card Omaha hi/lo option where nobody else does. That’s pretty much it so far until the other day.

I was listening to a poker podcast and, to my surprise, the guest brought up PLO 8/ob as one of his favorite games! What a great opportunity for me to learn about a game tangential to the one I’ve been playing and that I’ve been struggling to find useful information on. The hosts asked him for a couple of quick pieces of advice right at the end of their call and he mentioned two things. First, that he doesn’t suggest raising preflop unless you’re willing to play for a 3-bet or for large portions of your stack, because equities run very close in PLO 8/ob. Second, that you shouldn’t bet the turn unless you’re willing to play for stacks.

Let’s talk about the second one first. I do agree that you shouldn’t bet the turn for value unless you’re willing to play for stacks. I do think though, that you can have some bluffs in certain situations, especially when the pot is currently small. Perhaps he meant that you shouldn’t bet the turn for a significant amount unless you’re willing to play for stacks, and didn’t feel like it was necessary to qualify in a short answer, which is understandable.

As to his first suggestion, I do tend to limp almost exclusively in early position when playing this game eight-handed. The game I play in tends to be pretty passive on most days and if there are frequent three-bettors in the game, I can always adjust my limping range from early position accordingly. It’s true that there aren’t any 80-20 favorite hands in PLO 8/ob like there are in hold’em, but there are some good 60/40 to 65/35 situations available in PLO 8/ob. In addition, if the stacks are deep, it’s very difficult to get large bets into the pot in good postflop situations if there hasn’t been a raise preflop. If five people limp and there are 5 big blinds in the pot, a pot-sized-bet on each street doesn’t get whole stacks in by the river when heads up, or even if you have one extra caller on the flop. However, if you raise to 3 big blinds and get four callers, often the case in the game I play, you now can easily get full stacks in by the river in a heads-up-pot. In addition, the river bet has some leverage in case you do have a rare bluff in this game.

I think it’s entirely possible that the games he plays in are much more aggressive and tough than the one I do and that, as a result, his two quick pieces of information are very useful. It’s also almost certain that they’re useful pieces of information to a completely novice player. After thinking about them and trying them out in a few sessions, I’m not sure the limping more often strategy is that good for me. And that’s okay.

Here’s the thing. The most important thing you can remember when reading about poker from someone else’s perspective. It’s very important to think critically about the information you read in books and forum posts or hear on podcasts or on TV. One of the biggest mistakes that poker players that are trying to improve make is implementing advice incorrectly or without thinking about how it would actually apply to their game. I appreciate the experience of the guest on that podcast I was listening to and am sure that his advice is useful to many people. It’s something I’ll keep in mind if I find myself in a more aggressive game in the future. I just don’t think the first point of his advice is that useful to me RIGHT NOW. When you’re learning a new game it’s great to read other people’s perspective and learn from their experience. It’s also important to incorporate those things into your game in a way that makes sense for your situation. Not all poker games are the same and not all advice fits directly into your way of playing.

Gavin Griffin was the first poker player to capture a World Series of Poker, European Poker Tour and World Poker Tour title and has amassed nearly $5 million in lifetime tournament winnings. Griffin is sponsored by HeroPoker.com. You can follow him on Twitter @NHGG