I played some round-n-round $1/$2 NLHE/PLO at a local poker house last night, and frittered away 2 buy-ins. There were 2 big hands, and neither was played all that badly on my part, just standard PLO variance. The disappointing part was that I lost both buy-ins to the one guy at the table who is a known super-fish. This is basically the guy that everyone at the table has their sights set on. The best indication of this guy's rep is that the guy who runs the game will send out texts advertising whenever this fishy dude is at the table, knowing it will draw out a bunch of people who want a shot at him. I'm sure that the rest of the table was doubly frothy at the sight of his stack climbing up towards the ceiling as he took pot after pot away from me.
In the first big hand, I was holding a relatively weak AA69 hand, with one Ace suited in spades. I was UTG+1 and just limped for $2. Next to act raised to $10, one MP player called, and Donkasaurus repotted to $45. I only had $135 total, so now I was in a position to repot and basically get it all-in, knowing that I was probably in the lead. So, I repopped to $115, and it folded to the Donk, who called. Flop came 6-7-J with 2 spades, I put in my last $18, villain called, turned down my offer to run it multiple times, and then it ran out 2-5, no spades. I announced my unimproved AA, and the Donk stared at his hand for a second and announced his rivered 2-pair, 5s and 7s. He got it in with 4-5-7-8, single-suited. C'est PLO.
Second hand was equally standard. I raised from EP with a pretty 9c-9h-Ts-Jh, got re-raised to $35 by the same dude, called, saw a nice 7x-8c-Qc flop, and got it in on the flop. Villain had flopped 2-pair, Qs and 8s, and I had a wrap, with 12 straight outs. I bricked again and was busto.
No problem with my play, like I said, just basic PLO variance. Now, in the course of this session, I got to thinking about one of the most difficult holdings to play in PLO - flopped 2-pair hands. Generally, 2-pair is the bare minimum made hand that merits continuing beyond the flop in PLO. Now the situations that arise are more numerous than can be analyzed here, so I'll focus on one specific spot - flopping top 2-pair or top and bottom pair (with no other draws) from early position.
Flopping top 2 or top and bottom from EP is very tough to play. I am assuming a hand that does not have any other straight or flush draws, meaning that your hand is very unlikely to improve. The first dilemma is whether or not to lead out on the flop. I would say that it's a toss-up, and depends on a number of factors:
- The aggressiveness of your opponents. If you are likely to get raised, then you are probably better off checking with the intention of calling and trying to fade an ugly turn card. A two-pair hand with no draws really can't stand a raise, so if you think a raise is likely, you can't lead the flop.
- The number of opponents. In a big multiway pot, I would be more likely to bet, so as to thin the ranks, get value from drawing hands. Any free card in a big multiway pot is likely to make someone's hand better than yours, or allow hands that miss the flop to pick up backdoor draws. Against 2 or 3 opponents, I'm more comfortable giving up a free card, since there are fewer hands to sweat out. You might be missing out on value by checking in this spot, but that must be weighed against the risk of being check-raised, and the fact that 2-pair is not a strong enough hand to fire 3 barrels, and therefore you are faced with the prospect of checking into your opponents on future streets, and having to make tough decisions if you are bet into after checking.
- Board texture. On any flop that contains a made straight (needless to say for a made flush), I very likely won't lead out, unless it's heads-up. The strength of a 2-pair hand is greatly reduced on any board where there are multiple ways to hold a made straight, and I'd be inclined to check-fold.
You are looking for a somewhat dry flop to lead on - one where the draws are limited and transparent. You don't want to fire on a flop that contains both flush draws and straight draws, because you will have a hard time on later streets determining if your opponents have hit their draws. Thus, I might fire on a Ks-8c-2s flop with K-8, since I am likely getting called by a spade draw or K-2, but I would check on a Ks-8c-7s board, since the combination of flush and straight draws is too great.
If the flop is totally dry (rainbow, no straight draws), you are very likely to either take it down (a good result), or get a worse 2-pair to call (very good result). If you are raised, you are likely facing a set and can fold.
The next question is, if you plan to lead out, how much should you bet? I like to bet about 2/3 of the pot. A full pot bet is a mistake, especially from OOP, since it unnecessarily bloats the pot and opens you up to larger-sized raises. Anything smaller than 2/3, and you are giving a decent price to backdoor draws, which are hard to read.
The main problem with playing 2-pair from OOP is that it is usually a mistake to fire multiple barrels, since 2-pair is a mediocre holding in PLO. But, you telegraph the weakness of your holding if you check the turn after betting the flop. Good opponents will pick up on this and blow you off of your hand on the turn. Since you are looking at getting at most 2 streets of value, you have to carefully evaluate how to do so. If you are inclined to put your opponent on a flush draw, you are most likely to get 2 streets of value (assuming the flush doesn't get there) by betting the flop and turn, then checking the river. You are most likely to get 2 streets of value from a worse 2-pair hand by either betting the flop/river or the turn/river. If your opponent is aggressive, you can consider just betting either the flop or turn, and then check/calling the river. Of course, getting value on the river is dependent on the board bricking out. Any flush or obvious straight cards, and you basically have to shut it down and check/fold.
The key thing to realize is that 2-pair is a weak holding, even top 2, and we should always be willing to toss it away when facing any big-time action. We play hands in PLO to flop sets, boats, and big straight and flush draws. When we flop 2-pair, we should be happy to win a small pot, and we should be hesitant to make it anything other than a small pot.
Anybody have any disputes with this way of playing 2-pair? Any general approach people take with the holding from OOP?
1 comment:
I completely agree with one of your final sentences, about wanting to keep it a small pot. I will pretty much never lead out on the flop with 2 pair, even if it's top 2 pair (unless I'm in a heads up situation). I can't call a raise with 2 pair, so I'd rather check/call the flop and see what develops on the turn. The aspect of your post that I most disagree with is being more likely to lead out on the flop if there are lots of players in the hand, so that you can thin the field. With more players in the hand, then a) there are more possibilities for sets and a higher likelihood that someone will raise you (in which case you're usually beat), or b) you're more likely to get 2-3 callers and now the pot is already getting much bigger than you'd like for a 2 pair hand. I treat 2 pair in PLO as if I flopped middle pair in NLHE. And flopping bottom 2 pair in PLO? Pffff. That's like having 2c-2s in NLHE and the flop coming Ah-Kh-10h.
Hef
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