PLO Pimpin'

What's up Degens? 

It's been a few weeks since I wrote something, but it's certainly not for lack of stuff to talk about. I've been working on building a website with a good friend of mine, and mainly just enjoying the ridiculous weather we've had here in CO so far this summer. I've been playing a bunch of Golf and trading poker lessons with a pro that lives in Denver, and I can already see a lot of improvements in my game. I had a coach last summer too, but I like this one a lot more. First, he noticed that I've been gripping it the wrong way since I was basically 8 years old, and I was really surprised that nobody else had told me to change it. It was causing me to block a ton of my shots, especially with the longer clubs. Hopefully I'll be consistently in the 70's by the end of the summer! 

Tomorrow night I'm going to Red Rocks to see MGMT. I've heard they suck in concert, but I really like a few of their songs, and I'll generally use any reason to go visit Red Rocks whenever I can. If anybody comes to CO, one of the things you absolutely have to do is check out Red Rocks. IMO it's the best outdoor venue in the nation, but you really have to just experience it for yourself. It feels like you're on Mars when you're there! I've seen 311 there a couple of times now, and the concerts literally are hypnotizing. Here's the website if you want to scope some pictures. http://www.redrocksonline.com/

I've been playing a little poker the last couple of days. It seems like the last six weeks I've been trying to avoid playing poker as much as possible because, well, frankly I was pretty burnt out. It's funny because if you would've told me a few years ago that someday I'd get sick of watching poker videos, teaching people how to play poker, writing about poker, and playing poker myself, I would've thought you were just talking nonsense. But honestly I can see why some guys (even the most successful ones) just plain don't feel like playing anymore, and it obviously doesn't help that I was gettin' kind of rocked every time I played. 

Nevertheless, I've had a lot of fun the last few times I've logged some hands, especially last night. I played against a guy who was just completely going off (86/66/49%3b). It spurred me to write down my thoughts on the proper adjustments you're supposed to make against players like that, especially when you get deep, because in PLO you'll very frequently find yourself super deep with guys who are really going off, so if you don't know how to adjust you're leaving a lot of money on the table. I've heard people say that when they get deep, they just leave because they're clueless how to play when stacks are deeper. I don't know about you, but I want to figure it out so I can play those spots better than my opponents! And plus, who doesn't like winning monstrous pots? I'm going to post some hands and some thoughts on how we're supposed to optimally adjust to these guys, and I think it'd be cool to get some input on my thought process as well. 

Ok, so this was the biggest one we played, and I don't really see any other way to play it. Turn is kinda nasty but against someone who's range is 40% 3b, it doesn't scare me nearly as much as someone with a solid 3b'ing range. The question on this hand is what I do on a variety of rivers if I don't improve and he bets 400. How do y'all go about thinking these through?  I didn't mention it above, but I'd like to point out that he was also cb'ing 95%, and folding to 35% of cb's. Aggression factor was 5'ish, so he was just complete spew monkey. Other read I had was he half potted when he was b/f'ing, and then full potted if he had the stones or was looking to continue. c/c'ing range was mostly medium strength hands, but actually seemed to donk a fairly balanced range. 

Full Tilt Poker $2/$4 Pot Limit Omaha Hi - 6 players - View hand 747424

The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

BB: $1476.80
UTG: $400.00
MP: $468.00
CO: $517.00
Hero (BTN): $834.00
SB: $472.30

Pre Flop: ($6.00) Hero is BTN with J 5 8 A
3 folds, Hero raises to $8, 1 fold, BB raises to $26, Hero calls $18

Flop: ($54.00) 5 K A (2 players)
BB bets $54, Hero calls $54

Turn: ($162.00) T (2 players)
BB bets $162, Hero calls $162

River: ($486.00) 5 (2 players)
BB bets $400, Hero raises to $592 all in, BB folds

Final Pot: $1286.00
Hero wins $1283.00
(Rake: $3.00)

This is one of the last pots we played, but I think it's standard. Most people I would probably just peel and play MW with shitty kings, but I think there's way more value in playing a maniac like this HU in position rather than restricting myself to flopping well in a MW pot. Standard I guess. 

Full Tilt Poker $3/$6 Pot Limit Omaha Hi - 6 players - View hand 747429

The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

SB: $891.00
BB: $789.90
UTG: $600.00
MP: $3332.85
Hero (CO): $600.00
BTN: $600.00

Pre Flop: ($9.00) Hero is CO with 3 9 K K
UTG raises to $21, 1 fold, Hero raises to $72, 3 folds, UTG calls $51

Flop: ($153.00) K 9 7 (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets $145, UTG raises to $528 all in, Hero calls $383 all in

Turn: ($1209.00) 5 (2 players - 2 are all in)

River: ($1209.00) A (2 players - 2 are all in)

Final Pot: $1209.00
UTG shows K A T 6 (two pair, Aces and Kings)
Hero shows 3 9 K K (three of a kind, Kings)
Hero wins $1206.00
(Rake: $3.00)

I go back and forth on this hand. On the one hand, people rarely c/r the turn without the stones on boards like these, but on the other he's really spewy bad, and if he doesn't have a 4 then I still have enough equity to continue. I also thought sometimes he would c/r and then c/f the river if he missed. What do y'all think? 

