The Trouble with Cold 4-Betting in PLO
Villain is an excellent NLHE player and surely competent enough to read my hand and play well in this spot. I feel like there are no just good options with my hand on a flop like this because it’s essentially face up.
PokerStars Pot-Limit Omaha High, $2 BB (5 handed) Hand History converter
UTG ($970.25)
MP ($192.75)
Button ($419.30)
Hero ($500.10)
BB ($154.15)
Preflop: Hero is SB with Tc, Ah, Jc, As.
UTG raises to $8, MP calls $8, Button raises to $24, Hero raises to $92, 1 fold, UTG folds, MP folds, Button calls $68.
Flop: ($202.40) 8d, 3c, 2h (2 players)
There’s about $320 left in the effective stacks, and I’m really lost about what to do here. My hand looks exactly like what it is, and on a board like this there’s virtually no way for me to have any kind of draw to back up a bare AA.
At the same time, this is a ridiculously tough spot to balance my pre-flop 4-betting range. I guess I could just not 4-bet at all, but I’m getting like 1/4 of the effective stacks in pre-flop and I’ve got good Aces, so I’m giving up a lot of pre-flop value if I go that route.
Against a really good opponent, though, I think I’m going to be behind when money goes in post-flop. Bet-folding is theoretically exploitable, but maybe best anyway?
February 9th, 2011 - 05:50
The flop is as good as it can get in this situation. There is nothing to worry about, no possible wraps (except 6543, which is rarely in that spot, you are flipping against it), rundowns with 8 will make a crying call to flip with your aces, rundowns like 89JT are in worse shape. Kings are crushed, middle rundowns are crushed, no flush draws, you got backdoor clubs as well.
My guess is that you have great equity against his cold call on this flop and you should pot it and get it over with. It is very possible thinking villain got aces too, because you are both deep and he might’ve played weaker aces like that.
So all in all, you are a good favourite to take down the pot. Any 88, 33, 22 combinations are rarely there and should be deemed as a cooler.
February 9th, 2011 - 05:56
Also, that thing with “Villain is an excellent NLHE player and surely competent enough to read my hand” is completely irrelevant in PLO. It’s a tottally different game and you shouldn’t be worried your hand is face up in a low stack-to-pot ratio. You’ve played your hand straight-forwardly, it’s a simple pump-n-shove on that flop. If you want to be an uber PLO 6-maxer you should balance your oop and button 4-bet range, when you are both deep. Problem with 4-betting rundowns is that you don’t wanna be 5-bet by TAG stupid opponents who will shove any aces in any spot. But versus thinking opponents 4-betting with rundowns OOP is a good idea since they might just flat weak aces or kings pre.