Party bonus and Omaha 8/b

Had a 15% to $75 offer from Party, so I decided to play some Omaha 8 or better for a change of pace. I want to learn (or get better at) other games, so I may do this with other bonus offers. It gives me a liitle more leeway to make mistakes in games I don't have much experience in.

I have played Omaha 8/b before, and I don't think I suck at it. I did some book and Card Player article review as I went along, so I think my play will continue to improve.

Started off pretty well, with small wins the first couple of sessions. There are many bad players at the .50/1.00 level, and Omaha doesn't lend itself to chasing like Hold'em does. Chasing the 3rd nut low when someone else is drawing to the nut low and nut flush is not gonna work out for the bad player. Assuming a good player is only starting with premium hands, it seems to be much harder for bad players to suck out on you in Omaha 8/b.

Unfortunately, I hit a bad streak over the last few hours I played. Kept getting great starting hands that would miss the flop completely. In my limited Omaha 8/b experience, it seems like bad sessions are the result of having lots of premium hands that just seems to miss the flop each time. I thought I did well by not chasing when I did miss the flop, but it did kinda suck folding hands like ah 2d 3h 6d over and over after the flop would come the exact opposite of what I wanted to see. Omaha is not a game to chase in, so I tried to stay patient and wait for the flop to connect with a hand I could scoop with. When 4 tabling, just one extra scooped pot an hour can make the difference between a winning or losing session.

Anyway, thanks to the bonus, I did manage to cash out $30 more than I deposited.

It would have been nice to actually finish ahead at the tables, but that's poker.

Bad connection and moving up

OK-annoying delays tonight while 4 tabling on UB. Not sure if it's UB or me, so I switched from wireless laptop to wired PC. May have been UB, as I had trouble on the other PC too. Seems to have gotten better.

I've been thinking about when I will move up. Decided I want a fairly aggressive schedule, so I won't wait to acccumulate the normal 300 bets for each level (but I will move back down if I hit an early bad run) . Bankroll will include both winnings at the table and bonuses.

I will move to $1/2 when the bankroll reaches $400. If I drop back to $300, I'll move back down to .50/1.00

I will move to $2/4 when the bankroll reaches $800. If I drop back to $400, I'll move back down to $1/2.

I will move to $5/10 when the bankroll reaches $2000. If I drop back to $800, I'll move back down to $2/4.

That's a good start. Hopefully I will be adding to this schedule at a future date.

Chase An Ace

Occasionally, I will comment on certain playing styles I run across. The lower the limit I'm playing, the less complicated the comment will probably be.

Playing at the .50/1.00 level, there is a good chance your table will contain a player who will make what I consider the worst play in poker. That's the 'Chase An Ace' technique.

Here's how it works: someone raises, someone else cold calls, then the 'Chase An Ace' guy (CAA) cold calls with a5o. If a 5 comes on the flop, CAA is calling all the way. If an ace comes on the flop, CAA is calling all the way. If neither an ace or a 5 comes on the flop, CAA is calling all the way, trying to catch that ace. He may fold if the river doesn't bring either card, but there is a chance he will call with ace high if there is only one other person left in the hand.

It's pretty easy to determine when someone is playing like this, but I still see people call the CAA down with a pair of tens after an ace comes on the turn and the CAA suddenly comes out betting. Here's last nights example:

The CAA limps in early position, I raise in MP with QQ, and get called by the button. Both blinds fold. The CAA of course calls the raise.

The flop comes 8d 7c 2s.

CAA checks, I bet, the button calls, CAA calls.

The turn is the ace of hearts.

CAA comes out betting into two opponents. For a CAA, it's not a bluff, he's got at least a pair of aces. Most CAA bets match their cards, not much bluffing. If they raise the turn, you better have more than an overpair. If an ace comes and they bet, you better be able to beat a pair of aces, or at least have a draw.

I fold my queens.

The button calls.

The river is a blank. CAA bets, button calls.

CAA turns over a4o and wins the hand with a pair of aces.

The button has to fold earlier if he can't beat a pair of aces. It's a classic 'talking to your monitor' moment. I find myself telling my wife (and the computer screen), "He made a pair of aces, if you can't beat that...fold!" But plenty of players won't, especially at the .50/1.00 level.

Note on CAA: "Any ace..chase an ace..confirmed"
Note on Button: "Calling station. Any pair?"

If I could play against one player, it would be the guy who will call a turn bet hoping to catch an ace.

Against tricky players, that ace coming on the turn can be a scare card to be used to their advantage.

Against the 'Chase An Ace' guy, it's not a scare card. You're dead..so unless you have the odds to draw to something better than aces...fold.

The plan

Played poker online as high as $5/10 limit, $33 SNG, dabbled in tournaments and NL cash games. Limit seems to be my best game, so I'm gonna concentrate on that, but I'll throw in some other games too.

Taking part of my bankroll ($250) and seeing how far I can progress through limits. No plans to play any certain number of hours per week, we'll see how it goes. Just a casual project to apply what I've learned over a few years of playing poker and blog as I go along.

There will be bonus whoring, but I'll be mainly sticking to sites I like to play on.

Started at .50/1 limit on Ultimate Bet about a month ago and am up around $50 since I started, with a few extra bucks due to working off a small part of the gazillion bonus dollars I have on UB.

Usually play 3 or 4 tables at a time.

Love the UB mini-view interface. Only wish you could tell when you have a note on somebody, like you can with the full screen view.

Love the resizeable tables on Party. As soon as PokerStars gets their rumoured resizeable tables, I'll probably do most of my playing there. The PokerStars VIP program is pretty cool.