PLO and NLHE

[Aisthesis]

After last night's 1/2 PLO session, where I felt like I played well (better?) after having played NLHE the last few weeks, I was wondering what others thought about switching between PLO and NLHE.

My original plan had been to play PLO until I just want to play NLHE again, then do the same with NLHE--when I feel a little burnt out, switching back to PLO.

But that won't work mainly because the 1/2 PLO game doesn't come together sufficiently often (maybe once or twice a week), and I'm really not prepared to play in the very aggro 2/5 or 5/10 (the latter of which frequently having $5,000 stacks, and sometimes multiple stacks over $10,000 and ungodly amounts required to see a flop--like $400 a lot of the time) at this point.

While I generally like to stick with one game or another for a stretch, I wondered what others thought about maybe being a little more random about this and just taking the 1/2 PLO when it's available and I feel like it.

Anyhow, my impression at this point (still being far less PLO experienced than a lot of you guys) is that the two games do tend to compliment one another. I feel like my NLHE game makes me feel much more comfortable in PLO in potting draws and thinking about good bluffing spots.

And, while PLO makes me much more aware of the nuts, based on some hands over the last few weeks, if I'm playing NLHE with some PLO play fresh in mind, I feel like that actually helps rather than hurts because even if I don't have the nuts, I also ask myself whether my opponent seems to be acting like he has them and am willing to test the issue a little more. I also feel like it makes me more willing to make overbets against calling stations when I feel sure I'm ahead.

So, I just wondered if you guys think that one can keep improving in PLO by being an occasional PLO player and regular NLHE player--at least as long as the 1/2 PLO isn't available reliably. I can of course also play some PLO online, but the game plays SO differently at the casino PF that I'm not sure how much online is really going to improve my abilities to deal with the casino game, where it's much more expensive to see a flop (hence I play quite tight PF), where the raisers generally don't CB when they miss (as a result, I do CB AA as overpair or even TP on a big card hand and seemed to be getting away with it last night largely due to my tight image--I don't do this if I haven't been able to thin the field at least somewhat), and where the bad players have a tendency to slowplay in situations where it's just a horrible PLO play.

[Kuso]

[teknipper]

[Stoneburg]

[Aisthesis]

lol to Stone... (and thanks for the comments, kuso and tek)

You know, a lot of PLO players say that, and I was a bit afraid that when I went back to NLHE, I'd feel like there was no action (the usual complaint). But it really hasn't been the case. For one thing, the way the PLO games play at the casino (costs a lot to see the flop relative to blinds), I don't think I end up playing very many more, if any more, hands in PLO than I do in NLHE.

My hand values also go way up, with an overpair or TPTK being nice to see in HE, and I also find it liberating not to be limited to pot-sized bets necessarily--although I haven't turned into a Xas, I have made a few more overbets than usual (still only rarely) when I thought it was appropriate.

The switch has really made both games more fun for me.

[Felonius_Monk]

[Aisthesis]

I can see that, too, although I will say that the one time I noticed you posting on the NLHE board, I liked your comments. I also think PLO helps a lot in making some good laydowns in NLHE (knowing when you're beat).