Pot-Limit Omaha Poker CLICK HERE to GET FREE OMAHA INDICATOR Pot-Limit Omaha Poker the BIG PLAY STRATEGY

Get $150 Dollars Bankroll For Free ! EXCLUSIVE OFFER CLICK HERE! Pot-Limit Omaha Poker CLICK HERE TO GET FREE OMAHA INDICATOR Pot-Limit Omaha Poker THE BIG PLAY STRATEGY Jeff Hwang LYLE STUART KENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP. www.kensingtonbooks.com CLICK HERE TO GET FREE OMAHA INDICATOR LYLE STUART BOOKS are published by Kensington Publishing Corp. 850 Third Avenue New York, NY 10022 Copyright © 2008 Jeff Hwang All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews. All Kensington titles, imprints, and distributed lines are available at special quan tity discounts for bulk purchases for sales promotions, premiums, fund-raising, educational, or institutional use. Special book excerpts or customized printings can also be created to fit specific needs. For details, write or phone the office of the Kensington special sales manager: Kensington Publishing Corp., 850 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10022, attn: Special Sales Department; phone 1-800-221- 2647. Lyle Stuart is a trademark of Kensington Publishing Corp. First printing: January 2008 10 9876543 Printed in the United States of America ISBN-13:978-0-8184-0726-0 ISBN-10:0-8184-0726-3 CLICK HERE TO GET FREE OMAHA INDICATOR CLICK HERE TO GET FREE OMAHA INDICATOR CLICK HERE TO GET FREE OMAHA INDICATOR To Mom and Dad, without whom neither I nor this book would exist; and to my nieces Hannah, Allie, and Adrienne and my nephew Luke, the four cutest possible kids on the planet. Contents Introduction • xi Acknowledgments • xv Using This Book • xvii 1. The Big Play Objectives 1 The Nut Straight Freeroll • 3 The Nut Full House Freeroll • 4 Overfull vs. Underfull • 5 Set-over-Set • 6 Flush-over-Flush • 7 Top Set-Plus Draws • 8 Dominating Draws • 10 2. Basic Play and Key Concepts 16 Basic Rules and Blind Structure • 16 Pot-Limit Play • 18 Reading the Board • 19 Pot-Limit Omaha: Key Concepts • 21 The Power of the Big Draw • 28 Pot Odds vs. Implied Odds • 30 ThinkingAhead • 31 The Fundamental Question in Omaha • 34 vii viii Contents 3. The Straight Draws 36 13-Card Straight Draws • 38 Wraparounds: 17-Cardand20-Card Draws • 40 Wraps with Three Key Flop Cards • 43 The "Inside" Wrap • 45 Related Topics • 46 4. Starting Hands and Pre-Flop Play 54 Starting Hands • 54 Hand-Strength Classification • 65 The Miracle Flop Test • 66 Before the Flop • 72 5. After the Flop 83 Basic Combat • 84 The Size of the Bet • 84 Flopping a Set • 85 Playing Two Pair • 86 The Overfull, The Underfill, and Trips • 89 Flopping the Nut Straight • 92 Playing on the Draw • 93 Bluffing and Other Plays • 97 Continuation Betting • 100 Betting on the River • 101 6. Situations and Practice-Hand Quizzes 102 PLO: Situations • 102 PLO: Hand Quizzes • 117 7. Miscellaneous Topics 159 What Is a Bankroll? • 161 Factors of Volatility • 162 The Cost of Volatility • 164 Contents ix Bankroll Suggestions • 164 The Size of the Buy-in • 165 Maintaining Discipline • 166 The Straddle Effect • 167 The Effect of Stack Sizes • 168 Lessons from Investors • 168 The Curriculum • 174 Other Works • 177 8. Limit Omaha Hi/Lo Split 178 Split-Pot Omaha: Rules and Basic Play • 180 The Betting Structure • 181 Reading the Board • 182 The Objective: Scooping • 184 Starting Hands • 185 Starting Hand Groups • 190 The Miracle Flop Test • 197 Play from the Blinds • 201 Blind Stealing and Short-Handed Play • 202 Three-Betting Before the Flop • 203 Kill Pots • 204 Loose vs. Tight vs. Wild Games • 205 Higher-Limit Games • 207 Before the Flop: Practice Situations • 209 After the Flop • 213 Closing Thoughts • 227 Situations • 228 Practice-Hand Quizzes • 231 9. Pot-Limit Omaha Hi/Lo Split 277 PLO Hi/Lo Strategy: Key Concepts • 278 Starting Hands: Early-Middle Positions • 288 Starting Hands: Later Positions • 290 x Contents The Nut Low Freeroll • 291 Situations • 292 Practice-Hand Quizzes • 295 Closing Thoughts • 314 Glossary • 319 Index • 325 Introduction Through the beginning of the twenty first century, limit poker dominated the card rooms across the United States. But then a funny thing happened: Online gaming and casino expansion brought poker to the masses, a guy named Moneymaker won the World Series of Poker, and televised poker captured the imaginations of millions. Next thing you know, everybody wanted to play no-limit hold'em, and a game that was once sparsely played instantly became the game of choice