Two Ways are Better Than One

Playing in a sevenhanded, tough, and aggressive Omaha high-low game, I was in the $50 big blind and picked up a 7-6-6-3 with two clubs.

A frequent preflop raiser raised to $100; everyone folded around to me. I chose to defend, although I realized that this kind of hand has a great deal of second-best potential.

I got a good flop, Q-5-2 with two clubs. So, I had some low prospects (although far from the nuts), a flush draw, a gutshot-straight draw, and a pair of sixes.

When heads up, there is something to be said for betting out, to see if the opponent folds, calls, or raises – just for the information, which might be valuable in the future. But since this particular opponent was 100 percent certain to bet and likely to raise, I checked and let him bet the $50. Calling seemed clear to me.

The turn card was the 7, which gave me a low flush and the fifth-best low. Either could easily be second best. I checked and he bet the $100, as expected. What would you do in this situation?

With most (less aggressive) opponents, I would merely call and hope to win at least half the pot. But with this very aggressive opponent who would be betting with virtually anything, I judged that I was unlikely to lose both ways. Otherwise put, it was much more likely that I was now winning both ways than losing both ways. Therefore, I backed my judgment by raising $100. He mulled things over a bit before he called. My judgment was that he was not acting.

The river card was the J, which changed nothing. I pressed and bet the final $100. He called with his A-2-8-J. I had him beat both ways for a nice win without great cards. Playing tight, aggressive Omaha high-low is much like playing tight, aggressive hold'em (both are usually played at higher stakes). You frequently find yourself in a "poker" situation in which you make "thin" value bets to increase your winnings.

One interesting note about defending your blind with this sort of hand is that if you run Mike Caro's Poker Probe with four connected medium-low cards that include a pair against a preflop raising hand such as A-2 and two facecards, it is very close. The typical raising hand wins only about 51 percent or 52 percent of the time!

Defending your blind can be quite profitable against an aggressive preflop raiser who will usually persist with trying to win the hand. You must have a nice edge if you can get paid off whenever you hit a good flop.