Based on some comments on some hands that I have received, it has become clear to me that some (many?) of the $25 PLO8 players on Party make some massive -EV plays. I'd like to use this thread to catalog these leaks. Hopefully it will help BTP PLO8 n00bs (like me) avoid the negative side of the EV equation. If the list is good enough, maybe it can become a front page article.

Some of these will be obvious to experienced players (which I am not), but my point is that these errors seem to be made frequently enough that it is not obvious to everyone.

So, a few to start with:

[Note: There are lots of misplays of AA, so please feel free to add to the three I list below.]

1) Only raising with AA - This makes the raiser's hand too easy to read, and people are not likely to pay you off if you hit big (e.g. AA or A and a pair on the board).

2) Raising AA without good sidecards (e.g., flush, straight, or low potential), especially when out of position - Some people play AA like they do in Texas Hold 'Em. A pair of unimproved aces is not usually a favorite to win the high half in PLO8. Proceed with caution.

3) (Related to 2 above) Jamming with unimproved AA post-flop with scare cards on the board and lots of people in the pot - I see lots of people going all-in on the flop with just AA and one or two backdoor draws when the board holds a solid straight draw and/or flush draw. If lots of people are in the pot, it probably means that all of the draws are either made or are being drawn to, so there are lots of cards that will make opponents hands. Furthermore, this is only for half of the pot, so it's not really that exciting. Even if you say that the unimproved AA have 25% equity in the high in a 4-way pot on a scary board (probably a generous assessment), that is still only about 12.5% interest in the pot. That means that 8 people need to be in just to make betting or calling an EV neutral move.

4) Jamming with 4 wheel cards on the board, 2 in your hand (i.e., made wheel), three or more players in the pot, and no other high options (6, 67, or flush redraw) - This just begs to be quartered, sixthed, or eighthed. See for an example. This is substantial -EV without a better draw to the high. On the other hand, if you have a better made high than the wheel, jam away.

Please feel free to correct my analysis.

I look forward to reading the contributions of others.

An addendum to the goals of this post:

If possible, it would be nice to discuss how to counter the fishy moves that the Party 25PLO8 players make or how to play the hands correctly. Based on some of Monk's comments, it might require a slightly different skill set to beat this game (then again, maybe not).

5) Chasing the nut flush with 2 or more low cards on the flop and no redraws - I see people jamming with this draw. This player only has between 1/3 (33%) and 1/6 (16.7%) pot equity (depending on if the low is made or not). Of course, jamming often runs people out of the pot, so the player is not getting +EV odds on his bet. The only way that this could remotely be a viable play is if the raiser thinks he can make everyone fold (i.e., he has a LOT of fold equity). Smaller bets that keep people in the pot might be better here. Checking and calling bets with lots of callers is also a viable play (assuming the math works out).

talks about the strengths and weaknesses of AA, so it's closely related to the above post on how not to play them.