Luck Begets Authority

He who most recently went on a rush is always most qualified to provide didactic commentary on how the game should be played. This is a golden rule of poker, and who am I to ignore such a long-standing fixture of the game?

So yeah, I had a good night playing 5-handed Pillow at a house game last night. And yeah, I damn sure do think that qualifies me to post authoritatively on the keys to the game.

Truth is, I pulled out a few miracles to win a couple of monster pots. In the first one, I was exposed as a liar, having said before the play started that I would lay down the second nuts if I was bet into on the river (you say these ridiculous things after having 2nd nuts not hold some 4-5 times in a given Pillow session). I held K-6-x-x, the flop came 4-K-K, it checked to me, I led out and got one OOP caller. The turn brought a 10, and my opponent led out this time. It smelled an awful lot like a boat, a lot like K-10 or 10-10. I called and the river brought a 6, and I had the second nuts. My opponent led into me, but I couldn't keep my promise, and I sucked out on the river to trump his K-4 flopped boat. Come on, you can't hold someone to an absurd promise like that!

In the biggest one, I picked up Ac-Ad-10d-5d the SB, got into a repotting war and ended up all-in against 3 other players. Now this being Omaha, I don't care what your hand is, if you have 3 opponents, you're never going to have much better than a 25-30% chance of taking it down. And frankly, I hated my 5-10 kickers. But the board laid out a lovely 5-5-10, and my non Ace cards took down a huge pot to put me up to ~$300.

In a second huge pot, holding As-Jh-10h-3d, I flopped Broadway on a board with 2 clubs. After raising the flop and carrying 2 players with me, I repotted on a blank, non-club turn for $110. One player folded, and the other tanked for a while and then called. The river put out the 8 of clubs, and thankfully it was checked to me. By a stroke of luck, the club draw had folded the turn bet while the set (of Kings) had called. How often does the straight hold up against the flush draw and the full house draw in these situations?

So yeah, it was largely luck, but there are some things I'm learning about this game...

1. Starting hand selection. This is especially key because so many inexperienced players get involved with weak hands that are likely to have them playing to 2-pair, non-nut straights, and non-nut flushes. These aren't bad hands, but they also aren't the hands that win really big pots in Omaha. I'm throwing away small and mid pairs if nothing else is suited or connected. Drawing to just a set, and a low one at that, is a losing venture. I'm throwing away suited cards if it's only two of them. 2h-6s-10c-Jc....garbage. Also, not getting overly excited about pocket aces. It may be good for a raise PF, but if you end up with 2 or more players and you miss the flop, you have to slow way down.
2. At low stakes, playing against relatively inexperienced players, bluffing is not a profitable venture unless it's on the river, because there are just too many draws out, no matter how the board reads. Conversely, value betting is key.
3. You have to bet your draws, because if you don't, it will be plain as day when you hit your hand, and you won't get paid off. With this said, I don't think you have to raise a bettor when you're on a draw, since it's a risky venture and you're unlikely to cause the bettor to fold.
4. There is so much drawing and redrawing, and so much of it based on luck, that you have to be extra tilt conscious. It's a swingy game. I had my upswing last night, but I fully expect it to go the other way next time.