Full Tilt Poker $2/$4 Pot Limit Omaha Hi - 6 players - View hand 747434
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

BB: $342.60
UTG: $470.00
MP: $400.00
CO: $258.00
Hero (BTN): $400.00
SB: $487.50

Pre Flop: ($6.00) Hero is BTN with 7 K 3 6
3 folds, Hero raises to $8, 1 fold, BB calls $4

Flop: ($18.00) 5 4 J (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $12, BB calls $12

Turn: ($42.00) 4 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $42, BB raises to $105, Hero calls $63

River: ($252.00) 8 (2 players)
BB bets $217.60 all in, Hero calls $217.60

Final Pot: $687.20
BB shows 8 3 4 7 (a full house, Fours full of Eights)
Hero mucks 7 K 3 6
BB wins $684.20
(Rake: $3.00)

This hand highlights where I have trouble against maniacs. I don't feel comfortable when I'm basically at the mercy of the deck to improve my hand, and I'm forced to just call and hope I get there. Plus if a spade rolls off it could be reverse implied, but since he's 3b'ing and going off so bad I don't see how a fold could be right. Is there anything else I can do in this hand?

Full Tilt Poker $2/$4 Pot Limit Omaha Hi - 6 players - View hand 747440

The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

BB: $1427.30
UTG: $786.70
MP: $1206.00
CO: $541.80
Hero (BTN): $1184.00
SB: $400.00

Pre Flop: ($6.00) Hero is BTN with 5 7 8 3
3 folds, Hero raises to $8, 1 fold, BB raises to $26, Hero calls $18

Flop: ($54.00) A J 3 (2 players)
BB bets $54, Hero calls $54

Turn: ($162.00) 4 (2 players)
BB bets $162, Hero calls $162

River: ($486.00) A (2 players)
BB bets $310, Hero folds

Final Pot: $486.00
BB wins $483.00
(Rake: $3.00)

This hand highlights the same problem I was talking about above. I figured that calling sucked because since he auto barrels pot almost always, and it's going to be tough for me to play on the turn when the pot is much bigger. So if I'm going to bluff, I figured it'd be better to do it on the flop instead of allowing him to pot commit himself on the turn to a re-raise or something. Do you think this is a terrible board to bluff against said opponent? 

Full Tilt Poker $2/$4 Pot Limit Omaha Hi - 6 players - View hand 747444

The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

BB: $1603.30
UTG: $841.70
MP: $1264.50
CO: $531.80
Hero (BTN): $861.00
SB: $429.00

Pre Flop: ($6.00) Hero is BTN with 8 3 5 A
3 folds, Hero raises to $8, 1 fold, BB raises to $26, Hero calls $18

Flop: ($54.00) 7 J 8 (2 players)
BB bets $54, Hero raises to $180, BB calls $126

Turn: ($414.00) 4 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks

River: ($414.00) 4 (2 players)
BB bets $414, Hero folds

Final Pot: $414.00
BB wins $411.00
(Rake: $3.00)

Thought I played this hand pretty well, and he basically was betting pot anytime someone showed weakness, so I figured if I check he'll be potting a lot. Against a check back range I'm crushing him anyway so the risk of getting it checked through is worth the reward of the times I get to c/r' and force him to call with something like he did. 

Full Tilt Poker $2/$4 Pot Limit Omaha Hi - 6 players - View hand 747461
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

MP: $2185.80
CO: $400.00
BTN: $400.00
SB: $917.00
Hero (BB): $1387.00
UTG: $400.00

Pre Flop: ($6.00) Hero is BB with 8 K 7 2
1 fold, MP calls $4, 3 folds, Hero checks

Flop: ($10.00) 5 8 K (2 players)
Hero bets $10, MP calls $10

Turn: ($30.00) T (2 players)
Hero checks, MP bets $30, Hero raises to $120, MP calls $90

River: ($270.00) 5 (2 players)
Hero checks, MP checks

Final Pot: $270.00
MP shows 4 J 3 3 (a flush, King high)
Hero shows 8 K 7 2 (two pair, Kings and Eights)
MP wins $267.00
(Rake: $3.00)

I considered 4b'ing this.. Thoughts? It's going to play way better HU than 3-way... And it's smooth as shit. 

Full Tilt Poker $2/$4 Pot Limit Omaha Hi - 5 players - View hand 747473
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

SB: $1681.00
BB: $787.00
UTG: $543.00
Hero (CO): $1286.00
BTN: $400.00

Pre Flop: ($6.00) Hero is CO with K 2 Q 5
1 fold, Hero raises to $8, BTN calls $8, SB raises to $36, 1 fold

Final Pot: $28.00

Anyways, I'd like to hear what peoples thoughts are for adjusting to maniacs (particularly deep). Randoms:

-Especially when we're deep, 4b'ing ranges for Villain become pretty important. What I've found to work in the past is 3b'ing smaller than pot in position because they can't 4b as big as they could when you full pot 3b, so it keeps the SPR in your favor more and allows you to play poker against them. Additionally, when people 4b, they tend to pot basically any pot (even when deep, which is a huge mistake), so you're basically getting the same implied odds but for a cheaper price. This Villain wasn't 4b'ing very much, so I think it's best to just 3b wider with smooth hands and force him to make mistakes in big pots. 

-Truthfully I think pre-flop stuff for maniacs is relatively straight forward, but post-flop is where I seem to have the most trouble. Obviously it depends on the level of maniac you're dealing with, but like I said as I get more than 200bb's deep I find myself getting in awkward situations.

Overall, I ended up winning some money off of this guy, but I think I could've played much better. In general there were just a bunch of spots I noticed where I was uncomfortable, and I thought it might lead to some good discussion of ways to take advantage of psychos who have a lot of money. 

Holler!

John