Maximizing Profit with the Nuts

editor's note: this article appeared in CardPlayer magazine in March 2008.

I now provide exclusive coaching videos for CardPlayer Pro, powered by PokerSavvy Plus. My columns will center on hands taken from my videos and will cover strategy concepts for success in Omaha and no-limit hold’em. As a Card Player reader, you’ll have access to clips of these hands and many others.

In one of my recent pot-limit Omaha videos, I was able to extract maximum value with the nuts by making sure that I did not represent the nuts. Although I was making the video in a small-stakes game, the lesson in this hand is applicable at all levels.

The under-the-gun player limped in and everyone folded to me on the button. I decided to limp, as well, with four straight cards in position. This was a medium strength hand that would not have been playable from early position. Had either of the blinds raised the pot, I would have folded. The small blind called, as well.

The flop came A♥ K♥ 8♣, giving me the nut-flush draw, a pair of eights, and a gutshot-straight draw. With 14 outs with two cards to come, my hand had roughly a 51 percent chance to improve to the winning hand. After the small blind checked, the big blind made a pot-sized bet of $8 and the limper folded. I decided to raise the pot here, knowing that if I did get called or raised, I’d be willing get all the money in. The small blind folded and the big blind just called, bringing the pot to $69.

The turn was the 2♥, giving me the nut flush. The big blind immediately led out with a pot-sized bet. Based on his strong bet into me, I was certain that he had made a smaller flush. Also, there was a good chance that he thought I had raised the flop with top two pair or a set.

Now, I had to decide how I was going to stack him. If I raised, I essentially would be telling him that I had the nuts, and I risked him folding a weaker flush. Even at these low stakes, some pIayers are good enough to fold a low flush to such a sign of strength. I let my time bank run down a bit, as if I was facing a difficult decision. I wanted him to think I had a set or perhaps a small flush myself, and was pondering whether to call this big turn bet. I decided to just call and hope that the board did not pair, primarily because I was representing a set and a paired board could prevent me from stacking him on the river.

The river card was perfect, the 4♠. I expected my opponent to move all in for his remaining $106, and was shocked when he checked it to me. Nevertheless, I moved in, and he called after a few seconds with a jack-high flush.

One of the keys to pot-limit Omaha is getting second and third-nut hands to pay you off when you have the goods. These situations arise much more frequently than in hold’em. Had I moved in on the turn, I do not think he would have paid me off. By going into the tank and just flat-calling, it gave him hope that I had a hand he could beat. ♠