Hello guys,

Today I played the first time my opponent and it feels good!! Ok, it wasn't a big pot, but who cares? Before the other player folded he said something like "nut straight no good", so I have no doubts that he also had A-K-x-x. After I told him that I also had only AK, he didn't believe it because I didn't raise the nuts on the flop. And he's right. The two hands that I played before, I had both times the nut straight (one time on the flop, the other time I made it on the turn holding a wrap on the flop) which I lost to full houses at the river, both times the opponents had two pair and hit their 4-outers. So I was scared with flopping straights and I decided to wait for the turn. Without that slowplaying I wouldn't be able to bluff him out. I guess with a flop raise he would have put us all-in.

However, I know that you have to bet/raise nut straights to protect it, especially with big cards (sets possible) and a two flush on the board. But how big is the mistake of slowplaying at the flop from a front position and waiting for the turn?

Lumberjack



PokerStars Game #1115470638: Omaha Pot Limit ($0.10/$0.25) - 2005/01/23 - 05:35:43 (ET)
Table 'Luyten' Seat #8 is the button
Seat 1: mindgame77 ($2.20 in chips)
Seat 3: HERO ($25 in chips)
Seat 4: koroshiya ($19.95 in chips)
Seat 6: CAPTJOLATI ($26.55 in chips)
Seat 8: Fish-Eye ($28.95 in chips)
Seat 9: $hip It ($11.85 in chips)
$hip It: posts small blind $0.10
mindgame77: posts big blind $0.25
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to HERO
HERO: calls $0.25
koroshiya: folds
CAPTJOLATI: raises $0.25 to $0.50
Fish-Eye: folds
$hip It: calls $0.40
mindgame77: calls $0.25
HERO: calls $0.25
*** FLOP ***
$hip It: bets $1.90
mindgame77: folds
HERO: calls $1.90
CAPTJOLATI: folds
*** TURN ***
$hip It: checks
HERO: bets $5
$hip It: folds
HERO collected $5.55 from pot

It is not a big mistake at all. It is a smart play. MADE straights in PLO play very much like a DRAW would do in other games; there are usually more cards that hurt you (turn and river combined) than there are that help you. You're essentially "drawing" to a blank-blank. Sure, you might have about 20 or more blanks to hit, but that still means that your straight will only remain to be the nuts on the river about a third of the time! Thus, it's really basically the equivalent of a drawing hand - this is one reason why I mention in my PLO intro article on the front page (click the BTP logo at the top, and then pot-limit omaha part 1) that thinking in terms of "made hands" and "drawing hands" in PLO is folly. There are no "drawing hands" in a conventional sense because a draw is often a favourite, and a made hand (like a straight on this board) can often be in a position where it holds up less than half the time.

In this hand I like your turn play if your opponent is solid and you have a read on him that he'll lay down his straight in this situation. beware however that if he had a top set he would probably bet the flop and then check the turn in exactly this way if he's an aggressive, tricky player. However, I think you played it well and as you gain experience can experiment more with intricate plays like this one.

Bear in mind that AKQ3 is not a good hand and should usually be folded under the gun. The suited ace makes it borderline, but I still think it's a marginal one to play. On a table where preflop raises are very uncommon it becomes more playable.

Hope this helps!

Monk
xxxxx

the table seems to be 6 handed so I guess its not bad. But I would definitely fold it to a full game, especially if there are preflop raises often. Good bet on the turn, but be prepared to fold to a reraise.

Hi,

yes, briachek is right, it was shorthanded play.

Thanks monk for your comments.


Take care and good luck,

LJ