I've been observing the Party 1000 and 2000 PLO8 games, and I've been listening to Wintermute's propaganda (restocking the aquarium?), and I think I can beat the 1000 and 2000 PLO8 games. The problem is that I don't have the proper bankroll to play at those levels comfortably (I can play up to the 200s very safely now -- soon to be 400s).

As such, I've come up with this project. The goal is to take a small initial bankroll ($400) and move up in limits very quickly in order to get some experience at the highest online levels and see if I can actually hold my own there.

I start with $400 -- four buy-ins at the 100s. I play until I get to four buy-ins of the next level. If i lose two buy-ins at a level, I move back down (still with four buy-ins at the lower level) until I work my way back up. The relevant levels are 100, 200, 400, and 1000. So the progression will look like this:

100s -- $400 to $800
200s -- $800 to $1600
400s -- $1600 to $4000
1000s -- $4000+

After I reach the 1000s and seem to be able to stay there, I'll reevaluate the situation. Once I'm there, I'll want to stay, so I'll probably take a slightly more conservative BR stance. Specifically, I'll save the 2000s until I have at least a $10k project bankroll, and even then I will only play when I think the tables are soft.

I'll usually be playing two tables, but probably only one for this project. I want to get stone cold reads on my opponents, and this is really the only way to do it. The second table will probably be a Crypto 50 or 100 table for cash flow and boredom-prevention purposes. I estimate that the average time expected to take to reach the 1000s will be about 70 hours -- 10 ptbb/100 and 50 hands per hour yields about 20 hours for the 100s and 200s, and 30 hours for the 400s. Of course, the reality won't work out like this -- these are only averages, and perhaps overestimated averages at that (is 10ptbb/100 likely at higher levels?). I expect that I'll go cold for a while at some point, and I'll rapidly move up when I'm on a heater at some other point. The only reason I'm listing this expected time commitment is to keep me realistic (and patient) about how long this is going to take on average -- knowing that it very well could take longer than an expected average.

Just so you know, I'm starting at the 100s for two reasons. First, I know I can beat this level. Second, I don't care too much if I bust out $400 -- I can reload and start again several times before I start to get worried. I really want to start playing at the 1000s ASAP, as that's the level at which I think the hourly actually makes it worth my time.

On a side note, the second post in this thread will be an annotated collection of my favorite Omaha and O8 sites and BTP threads.

My plan is to update this journal once a week. I feel like updates by session or day result in too much of a results-oriented focus. Furthermore, I'm finishing my disseration right now, so there very well may be some dry spells during which I can't really play much at all (apologies in advance). For now, the goal is to average at least 10 hours per week for the next six weeks and then take it from there.

Enjoy.

Well, good luck! I'm interested to hear how the play varies across the levels. If your experience is going to be a positive one then I might try the same once for PLO. What are you going to do if you hit a bad streak at the $400 tables and lose a few buyins to suckouts? My limited experience from playing the $200 and watching the higher games is that there is an insane willingness to gamble. One pair plus any kind of draw? checkraise allin. Nut flush draw plus gutshot? Push. So even if you're going to nutpeddle you have to be prepared for serious suckouts. Maybe the variance is lower in PLO8 than in PLO, so that would be a good thing.

Btw are you going to buyin full? Or will this be a shortstack rampaging strategy?

Anyway, keep us posted!

- This post discusses the play of a marginal pf hand that hit a flop with potential . There are some interesting posts on how to play the flop, especially the one by Phil. I imagine the the thought processes discussed in Phil's post are lacking in most PLO8 players.

Ojingo

I'm certainly NOT planning on nut-peddling. In fact, I'll probably be the aggressor (e.g., TP + draw) -- you just have to pick your spots, and some of these people pick the wrong ones. That's their leak.

I'll be buying in full. If I lose two buy-ins, I'm moving down the moment I cross the line. This will limit the damage of a bad run. It also means that I'll probably be bouncing up and down between the 200s and 400s and perhaps the 400s and 1000s. There does seem to be less variance in PLO8 versus PLO, but it doesn't take much to lose two buy-ins if you're aggressive on both your made hands and your draws.


TGoldman

Interesting point. I'm the exact opposite. I am fairly certain that I am going to be bouncing up and down, and I'm OK with that. If I used a 6-8 buy-ins mark, THEN moving down would be stressful for me, because I would know how long it will take to get back up to the higher level. The goal here is not to have much invested in the money or the effort so that I will be focused on making the best play. My goal is to put in the hours, make good plays, and wait for the heater that will inevitably happen to bump me up to the top.


FWIW, this idea is not original. I think 2+2ers make these kinds of runs all the time.


Januarymute posted some beats and some donkey hands in his journal. Check it out:

http://wintermute-ca.livejournal.com/17048.html

...you could also ask for backers like Ice did.