playing small-stakes PLO8 @ UB. i flop the nut low with my A2 in an unraised 3 way pot, last to act. but the flop is 875 all clubs. if im facing a pot-sized bet on the flop...should i fold, call, or raise? why? how about on the turn, if the turn card is a jack?

if i play something like KKQQ on the button and i flop top set on a Q75 board w/ 2 clubs....and it's a 4-way pot and im on the button and its checked to me....should i bet? or no? if the turn is a 4 and i get check-raised, i can fold my set, right?

thanks...this game is confusing as hell.

jon

Here's one I'm not sure about - counterfeited low cards only happen when the board pairs one of your low cards, right? For example, if you have A2xx and a board of 3345x, you still have the nut low, right - 5432A?

hand 1, i call the flop hoping some other lows come along with you and look to get a lot of money in a multiway pot on the turn. If it gets heads up, you can try raising a safe turn hoping he was just trying to buy but most likely, you are splitting and in rare times, you are quartered. You are looking to keep people in because raising will not fold off any other A2 so you want people with A3 and 23 to stay in.

hand 2 - bet or raise that flop. make low draws and flush draws pay to hit.

hand 1
Unless you hand has something else going for it (str8 draw, 2 + pair) I usually fold. There are 3 people in the hand now but most likely you will be HU at the river and you don't want to be facing a pot bet HU with a naked low.

hand 2
There are 2 ways of playing this.
1) Call and wait for a safe turn to go nuts
2) Raise and jamb almost any non low club.

Which option is correct depends on the players in the hand and the stack sizes. I generally prefer option 1.

Hand 1 - definitely fold. You're either up against a flush and are splitting, another A2 and probably getting 1/4ed, or will end up against a flush and an A2 and get 1/4ed in a 3 way pot. If the bets are small you might consider staying in as smaller bets will tend to encourage guys with A3, weaker flushes etc to put dead money in (giving you a profit if you only win half the pot) at low levels.

Hand 2 - Yes, I'd usually bet there. Some would advocate waiting for a safe turn (board pair, high blank) which may even get you more action but I always say you can't win a big pot unles you create one, so bet whilst you have the nuts. It would suck to lose half the pot to a sneaky A3 or A4 that will probably fold on the flop, likewise to a garbagey flush draw. You should be very wary if a 4 hits the turn, though you may still be ahead for high. If CRed you can be looking to fold. If a low spade hits the turn you need to be more or less in check-fold mode.

As for counterfeits, it only happens when you have a low and one of the two cards you're using pairs the board:

Say I have A3KK and you have A26Q, board is 4589, you're winning low with your A2 (A2458 instead of A3458). However, if a 2 hits the river, I win low because it counterfieted your hand (my low is now A2345, yours is still A2458).

This is why A23 is a much stronger feature than A2 in PLO8 - as well as the fact it makes more straights and straight draws, it is always protected against counterfeiting because if you hold an A2 low and an A or 2 hits the board, your 3 means you'll still have the nut low.