Ok, I'm doing well now, thank you to anyone who bought a lesson, when I was broke.


Anyway, the other day I was playing 5-10 blind, pot limit high low omaha, on my new favorite site, POKERSTARS. I bought in for the maximum, 1000 dollars. The table was only three handed, so you had to play more hands than normal, or be blinded out. Anyway, I was on the button, with AK68. Not a good hand, by any measure. But, in a short handed game, with position, I decided to put in my ten bucks. The small blind folded, and the big blind raises another 25 bucks. I call.

The flop comes: A K 5 rainbow. The blind leads out for the 75 in the pot, and I raise the pot. My thinking here, is that he is going to have to have a VERY specific hand, to have me completely and hopelessly beaten.
Something like AA and two other low cards. Not so eazy to come by hands like that. If he has a set of aces, there is a good chance that my 86 can actually be low. And, it's entirely possible, that he holds a hand like: A 2 Picture, Picture, and now I'm WAY in the lead. If he has something like A 2 K Picture, I have a good chance to three-quarter him.

And, this player was such an action raiser, that he may only have some sort of 23 hand, whereupon he only has four outs to scoop me.

Yeah, that's a lot of thinking, but there is BIG MONEY at stake here.

(Mark Gregorich, if you read this, please comment)

Anyway, he calls. The turn is a Jack, good card for me. It's HIGHLY UNLIKELY, that he has a Q 10, or anything else to beat me. We did NOT hear from him on the flop, after my raise, so I'm confident with my top two. AND, in the event that he DOES have something like a 10 Q J K wrap straight draw (and thus now made the straight) I have 16 outs to escape, and 4 outs to win.

This, is the VERY UNLIKELY event that he holds that hand. With a 357 pot out there, very few would check, and give me a free chance at low/full house.

Actually, I would be very happy if he did not call here, but he did.

The river was a very SCAREY deuce (2) AND NOW HE BETS OUT, 457 dollars. Well, YEAH, I'LL ADMIT THAT I DID SOIL MY PAMPERS, but hey

1500 pot, I'M IN THERE. Notice, how only a 34, or some monster hand with a set and low (almost impossible, considering the betting action) could sweep me. And, there was the possibility that he had A22, and now made a set, and he figures he's going to call, so why not bet.

Yeah, I wish that I could have just not called, and crawled under a rock with my $457.

But, THIS IS A CLASSIC LESSON, that you must, must learn. You do NOT let big pots go, for reasonable bets.

Also, I had observed him on the previous hand, when 9 9 9 flopped, and he went crazy with raises, with only KK. (I had folded the last 9, and felt cheated)

So, I sweat out the few seconds before the hand is shown.

QUICK! LOOK at his hand. YEs, no three, so no wheel. But, it looked like he had a low.

OOOOPS, the whole pot goes scoooting over to A.T.E.!!! he had A 2 4 5, and made a third pair on the river.

And, he decided to try to shoot his way out. HORRIBLE play. With over 1500 out there, I was going to call. But, with a possible wheel out there, I SURE WAS NOT GOING TO BET.

But, y'all should know, that in larger games, people WILL try to "shoot their way out"

Also note, that having a two-way hand, ANY two way hand, is a good thing in omaha. He could easily had had A22, and made a miricle set.
Had this been true, my

"Emergency low" (Note, "emercency low" is NOT an original ATE term)

would have been good.

thanks for reading.

Thats scary. You're a good player.

I think i would have shit myself, which is why i'm at the $25 tables. Good job ATE.

It is not just in the larger games that this situation arises.
It can also be the table image, and might be an early sign of a player going on tilt.

Thanks for the informative post, and Nice Pot!!