Sometimes in poker when things do not go smoothly, it can feel like walking with two left feet. That is exactly what happened to me with two separate hands from a couple of recent sessions. The important note is to draw the correct lesson rather than draw an incorrect takeaway which could do more harm than good in the future.
The first hand came in $5 pot-limit bomb pot Drawmaha 49. In this game, every player antes $5, and there is no preflop betting. Everyone gets dealt five cards, and half the pot is awarded to the best traditional Omaha hand, and the other half to the most pips in the hole.
Face cards are 0, aces are 1, and other cards count for number value. Since each player is dealt five cards, the maximum pip count attainable is 10-10-10-10-9 for a ceiling of 49 points. Additionally, since the game is Drawmaha, each player may draw post-flop.
Hand No. 1
Seven players were dealt in, so we took a flop of K-5-2 rainbow with $35 in it. My holding was 9-8-8-Q-3 on the button, which was rather formidable since I have 26 points, two cards to draw, plus I’m last to act.
Everyone checked, so I potted for $35 and was called by a pro (who has a mixed game bracelet) as well as a recreational player. They drew two and three cards each. I threw away my queen and three, adding a six and a seven for a total of 38 (9-8-8-7-6).
The turn was the 10♥, adding a heart draw to my hand. The first player checked, and the rec potted for $140. I called, and the other player folded making the pot $420.
The river paired the 10, and opponent checked. I felt comfortable that I most likely had at least half the pot locked up with my points, and I had never seen this player check-raise in any spot. I thought a check-raise was unlikely and that if he did, his hand was likely built around the tens as he bet out after the draw, and then got tricky on the river.
Alternatively, if he had a busted draw like A-Q-Q-J with hearts, he may fold half the pot if I bet out. We were over $850 deep with $420 in the pot, so I considered what type of bet could win me the $210 that didn’t belong to me.
I announced $200, and before my chips even hit the felt, my opponent check-raised all-in. I thought for a moment before deciding a 10 with more points was most of his range, and folded.
He promptly tabled K-K-J-J-Q, so I got myself blown off half a pot for maximum loss and pain! Awesome.
Hand No. 2
Later that week, I found myself in $5 double board five-card PLO bomb pot on the button with A♣ 9x 7♣ 4x 3x. Seven players were dealt in, so the pot was $35 when flops of Q-10-2 rainbow and A-7-3 with two clubs came down.
It checked to me, and I fired full pot of $35. I was a little surprised when four players called, bloating the pot to $210.
The turns made the boards Q-10-2-5 and A-7-3-4.
The five helped tremendously as I added a wrap on a board I was previously dead on, but the four wasn’t very beneficial. It checked to me, and I happily took free cards.
The rivers made the boards Q-10-2-5-10 and A-7-3-4-8. The first river paired the 10, and the second was the 8♣ completing my nut flush.
The first two opponents checked, and the third player fired out $125. The next player folded, and I had to contemplate if it was better to raise or flat. A raise would only be beneficial if I could get value from the bettor, and a flat would be better to induce action behind me.
Since I held the A♣, I thought it was most likely that the bettor was betting strength on the other board which had paired. As such, I was expecting some kind of full house combination. Alternatively, if he did have a lower flush, he would most likely have my A-9 high beat on the other board and split with me if he called my raise.
All things considered, I decided the most profitable play would be to flat call and hope I got action behind.
After I called, the next player sighed and tanked, and finally folded (he told me afterwards he mucked a king-high flush, and I believed him). The next opponent folded, and the bettor said, “You probably scoop,” as he sheepishly tabled 8-8-K-J-9 with no clubs, which of course I split with since I couldn’t beat 8-8 on the other board.
This was incredibly frustrating, as had I simply elected to even minraise with my nut flush, I would have collected his $125 plus the $210 in the middle ($40 of which was mine) which would have profited me $295. As played, we split the $125 action on the river, and I collected half the $210 for $105, $40 of which was still mine for a mere profit of $65.
The Takeaway
As I reflected on it, I couldn’t help but notice it was the exact opposite situation of what occurred in the other game, and again I achieved the result of maximum loss and pain. This time, I got there by taking the passive route hoping to keep people in whereas before I got there by aggressively trying to drive an opponent out. However, let’s analyze the lesson each hand truly offers.
In the first, I correctly analyzed that I was risking $200 to win $205, so I only needed just under 50% success to be profitable. Additionally, my loss is when I value bet myself or get blown off my hand.
What I failed to consider was if my opponent check-raised, what I would do about it. It wasn’t very likely, but I at least would have been prepared if and when push came to shove. Not considering it was a lesson I could learn from for next time around.
Now, on the other hand, I profited $65 instead of $295, and my play allowed for a king high flush to at least consider calling even though he did eventually find a fold. How often would a bettor in that spot go kamikaze into four opponents? Honestly, I’d be surprised if it happened even 5% of the time as it is such a risky play on that river knowing there’s five-way action and the flopped flush draw indeed got there.
So, I think I made a sound decision that happened to not work out. And making sure the right lesson is taken away is how to improve our analysis for the next time a similar spot arises, regardless of the pain of the moment.
Mark Mazmanian has been a mixed-game specialist for more than two decades playing in games all over the country. The Las Vegas resident can be reached on Instagram @mazsterfulpoker or by email at markmaz17@hotmail.com.
