WSOP POY Josh Arieh Talks PLO Tournament Strategy

During this series of strategy columns, I will be interviewing 2021 World Series of Poker bracelet winners. These champions will provide observations, tips, and strategies for you, the readers of Card Player, about the specific poker game in which they captured their 2021 bracelet.

The Events: $1,500 PLO and $10,000 PLO Eight-Or-Better Championship

The Winner: Josh Arieh

Entering any WSOP series, Josh Arieh is always a threat to capture a bracelet, especially in his favorite game, Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO). Previously, he had already won two WSOP bracelets, the first in 1999 ($3,000 Limit Hold’em) and another in 2005 ($2,000 PLO). Unfortunately, 2021 didn’t start out well for the Georgia native.

“I had zero expectations entering this year. I planned on playing a good amount (of tournaments), but it started out really slow. I had been there for two weeks, playing in six or seven tournaments and had zero cashes. But I finally broke through with a cash in event no. 20, the Flip ‘N’ Go tournament, and then had two more small cashes.”

After a quick trip home to see his daughters, Josh targeted the $1,500 PLO tournament for his return back to Las Vegas.

“I circled the $1,500 PLO event on the calendar. I flew in the morning for that event, caught some heat and it was the snowball effect.”

It was the same event he had finished runner-up in back in 2000 to Johnny Chan. The Georgia native finally got the monkey off his back, taking down the $1,500 PLO event and earning his first bracelet in 16 years. But the victory also sparked an incredible couple of weeks, where he final tabled three more events, and even won bracelet no. 4. This memorable run changed the outlook for him for the series.

“The headline was, ‘16-year drought is over,”’ recalled Arieh. “I know it has been a while, but I have racked up some pretty good stats over the past 16 years. This year, I knew I needed a little momentum and boy did I get it. After that stretch, I decided that I was going to give it a run for POY.”

To kick off 2022, I spoke with Josh for my radio show (You can watch my interview on YouTube.com/BernardLeePoker or listen on iTunes) and asked for his thoughts about playing PLO tournaments.

Bernard: Congrats on winning 2021 WSOP Player of the Year. What an incredible series!
Josh: Thanks. It is still pretty unbelievable. What a sick run.

Bernard: What is more incredible about your POY is that you usually don’t play a huge number of events at the WSOP. So, prior to the start, you are never really in the discussion as a WSOP POY candidate.

Josh: Yeah, that’s true. As a competitor, I always go into the series thinking that it would be cool to make a run at POY. But as the series goes on, it always kind of slips away.

This year, I had one really sick couple of weeks and then I decided I would give it a run. I played 34 tournaments, which is playing more than I usually do. This is me pushing myself at the end. And I’m glad I did.

Bernard: Your two bracelets in 2021 were in PLO, as was your bracelet in 2005. Would it be fair to say that this is your favorite game?

Josh: Absolutely. It’s the game I look forward to playing, especially when playing mixed games. I’m really comfortable playing it.

Bernard: Well, let’s talk about some key strategies when playing in a PLO tournament.
Josh: One of the biggest pieces of advice I can give for PLO is to play hands that can continue to improve.

Bernard: To fully understand this point, can you give an example?

Josh: Sure. Let’s use flopping two pair as an example.

There are different kinds of two pair hands. You can flop two pair, but you can’t improve your hand unless you fill up (for a full house). But, in another scenario, you can flop two pair that has a gut-shot straight draw and an over card. The second scenario gives you additional options.

Try to focus on hands that can continuously improve, because the board changes on almost every card. Therefore, the nut hand and draw are also likely to change.

It’s important to play hands that have value with the current state of the board, but also can improve. A bonus would be to be able to make hidden hands that your opponent can’t put you on like backdoor flushes and gut-shot straights.

Bernard: What advice would you give about reading your opponents in PLO?

Josh: For me, the main thing that I do early on in a session is I try to categorize my opponents. PLO brings all different kinds of players to the table. I try to understand what range of hands each player is going to be playing. There are players that play a lot of hands and can show you anything. Then there are more snug players that are playing tight ranges. Overall, it is really important understand the range of hands that your specific opponent in each hand will play. Then, you can make bets based on the board texture.

Bernard: Players who primarily play no-limit hold’em often overvalue certain hands, like pocket aces. One of the hands that is also overvalued in PLO is middle or bottom set. Can you describe why these hands can get you into trouble in PLO?

Josh: Middle and bottom set are hands that you are going to have a hard time continuing with. If you think about any board texture, middle and bottom set doesn’t stay a powerful hand no matter what the turn cards come. You are never going to win big bets on the turn. It is important to keep the pot small when you have those hands so you can possibly call a bet on the river.

To compare this to no-limit hold’em, middle or bottom set in PLO is similar to A-J on an A-9-6 board in no-limit hold’em. In this scenario, it would be tough to continue with a big bet on the turn, but you would like to make a reasonable sized call on the river.

Bernard: Your second bracelet this fall was PLO eight-or-better. What is a key mistake that you see when playing hi-lo?

Josh: I often see players overplaying hands that are strictly low hands such as A-2-4-8. With these hands, players need to manage the size of the pot. However, if you are playing strictly high hands, it may be high variance, but if there is no low hand, you can win a sizeable pot.

Also, when playing hi-lo, you really have to continue to understand your opponent’s ranges. If you become good at this, you can apply maximum pressure based on the board textures. If you strongly feel that your opponent is on a draw, you can put maximum pressure on them to make them fold on the turn.

The Finish: After earning his second bracelet, the 47-year-old battled to the end with the likes of Phil Hellmuth and Daniel Negreanu, who finished in second and third respectively in the POY race. In the end, he cashed in 12 events, capturing his third and fourth career bracelets while earning over $1.1 million. Josh will forever be known as the 2021 WSOP Player of the Year.

Bernard Lee broke into the poker world after a deep run in the 2005 WSOP main event. He has two WSOP Circuit rings, and is an author, having written for Card Player, the Boston Herald, Metrowest Daily News, and ESPN, where he was a host of the show The Inside Deal. His radio show and podcast, The Bernard Lee Poker Show, recently celebrated its 14th anniversary, and his latest book, Poker Satellite Success: Turn Affordable Buy-Ins Into Shots At Winning Millions, is now available on Amazon as well as D&B Publishing. Follow him on Twitter @BernardLeePoker or visit his website at BernardLeePoker.com or YouTube channel at Youtube.com/BernardLeePoker.