Finding the fold button

Pot Limit Omaha / Marcus Bateman / 28 May 2010 / Leave a Comment

The money you don't lose is just as important as the money you win in poker, and these situations add up to a fortune against weak players.

Most of the money you make in all forms of poker actually comes through folding. By discarding junk hands, you put your self in a position to frequently be ahead of those people playing poor hands, which over the long run turns to profit. In Omaha this concept is a little more complex than it is in a game like Hold'em - where the strength of your hand is much more important pre flop - but it is still fundamental to winning in PLO.

Against weak players you can play many more hands in PLO than you can in Hold'em pre flop. This is because PLO is a game much more reliant on skilled post flop play, and a player who understands relative hand strength and which boards to attack/shut down on, can make up the little equity they lose pre flop later in the hand. That being said, a good portion of the money made by a skilled player comes from being able to fold easily in situations where weak players lose bets.

A great example of this is in playing small flushes. Good PLO players have no problem letting go of small flushes in all manner of different situations. Although appearing a strong hand post flop (much like the deceptive hands of Hold'em - such as weak aces or hands like king jack - appear to be pre flop), they are frequently a hand that will cost you a fortune if you cannot identify when to fold them. The money you don't lose is just as important as the money you win in poker, and these situations add up to a fortune against weak players.

If you are used to Hold'em you generally have to shift your thinking and play to a much more post flop orientated style in PLO. Generally when you hit a big hand on the flop in Hold'em you have to go with it, but in PLO this is not the case, and many 'strong' hands are quite easy folds in the face of the right action/boards. These folds are crucial to outrunning your opponent's in the long run, and it is essential to think carefully about quite how strong your hand really is - it may be that a lot of the coolers you seem to keep running into are anything but.

Variance in Pot Limit Omaha
Omaha Week: Part One - An Introduction
The importance of three betting in PLO