I was nauseous after this Omaha8 hand

[BeerWench13]

Live PL Omaha8 cash game Blinds $1/2
Hero is OTC and it's my first hand. I just bought in for $100.

Limpers around until two players before me and he raises to $14. One player behind calls and I look at those who limped and see most of them couting out the $14 to call. I'm holding K K Q 4 . Not a great hand since I have no outs for a low, but the guy who raised isn't really smart (he has some sort of "points" cheat sheet for Omaha), so I figure I'll see a flop. I call, 4 players behind me call, then the last player pushes to $62. Original raiser calls and it folds to me. Now, I cannot call this bet. I'm not going to put 2/3 of my stack in on the 1st hand with just K's in the hole so I fold. 3 players call behind me.

Pot $310.

Flop K 9 6 UTG bets $50 and one player calls.

Turn 9 . UTG pushes for his last $100 and the other player folds.

The cards are revealed and original pusher has A 2 Q 7 and caller has A 2 9 6. Since there's no possible low, he takes the pot with 9's full. Now, had I been in that hand, I'd have taken a huge pot. I don't think I made a bad play in folding preflop, but it made me sick to see that hand play out after the flop. :x

There's no question in this post, just a story about "the one that got away."

[Soup_dog]

OTC

Havent heard of that one. Am I missing something?

"On the couch"?
"Out of the Closet"?
"On the commode"?

[BeerWench13]

On the cut. One seat before the button.

For the record, I'm still in the closet.

[Soup_dog]

Ahh. Thanks. Thats called the cutoff position too isn't it?

[BeerWench13]

Yes it is.

[UrAteUp]

For the record, I'm still in the closet.

Well come out and give us some good stories...

[xDiamond_CutteRx]

Honestly, in PL games, I would not call a raise even initially with that hand Wenchie... You have only one good pair, two not-nut flush possibilities, one straight, and no low. I hate the idea of having to play a big pot (for probably half the pot) with that hand.

Other than that, you had to fold that hand, so don't beat yourself up too much.

[BeerWench13]

I would not call a raise even initially with that hand Wenchie...

From any other player at the table, I'd have folded to a raise, but the guy who raised initially is a complete moron. He's nice as he can be, but an imbecile about how to play cards. I asked him what he had and he claims he had A 2 J J with three of them suited. After he told me, it took a great deal not to show the grimace that instantly sprung to my face. :x

[BeerWench13]

Somehow I got roped into another Omaha8 cash game tonight with many of the same players from this original post (not the guy with the "points system"). I'm not adept at this game at all. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Soup_dog]

Play only good hands but fold if someone has a better hand.

You will be a sure winner if you follow that golden rule.

[BeerWench13]

Play only good hands but fold if someone has a better hand.

You will be a sure winner if you follow that golden rule.

That's pretty deep. Kind of like "Go that way really fast. If something gets in your way, turn."

My thoery is to fold most if not all hands unless I have an excellent starting hand or I can check in from BB.

Before anyone says it, there will be two rounds of NLHE then 1 round of PLO8, so it's not a complete waste of time or cash to play with this method.

[Soup_dog]

Play only good hands but fold if someone has a better hand.

You will be a sure winner if you follow that golden rule.

That's pretty deep. Kind of like "Go that way really fast. If something gets in your way, turn."

Always glad to help!

[BeerWench13]

So I skipped the cash game last week. Every instinct in my body said "DON'T PLAY POKER TODAY!" I listen to that voice.....sometimes. However, I played my first PL O8 tournament on Sunday. It was awful. There were guys going in with nothing and somehow winning pots with Ak high and A6 low. It was a gamble-fest. I never really got a good starting hand, so I played my lows, split 2 pots in the 2nd and 3rd levels and then the blinds ate me alive. I was 2nd to act and saw A A 2 J , pushed and prayed. I got called by Q T 5 2. There was no low and he caught 2 pair (T's & 2's) to take me out.

After I played a rotational cash game and won 1 pot and split another in O8. The more I play this game, the more I realize that, not only am I not very good at it, I just don't enjoy it like I do NLHE and 7-S.

[xDiamond_CutteRx]

Try not to get too discouraged Wenchie... I'm skeptical that ANYONE can be a long-term winning PLO8 player--that game simply has too much variance, which is why it is traditionally played Limit in casinos and tournaments. PLO High is a good game, but any high-low split game that is played for Pot- or No-Limit is always likely to increase the gamble factor and give preference to high hands (I have watched PLO8 tournaments online and it is simply atrocious... you almost always have to gamble with virtually your entire stack on the line).

My advice if you continue playing is to essentially do what you have been doing. Play good high hands that have low potential. High pairs and connectors have pretty good value in this game as they have a good chance to win hands and make powerful draws--low draws alone are not especially good because you are almost always playing for half the pot at most. The game can only be won with proper hand selection, and even then you must always take a lot of close gambles when any big pot comes up. A2s is also a very powerful combination because it is the most frequent combination in hands that scoop.

[BeerWench13]

Thanks, Diamond. I was hoping you would see this thread and give me some good advice. I know you play Omaha often.

you almost always have to gamble with virtually your entire stack on the line

This is the part of the game that I'm having difficulty with the most. Firstly, the group of guys that I play with are gamblers more than players anyway. They love throwing money at the pot and calling with any draw in hopes of "breaking one off", as they put it, in any opponent. So, having the nuts on the turn doesn't win 85% of the time because one or the other of them will catch up on the river usually.

Secondly, I know the game, but not to the extent of familiarity that I have with NLHE. It's tough for me to switch gears from one game to the other (we rotate one round of O8 then 2 rounds NLHE).

Thirdly, I've been dealing with cards colder than a corpse. That makes this game especially tough. I have another game on Thursday, so I will take your advice with me when I go. Wish me luck.