Poker News

Sam Mudaro is the ‘Omaha Guru’

Previously we analyzed “4-cards working together” where two of the 4 cards were a pair and the other 2 contained an Ace with a low card. The chart to the right presents only the profitable combinations where the pairs are combined with a deuce and another low card.

Except when combined with a pair of aces the 2-6, 2- 7 and 2-8 are all unprofitable. All combinations containing a pair of aces, regardless of suit are profitable. The pair of aces is so profitable that when combined with any two different low cards, regardless of suit is a profitable hand. Taking it one step further, if we eliminate the A-A-8-9 and A-A-8-K non-suited, every starting hand containing a pair of aces is profitable. Last time we explored the decision of where to play.

Now we must decide what format of poker to play. The choices are simple, a ring game or a tournament. Very few top professionals are capable of mastering both tournaments and ring games. A different skill set and playing style is required for each. An extreme no-limit Hold-Em example will serve to drive this point home.

Tournament payout structures usually reward the top three finishers disparately over the fourth place finisher. Let me set the stage. You are at the final table and down to 4 players. You post the big blind, have just $100 left and look down at pocket aces. The chip leader to your immediate left raises all-in. The button and small blind call. You may be thinking great! All this action and I have the best hand. You should however fold your pocket aces. Here is why. Unless there is a tie you will move a big step up the payoff ladder. If you lose you finish fourth.

Let’s look at the same situation in a no-limit ring game. You would obviously call. If you lose the consequences are minor. You only lose the additional hundred. If you win you are saved the necessity of having to dig deeper. Many tournament skills you develop are portable from one form of poker to another. Techniques to incorporate when playing on the bubble in a stud tournament are essentially the same for a Hold-Em tournament. Only a few stud skills from a ring game are transferable to Hold-Em, as they both require unique knowledge of the specific game. The differences between tournament play and ring games are many and would fill a book.

Some items to consider when choosing between tournaments or ring games are: Most tournaments offer a large payday in comparison to a small buy in. In the smaller buy in events you want to look for 1st place to pay more then 10 times the buy in amount. A win rate of 1 out of 10 is good. 2 out of ten is great and 3 out of ten indicates you should probably consider playing a larger buy in event.

Tournaments offer us an inexpensive way to learn a new game. If you never played no-limit Hold-Em or Omaha H/L starting in a ring game could get expensive. By spending $30 to $100 for a tournament buy-in you can limit your losses and pick up some valuable experience while gaining a feel for the game.

Tournaments may afford a player more time at the table then a ring game. With a $30 buy in a player may receive $300 to $1,000 in tournament chips enabling hours of limit Hold-Em play. The same $30 in a ring game, even a $2-4 game won’t go far unless you get lucky early on.

Tournaments tend to level the playing field in terms of chips. Let’s say you are taking a seat in a newly started $200 to $500 buy in no-limit Holdem ring game. You only want to buy in for $200. If every one else buys in for $500 you may feel compelled to buy in for the same amount in order to avoid starting at a chip disadvantage. Even better you walk up to that same game 3 hours later and now there are several people with stacks in the thousands. How comfortable do you feel buying in for $200? Most tournaments start every player off with the same amount of chips. So what have we learned? The number of playable hands combining a pair with 2 low cards where one is a deuce is far less than those with an ace. Two low cards, when combined with a pair of aces are still very profitable. There are many reasons why some people choose tournaments over ring games. Whatever you choice, you should try to specialize on one.

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