Looking for outs

Quit playing crap hands…crap hands…crap hands…

I just caint hep m’self!

The table is ultra tight. My buddy Forrest Gump is sitting two to my right. Oh great. I’m under scrutiny. I’m thinking about the last few poker-related posts, and FG’s question from yesterday, which, in its essence is, how does one get an extra edge in the micros. Sure, play tight and win on a consistent basis, if at a snail’s pace. But there has to be room for the occasional speculative play, no? Call a raise, see what comes and then decide. As Hwang says, Omaha players come to call. It’s a double-edged sword, to be sure, and the variance can be troubling, yet when one is playing 20% for a long period of time, well, it just gets tedious after a while. The other players notice (the good ones, anyway), and get a read, meaning that you’re not going to make money except from the worst players, and, boys and girls, their numbers are diminishing daily in PLO.

At least that’s what I’m subscribing to, as recently I have had a difficult time making any headway. I can tolerate the six-outers if there is some balance. I have to be able to felt a player once in a while too. It’s just fair.

I’m kinda having some fun here. I know that my thinking is a bit off, yet I’m slowly coming to the conclusion that I am just your average recreational player, at least that’s one tact I’m taking to keep the stress at a minimum, so I figure I’m allowed.

With that being said, I know I can get better at the games I play. As my Dear Mother told me so often as a child, I am educable. In the meantime, I will utilize what skills I have, such as reading a board and noting betting patterns of opponents, create an alternate strategy and use those things to find an edge.

My usual hand converter doesn't seem to want to work for me today, so I'm going to try a different one. Not so sure I like the format, yet what I do like is the fact that other players' nicks are shown, so maybe I'll start getting some more hits on my blog. It could happen... Actually, it may encourage me to discuss the hands in more depth as I can directly refer to the players without happen to cross reference other files. Here goes:

PokerStars, $0.05/0.10 Pot limit Omaha Cash Games, 9 Players

Hand Converter by the Pokerhand.org community

Board:

qwertyy66 (UTG): $15.30

bastinptc (CO): $10.15

tereg (Button): $10.30

jonndough (SB): $9.70

tccjcc (BB): $10

titiaustra (UTG+1): $6.15

nofriendo (MP1): $9.50

sekmi (MP2): $12.05

Forrest Gump (MP4): $9.70

Dealt to: bastinptc

Pre-flop:

titiaustra calls $.10, (1 folds), sekmi calls $.10, (2 folds), bastinptc calls $.10, tereg raises to $.40, (1 folds), tccjcc calls $.30, titiaustra calls $.30, (1 folds), bastinptc calls $.30,

I have relatively good position here in the CO to call. Tereg is a pretty tight player and haven't seen him do anything that indicates that he doesn't know how to play this game. If others folded, then perhaps I would as well, yet I'm getting pretty good odds to stay.

Flop:($1.75) (4 Players)

tccjcc checks, titiaustra bets $.20, bastinptc calls $.20, tereg calls $.20, tccjcc raises to $2, titiaustra calls $1.80, bastinptc calls $1.80, (1 folds),

Turn: ($7.95) (3 Players)

tccjcc bets $7.60 and is all-in, titiaustra calls $3.75 and is all-in, bastinptc calls $7.60,

River: ($26.90) (3 Players)

Results:

tccjcc Showed

bastinptc Showed

bastinptc wins $7.30

titiaustra Showed

bastinptc wins $18.30

I went into the tank a bit on this one. I knew I was up against a set, maybe two. The little bit of extra money that titi put into the pot made me lean toward calling. I was getting a little better than 2:1 on my money, so I gambled a bit.

Forrest Gump said, "nh"
tccjcc said, "nice catch is more like it"
bastinptc said, “It was a toss-up.”
tccjcc said, "how is it????"
FG said, "dont tap on the pond Tcc"
bastinptc said, "I flipped a coin"
tccjcc said, "all in for a draw\"
Fg said, "he ken shove his draws if he like"
tccjcc said, "you're the boss"
FG said, "master class my friend"
tereg said, "it was a 17 card wrap, was it not?"
bastinptc said, “shhh”

FG will often start a chat like this to stir things up. He uses his chat well, and while I am usually mute, I thought I'd give it a try. I was hoping that we might get a bigger rise out of the guy.

Meanwhile, I am looking at the lobby for another table to load up and I see something one rarely sees at these small tables. There is a room where they are consistently playing at 70% and the pots are always at $9 or $10. And no surprise that FG is in that room as well. I get on the waiting list, hoping that whatever is going on continues long enough for me to get a piece.

The villain is potting almost every hand preflop, regardless of position, and he’s hitting. FG takes it on the chin a couple times and leaves. I figure the guy has a wide range, so I use the same strategy as the in the other game, calling the occasional raise. He usually pots the flop regardless as well, so it is easy to get out when it is clear I don’t have a set or decent draw. In that the pots are often jamfests, I figure I’m risking 60 cents or so up front to win a lot more. The other regulars, quertyy and tereg are doing the same.

PokerStars, $0.05/0.10 Pot limit Omaha Cash Games, 9 Players

Hand Converter by the Pokerhand.org community

Board:

kobra1337 (UTG): $10

giddup (UTG+1): $8.60

qwertyy66 (MP1): $34.90

tereg (MP2): $18.45

bastinptc (MP4): $9.65

skipper57 (CO): $5

HOOSIERNUTS (Button): $9.40

cieri48 (SB): $.95

chainsaw24 (BB): $54.60

Dealt to: bastinptc

Pre-flop:

(1 folds), giddup calls $.10, (2 folds), bastinptc calls $.10, skipper57 calls $.10, HOOSIERNUTS calls $.10, cieri48 calls $.05, chainsaw24 raises to $.70, (1 folds), bastinptc calls $.60, skipper57 calls $.60, HOOSIERNUTS calls $.60, cieri48 calls $.60,

I called here, not because I had position, albeit I did have position on chainsaw, and I was double-suited with the wheel draw, but because I knew that the other three players would also call. They had been going toe-to-toe with chainsaw more than any of the other players, and having played Hoosier and skipper many times, I knew they played a wide range of hands. On the flop, my hand played itself.

Flop:($3.70) (5 Players)

cieri48 checks, chainsaw24 bets $3.45, bastinptc raises to $8.95 and is all-in, (2 folds), cieri48 calls $.25 and is all-in, chainsaw24 calls $5.50,

Turn: ($21.85) (3 Players)

River: ($21.85) (3 Players)

Results:

chainsaw24 Showed

bastinptc Showed

bastinptc wins $16.55

cieri48 Showed

cieri48 wins $4.15

A short while later I flopped two pair, Aces and Tens, against his set of tens. I smooth called his pot-sized bet and the turn brought another Ace. Lucky me. I reraised this time and he doubled me up again with his underfull.

Ultimately, I must conclude that I make my play fit the table. I pay very close attention to what other players show down, how often they are in a pot, and how often I see them at the tables, and use that information to my advantage. Isn't that what good poker is all about?