Hi all,

The Kenneth is now back on the PLO scene - finally had a good couple of days where I felt I was actually playing well. I started a new job back in September and it meant I couldn't play, or study, anywhere near as much poker as I used to. As a result, my skill level definitely dropped and I found playing PLO a real struggle at the turn of this year. I feel now I'm finally beginning to get back to grips with it.

Anyway - these two hands were ones where I wasn't sure if I played them correctly and I'd appreciate comments on them:

Hand 1: $50 PLO at Party Poker

I'm in MP with $50 and get dealt 8s Td Tc Jh. 1 limper to me, I limp, 4 more limpers, SB completes and BB checks.

Flop is Ts Ah 2c. Checked to me and I bet pot of $4.30. Only UTG calls.

Turn is 5s. UTG checks, I bet $12.45 and he min raises me. I call.

River is 4d. [Final board : Ts Ah 2c 5s 4d] He bets $0.50! I call.


Hand 2: $100 PLO at Cryptologic. MP2 in this hand is a bit of a live one. Seen him get very aggressive with poor hands, and he's been running lucky and has a large stack.

I'm in MP/LP with $143 and get dealt Ac Th 8c 7c. EP limps, MP raises to 3, MP2 calls, I call, BB calls, and EP calls. Flop is 5 handed.

Flop is 3c Qc 6c. Checked to me and I bet $10 into a $15 ish pot. Just MP2 calls.

Turn is 6d. MP2 checks and I check.

River is Jh. Final board 3c Qc 6c 6d Jh. He bets $19 into $35 ish pot. I call.


I'd appreciate some comments on how I played these and how you think they should be played please. I'll post the results after some discussion!


Thanks,

Martin

Hand 1 - it's very possible UTG has the 34 for a str8 and only bet .50 since he thought you did as well and was trying to keep the rake down. I can't see raising here so call and cross your fingers. If he was on a flush draw what does he pay off?

Is AT87 a reasonable hand to play from MP? Either way, bet the turn. Maybe not a full pot, but enough to know if you want to call a river bet. Reevaluate based on his reaction - minraise generally means bail, flat call means you seriously have to consider check/folding to a big river bet.

Hand 1 - That's a strange betting pattern and I'll bet you're beat, but it's $.50, so how can you fold?

Hand 2 - I'd probably call here, as well, but I certainly would not have called prelop with that hand. Save yourself some trouble.

Thanks for your comments guys.

Hand 1 - I thought he must have had 34. He actually had As Ad 9c 6s for the top set. I think a river raise would've gotten him to fold - not sure if that'd be a good idea in the majority of cases though. Although his river bet was incredibly weak.

Hand 2 - I didn't want to bet the turn as not doing so keeps the pot smaller if I am beat. It also may induce him to bluff on the river. The latter is why I felt the call was the right play. I checked hoping to possibly induce a river bluff, so I think I have to call on the end when he does bet. He actually had the set of queens on the flop, and won with the full house. I think I lost the minimum though [aside from folding!]

Out of interest - should I bet pot on the flop there - I was going for an "either-or" bet.


Thanks for all comments,

Martin

I don't mind a smaller bet, you're more likely to get a call out of a 2nd or 3rd nut straight I think (though I may be wrong on that assumption!). Also, from a purely meta-game perspective, sometimes it's not the worst move in the world to sometimes bet less than the full pot with the nut hand, as it gives slightly more credence to any less-than-full-pot bluffs you may attempt at a later point (which can be helpful IMO).