for mil lions of people in card rooms and home games across America. Meanwhile, $1/$2 and $2/$5 blind no-limit hold'em cash games have become virtually standard, spawning a new generation of small-stakes, big-bet poker players. Where just a few years ago small-stakes players were betting in $5 and $10 increments, poker players everywhere are now ac customed to winning and losing entire stacks in a single hand. At the same time, poker players who have spent the past few years playing "100 percent hold'em all the time" have become keenly aware that not only is there more to poker than just Hold'em but also there is better action to be had. This sets the stage for poker's next big trend: pot-limit Omaha. xi xii Introduction The Growth of Pot-Limit Omaha Poker players across the Midwest and South recognize pot- limit Omaha (PLO) as by far the highest-stakes poker game in every casino in which it is spread. The reason is simple: with every player getting dealt four hole cards rather than two as in Hold'em, the drawing hands run so big that a 13-card straight draw is the standard, while 17-card and 20-card straight draws are possible; add a possible flush draw to go with it, and you've got monster draws that can be a favorite over even a set of trips. As a result, the line between the "made hand" and the "drawing hand" is blurred, and all-in confrontations between multiple players who rightfully believe they are entitled to the pot inevitably occur far more frequently than in hold'em. There's one drawback: Up until recently, PLO was spread mostly for nosebleed stakes, often with blinds of $5/$10/$25 and sometimes higher. But with the popularity and maturation of small-stakes no-limit hold'em, many poker players have made the natural transition to PLO. And as a result, smaller-stakes PLO games are popping up all across the riverboat states and beyond. In addition, mixed games featuring both no-limit hold'em and pot-limit Omaha or pot-limit Omaha hi and pot-limit Omaha hi/lo are becoming increasingly common is well. In short, the biggest game in town has become more accessi ble for the average player. And not only is PLO simply becoming too big of a game to ignore, but the natural attraction of action gamblers to Omaha often make these games too juicy to ignore. So whether you are a professional player or a recreational player with an interest in winning, now is the time to get in and profit from the action. Introduction xiii Introducing the Big Play Strategy for PLO The primary object of pot-limit Omaha is to win our oppo nent's entire stacks. That said, while the average player views PLO as a game of small edges, nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is that there are a variety of common big-pot situa tions where not only does one player usually have the other one smashed, but in some cases will be on a total freeroll. Our goal is to be the one on the dominant end when the big pots get played; this involves first recognizing what those big-pot situations are, and then identifying the hands that have the potential to put us in the position to get the edge in those spots. And then we play only the hands capable of winning the big pots. This is the big-play strategy. It all starts before the flop. While few hands in Omaha are as much as a 2:1 favorite over any other hand before the flop, they play quite differently after the flop. Everybody knows that A-A-K- K double-suited and A-A-J-T double-suited are the best hands in PLO, and that a four-card rundown like J-T-9-8 double-suited is nice. But what else is playable and why? Why is Q-J-T-7 single- suited often playable, while Q-9-8-7 double-suited usually isn't? Why is playable, but virtual trash? Why is it that a hand like 7-6-5-2 single-suited has much stronger big-play potential than a hand like K-5-2-2 double-suited? The truth is that—in a game where the big pots tend to revolve around the straight draws—there is a vast disparity between the hands that are capable of dominating the big pots when you hit the flop hard, and those that are more likely to either win a small pot or lose a big one. I am going to show you the difference, in what I believe to be the deepest look at starting-hand construction xiv Introduction yet. And when we are done with that, we will take a look at limit Omaha hi/lo and pot-limit Omaha hi/lo, and give you the tools you need to beat some of the most exciting and action-packed games around.

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