Project PLO

At my local casino there's a development the last few months. They introduced pot limit Omaha.

First it was $1/$1 PLO. A few weeks later it changed to $2/$5 PLO. PLO runs 8 handed. Interestingly PLO has basically displaced the $2/$5 no limit game that ran forever. $2/$5 NL seldom runs now while there's virtually always a $2/$5 PLO game.

While I still play $1/$2 NL I do still have this crazy dream to play $2/$5 someday. Well it looks like $2/$5 means $2/$5 PLO. Well this is a twist.

It took some getting used to but now I'm pretty much on board with it. I'm doing some reading (more on that later) and figured I'm ready to play some online. I've decided to start at the bottom of the heap, $0.01/$0.02 full ring. The plan is to play 500 hands at each level and move up when at any profit. I hope to reach $0.10/$0.25 PLO but we'll see. One level at a time. I got up to $25 NL back before the Americans left and the games weren't as good after that.

I'm not too worried about the micro stakes and taking it seriously. I just think of it as $1/$2 or 1/2 if you will.

From the first session this was the first interesting hand PLO hand I played. Buying in short while I get my bearings.

PokerStars Pot-Limit Omaha, $0.02 BB (9 handed) - PokerStars Converter Tool from http://www.flopturnriver.com

Button ($4.94)
SB ($4.24)
BB ($1.82)
UTG ($19.42)
UTG+1 ($4.33)
MP1 ($18.73)
Hero (MP2) ($0.69)
MP3 ($13.23)
CO ($5)

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with 8s, Ad, Ac, 4h
2 folds, MP1 bets $0.07, Hero raises to $0.24, MP3 calls $0.24, 4 folds, MP1 calls $0.17

Flop: ($0.75) Qs, 7s, 8d (3 players)
MP1 checks, Hero bets $0.45 (All-In), MP3 calls $0.45, 1 fold

Turn: ($1.65) 5s (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($1.65) 9d (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $1.65 | Rake: $0.06

Results:
Hero had 8s, Ad, Ac, 4h (one pair, Aces).
MP3 had 5c, 10d, 9s, 5d (three of a kind, fives).
Outcome: MP3 won $1.59

oh well. Over on propokertools I looked it up I was 63% preflop and 53% on the flop vs MP3. MP1 was a donk who raised pretty much every hand.

Didn't win a hand that first session. Next session I did win my first Omaha hand.

PokerStars Pot-Limit Omaha, $0.02 BB (9 handed) - PokerStars Converter Tool from http://www.flopturnriver.com

SB ($1.76)
BB ($5)
UTG ($2.08)
UTG+1 ($1.08)
MP1 ($12.31)
MP2 ($2.17)
Hero (MP3) ($0.80)
CO ($1.98)
Button ($1.28)

Preflop: Hero is MP3 with Kd, 6c, 2h, Kh
1 fold, UTG+1 (poster) checks, MP1 calls $0.02, 1 fold, Hero (poster) bets $0.11, 2 folds, SB calls $0.10, 1 fold, UTG+1 (poster) calls $0.09, 1 fold

Flop: ($0.37) 6s, 6d, Jc (3 players)
SB checks, UTG+1 checks, Hero bets $0.36, SB calls $0.36, 1 fold

Turn: ($1.09) 5c (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $0.33 (All-In), SB calls $0.33

River: ($1.75) 7s (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $1.75 | Rake: $0.06

Results:
SB had 9h, Jd, Qd, 7d (two pair, Jacks and sevens).
Hero had Kd, 6c, 2h, Kh (three of a kind, sixes).
Outcome: Hero won $1.69

In this case I was 85% on the flop and turn. Only 59% preflop. I don't know what the other guy was thinking. Chasing TP in Omaha often isn't a wise strategy. That was a break catching trips. Sometimes the side cards can also work for you.

play and study time

 A few months ago I bought two new poker books online. After a few weeks I noticed a distinct lack of progress in reading them.

I find it's very hard to read in the evening after work. by the time I get home I'm tired from work and there are always a hundred things to do at the apartment. so even when I attempt poker reading I've found it hard to focus and effectively cover much ground. worthwhile poker books aren't easy reading. they require a lot of thought and concentration. I buy poker books for information and concepts that I don't already know, or have not fully articulated and grasped.

so what to do? after a while an idea came to me. read during break time at work. this has turned out pretty well. at lunch time now for the last few weeks I've gone to my car to cover a few pages a day of the first book. I find during the day I'm much fresher and more alert and able to really think about what I'm reading. also it's a well defined time and place for poker reading with no distraction. finally I'm making steady progress and looking forward to finishing this book.

speaking of play time. I realized recently I haven't played a hand online in several months. ouch. Life happens I guess and poker will always be an enjoyable hobby that I can only spend what time is available for it on. online play just got dropped on the floor. but it is on my radar screen to resurface online, perhaps in some new form.

on the live scene. I still enjoy playing $1/$2 NL at the local card room. for a few months I attempted an experiment of playing on Thursdays pretty much every week, then on Friday/Saturdays when possible. that experiment ended unsuccessfully. the Thursday game has more regulars and is tougher than the weekend game and I lost money playing in it. so back to playing the softer Friday/Saturday live scene which I realized suits me fine. I play around 2-3 times a month now live.

there are more interesting things going on in poker for me just around the corner that I'm really excited about. I'm looking forward to posting these developments here.