I have just recently started getting into live PLO, with stellar results that I'm sure will dry up soon.

I have been grinding for several hours off a $250 buyin and am sitting with $1900. Solid image showing the goods, and playing very tight preflop in the eyes of whoever's playing attention. I may have showed a bluff two hours previously; been playing particularly few hands recently.

Villain is a sharp and creative player to my immediate right. He is seeing virtually every flop and usually raising preflop. He has $3200.

Hero is SB, other stacks are much smaller than Hero and Villain (Button).

Two $5 bring-ins and Hero pots it to $25 with AQ94. BB and both limpers call.

Flop T 4 2 .

Hero pots, $125. BB tanks for over a minute, looks suspiciously at Hero, then folds. EP folds, Button calls.

Turn 7 .

Hero makes it $325. Button calls again. Pot $1025.

River T .

Hero bets $625.

(Hero is capable of thin value bets this size with AA or KK, but Button most likely doesn't know that.) (Button also doesn't know that Hero wouldn't make a value bet like that here because what would Button call with?)

Comments?

Firstly, I would probably flat pre (or a fold). Our hand doesn't play particularly well post flop versus a 3bet calling range. Anyway, from what you've said about villain in the intro, I would expect him to be 3-betting most AA hands, and then flatting KK hands along with hands that have equity versus a SB 3betting range (AA,KK, broadway and mid connectors).

On the flop c-betting is fine. Maybe make the bet size smaller as I dont think you would be doing this with the top of your range and therefore you should be balancing with bluff hands such as this.

The turn doesnt change a whole amount, and I would continue to barrel as a lot of the hands with a T in them will give up at this point, apart from T7XX, T89X, TXhh type hands.

When he calls the turn I would check down the river. So much of his range at this point contains a T and the only value hands that you might get to fold is KK as AA probs 3bet pre.

don't like this since you don't really block anything besides 44

I don't think I need to block anything, as every real draw missed. This player would not be passive with a set, I don't think, unless it was maybe top set (and he is the type to raise TT preflop probably half the time), especially not when the flush draw hits the board.

I had him on 53 and probable hearts.


U5eless, I think you're confused when you say I should "flat" preflop given that there has been no raise. I am opening from SB and therefore am not worried about anyone's 3-bet calling range. There is no 3-bet.


Reviewing, it looks like I forgot about an MP limp-caller who also folded the flop. I am confident pot flop bet was $125, so must have been five players.

Am unable to edit OP to correct missing limper, sorry.

Gruff, does it affect your analysis that BB most likely had a ten and may have had four-two? Those are blockers of a sort. (His suspicion of me arises from prior sessions, and the fact that I've stacked him probably five times; it is not a suspicion generally shared by the Button villain.)

In some ways I hate this river as it makes my own holdings with a T less likely in Villain's eyes. On the other hand I am 75% confident it didn't hit him. Any two pair would have raised the turn, and calling with just a T makes little sense unless Villain has hearts as well.

Yeah, sorry for the misread. Still, I would check pre.

sounds like huge spew against what you describe as a competent player playing deep

Why?

Results coming soon. You will not be disappointed

I dunno maybe because u created a massive pot out of position with just a pair of fours no draw?

Because a good player should flat with a decent number of strong value hands wanting to let you keep barreling with air or worse made hands

Also if you are as tight as you claim you have a very limited number of powerful made hands on this texture

But he would have raised most overpairs preflop. I think he raises two pair on the flop most of the time but maybe he has nerves of steel as you say.

So maybe he has T7 or maybe he is drawing.

What else is in his value range here?

"if you are as tight as you claim you have a very limited number of powerful made hands on this texture."

This is a great point and in retrospect I think it was the biggest thing I overlooked. On the turn I was representing TT, and opponent said afterwards he thought it was a likely holding for me. But he put me on AA and he said his primary reason for calling the turn was to catch an A and make a wheel while I make top set, felting me.

I would still just flat pre given that our hand doesn't play well post flop and also vs so many opponents.

On the flop, are there any stacks with <SPR2? As they may have little fold equity when you pot the flop making this cbet -EV. (although I think it's -EV anyway since we are betting into 4 opponents)

I think he's likely to have hearts OTT since we dont hold any. I guess villains likely to have 53hh as you've said or T98hh. In the long run, I don't think this is a profitable play to be honest as hands like this have so much equity against us. What is our plan if a draw hits OTR?

"What is our plan if a draw hits OTR?"

Check-fold wheel card, min-bet($150)-fold heart.

Fanatic, there is obviously no intention of ever showing down this hand unless Q or 4 hits. Maybe 9.

Also check-fold J probably. 6 is wheel card.

Results

Opponent tanks for 70 seconds. I make a comment about the size of the bet (it was supposed to be $600, but there was an extra green so I "screwed up the math"). Villain considered this the tell he needed, and he called 25 seconds later.

Brilliant call.

Villain shows 8853 and takes the pot. One of the best calls/soul reads I've ever seen, although I acknowledge the statements in this thread about the incoherence of my river bet. I now think I should have bet $400 only.

It's possible villain had hearts. I was too busy congratulating him on a brilliant call to notice.

That's nice, you have fancy play syndrome.

Could you have made the call Villain made?

No, but most of the time I expect villain to have better

A Ten is certainly possible. I thought 3 5 was very very likely. I don't think a Ten value-calls the turn without 3 5. Again, T 7 maybe.

JJ maybe.

Do you check-fold the turn? What if he checks behind?

Once we bet turn, I can't see checking this river and getting shown 3567 and not wanting to gouge eyes out. Then again maybe he calls with the 7 too -- no different from 88 really.

Hell of a hand. I returned to playing tight preflop and mucking most flops. +$1100 since this hand.

yeah i would check fold turn, but check fold flop also

Making this kind of assumption in PLO is preety bad imo and heavily influenced by televised poker hero call/monster bluff antics.

Unless youve playing hours upon hours with an opponent,you shouldnt put him on hand a or hand b,but rather consider his flop calling range,turn continuing range etc.

Anyways,flop cbet seems standard,preety good flop to continue on but turn seems spewy.Youre gonna have a bunch of gutters,openenders,Pair+overs,overpairs or even blockers to continue betting,but this particular hand is preety much hopeless and now youre just bloating the pot OOP with essentially a pure bluff.

As played riv could go either way,i like a bet cause were preety much close to the bottom of our range(considering he called twice),id either pot it to be super polarized or bet like little less than 1/2 pot,which might convince a "sharp and creative" opponent that were begging for a hero call and maybe make him level himself and fold everything except from trips or better.

I wouldn't say that somebody using this line of reasoning is sharp. Creative, maybe.