More of Cappelletti in New Orleans

At the Fall National Bridge Championships in New Orleans over Thanksgiving week, a large number of bridge players walked down Canal Street to Harrah's Casino. During the Bayou Classic weekend, the streets were filled with thousands of people celebrating the Grambling vs. Southern University football game, which was quite similar to the scene during Mardi Gras. I received a string of beads around my neck from one of four scantily clad ladies following a marching Dixieland band.

How is New Orleans poker different from the rest of the country?

One interesting difference in New Orleans is that they play Omaha high. Harrah's Casino in New Orleans no longer spreads Omaha eight-or-better!

Harrah's poker room frequently spreads one or two tables of $15-$30 Omaha high. They also typically have a $4-$8-$12-$12 Omaha high game that is action-packed. One afternoon while waiting for the $15-$30 game to start, I played for almost three hours without winning a pot. But by suppertime, I was a winner. They also have a "half and half" $2-$4-$8-$8 game, alternating one round of hold'em and one round of Omaha high – which probably serves as a nice introduction to Omaha for players who normally play low-limit hold'em.

In my Omaha high point-count system (see Page 203 of our new book, Poker at the Millennium), in a $15-$30 game, I recommend seeing the flop with hands that have 11 or more points. However, in the $4-$8-$12-$12 game, because of the huge potential payoff in the later rounds, good players (who know enough not to fish in after the flop with dubious hands) can afford to see the flop with most hands that have 9 points or more.

The $15-$30 Omaha high game at Harrah's was generally very lively, with an average of about five players seeing the flop. During one session, I had not been picking up any decent starting hands, so it appeared I was playing very tight. Then, I picked up pocket aces and two high cards, raised before the flop, and ended up winning a big pot with aces full. Then, I folded the next dozen hands. It was clear that I played only good hands.

Under the gun, I picked up a 7-6-5-4 wrap, double-suited. I raised, for three reasons: (1) to narrow the field and increase the value of my two low flush couples; (2) to make it more likely that my competition was playing high cards, thereby lessening the likelihood of low-card competition; and (3) to make it appear that I had high cards, which was consistent with my image. There were several fearless players in the game, and I got two callers in addition to the big blind.

In four-way action, the flop came Q-8-5 rainbow (three different suits). The big blind checked to me, and I bet $15. My opponents probably thought I liked the queen.

One of the preflop callers folded. The other preflop caller thought a bit before calling, although his normal tempo was to call smoothly. It was not clear what that meant. The big blind also called.

In three-way action, the turn card was the 5, which gave me trips and put two clubs on the board; I did not have clubs. The big blind checked to me, and it seemed clear to bet my trips.

The next player raised and the big blind folded. Did he really have a full boat? I had been watching him, and he seemed to be a good player. Was it time to make a discreet fold?

Since he had called my preflop raise, it seemed unlikely that he had a 5, unless he was also speculating with a low wrap. If he did have a full boat, it seemed more likely that it would be with pocket queens or eights. But that would be a bit unlikely, and he might have raised to pressure potential straights.

Then it occurred to me that he might be thinking the same things about my holdings. Since I was unlikely to hold a 5, maybe he was making a move on me. I called. I remember thinking to myself that I wouldn't be calling if this were pot-limit.

The river card was a 9. It made a low-end straight for me, which was probably not much better than my trips, since whenever there is a pair on board, it becomes mainly a full-house hand. I checked.

My opponent looked up at me and smiled as he drawled, "Well, I just got better; guess I hafta bet." There was something about the way he said "I just got better" that made me believe he was telling the truth. But what did it mean? Put yourself in my position and think about what he might be holding. Is it a "tell" when somebody actually tells you something?

I finally concluded that he was playing Q-J-10-8 and the 9 gave him a straight higher than mine (queen high versus my 9 high). If that was the case, I should fold and save myself $30. But I was so intrigued by the entire situation that I thought it was worth 30 bucks just to see what he actually had. So, I called.

My guess turned out to be very close. He had Q-J-9-8. He hadn't lied; his queens and eights (top two pair on the flop) had improved to queens and nines. I was almost surprised that I had the best hand after all. Perhaps one of the morals of this story is, don't say anything to make your opponent call out of curiosity when he might have you beat.