However, in omaha, saem move.... well, it seems like i've just cocked my hat (as Johnny Hughes might say...) and announced to the premises I'm holding some variety of AA hand. So now I have to play a hand that most likely WON'T connect hard with the flop, for a raise, out of position. And everyone knows half of the four cards in my hand. That puts me at a BIG disadvantage.
The big question is, when I inevitably get two callers in position on me, what do I do with a flop that totally misses my hand? Indeed, with AA76ss how many flops HIT my hand? A flush draw with unconnected low cards, an open-ender at the top end with no flush possible, a variety of the above, a set of aces, or a board like 226 are about the best I can hope for, and I'm not going to see those more than maybe one flop in four at best. So, for the other three flops, I'm liable to be picking up the likes of 59K rainbow, with one of my suit. So what do I do? Bet the pot? Problem with that a) I can't call a raise b) I can't bet the turn if my opponent calls and I don't improve to something. So three times out of four I'm out of position with a hand that's very hard to play.
OK, contrast it with limping and calling a raise - if an ace comes, because I didn't re-raise preflop, someone with a lower set, draw or even two pair might call my huge bet on the flop (or make a bet that I can check-raise, not in fear of me holding AAxx), so I get paid if my favourite card comes. Also, if a big draw for my hand (straight or flush) comes, I can still bet it hard and, because the pot is smaller, I can make MORE decisions post-flop, which gives me the advantage over my opponents. I can bluff more boards, because all 4 of my cards (rather than just 2 of them) are a mystery, and I can make more money in a draw vs draw situation by holding that overpair. Because the pot is smaller, I have better implied odds to chase a mediocre board. And, statistically most importantly, when the board totally misses me, I don't feel so compelled to waste a stack of money betting a big and obvious bluff into a field of opponents.
In LP, with a BIG double-suited AA hand, there's good reason to lift a re-raise, especially if you think you can get it all in, but it's much easier to play these hands in position. As a rule, with an AA hand, even a decent one, a RE-raise is out of bounds UNLESS you can get about 60% of your chips in the pot, thus pot committing your opponent on a weaker starting hand. Remember that even four RANDOM cards hold 35-40% of the equity against an AA hand in PLO, and so even if you push all in with AAKKds and your opponent calls blind, he still beats you well over a third of the time. Don't overvalue those aces! This is a game about the flop and beyond....
Monk
xxxxxStatistics: Posted by Felonius_Monk — Fri Apr 29, 2005 5:34 pm
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