5-10 spread limit (max 600 bet or raise) double board 5 card high. V is 2K effective and is a reg at high mix games - playing TAG and pretty well

4 handed. Hero in bb with AcKdJd9h8s. CO is a whale who keeps betting 600 into 40 dollar pots

Pre: CO limps 10, btn calls, V in sb completes and hero checks

Flops (40) :
9s8d3h
7c6h3d

Sb bets 50, hero calls, CO calls, fold

Turns (190) :
9s8d3h 5d
7c6h3d Th

Sb 200, hero max raise to 800, fold, Sb calls

Rivers (1790) :
9s8d3h 5d Ks
7c6h3d Th Qh

Sb checks
So we end up with top 2 on top, nut straight on bottom but backdoor hearts came in. Is this a value bet?

Yes, its a clear value bet of 600 and call a xr.

Even though villain should never fold better hands than you on 98xxx board, he should mostly lead the river himself with k hi or better flush and potential to scoop both boards. You should have plenty of checkbacks when wet top board bricks and bottom flush comes in.

Even if hero could bet full pot, i still think its a good spot.

This hand isn't about Omaha high low, but Omaha high low creates a "double board" which brings up a similar point. A long time ago when I was playing Omaha high low it became clear to me that it was a game in which you are trying to scoop the whole pot. Sure you will win the high or the low a fair amount of the time, but the goal was to win the entire pot. And although trying to win the whole pot sounds obvious, it amazed me how often someone in an Omaha high low game would say, “I’m just happy winning half the pot.”

Double board PLO, especially in heads up situations, should be played aggressively to try and scoop the whole pot. Therefore, once you made the turn raise, it became important to follow through on most rivers in an attempt to scoop the pot. It is difficult on a double board to get people to fold a good hand, but it is a lot easier for you to bet your two board holdings than it is for him to call. This is a spread limit game and the max you can bet on this river is $600 into this $1790 pot, but you still have to try to get him to fold. If he check-raises you, then call and make a mental note that this player is capable of that type of play.

Also you asked if this is a “value bet.” We all use terms slightly differently. Since this is a double board and the goal is to win the entire pot, I thought it might be important to make sure we are on the same page with the terminology. There are times when I am in a live casino, an interesting hand happens and afterwards people are talking about the hand and people’s terminology is slightly different. Some people take “value bet” to mean trying to get a worse hand to call by making a certain sized bet. And that is an important distinction because value betting can obviously be for less than pot. For some other people the phrase “value bet” means something more like all the possible expectations, such as, we bet and villain folds, we bet and villain calls-loses or we bet and villain calls-wins.

So, for me, as a former Omaha high low player, “value betting” a high low board or in the case a PLO 5C double board would only happen if I had the nuts in at least one direction. Otherwise, I’m not betting for value hoping he calls, I’m betting hoping he folds. That is just a perspective on poker terminology, if we meant the same meaning, then disregard the last two paragraphs.

The biggest take away is that double board is a scooping game.

I like the way you played preflop. I like the way you played flop. I like your turn max raise. And heads up on the river, given the board runouts, I would have bet the $600 max hoping he folds.

he isn't folding a flush we block 9s and 8s (he probably isn't folding 9s anyway) so any bet here is 100% value

you're right in general tho, it's way easier to generate folds than to have the best hand on both boards in multiway pots

Bet for sure. The one board hands I see in double board hands are shocking.

Thoughts on taking an option pre? The hand has a ton of both equity and playability. As played I like turn raise and I, too, am betting river.

Good question.

AcKdJd9h8s

You can't make a straight in poker without a T or a 5, therefore having the T or 5 in your hand makes your hand stronger without having to have the T or 5 on the board.

AKJ98 is almost an incredibly strong hand in my opinion. I think I could make it maybe the strongest or second strongest non-paired hand in 5 card simply by changing one card. Obviously AAxx in four card is a strong hand and most see it and understand it. But when we are talking about non-paired hands, not as many people would identify AKJT as maybe the best non-paired hand.

Therefore, instead of AKJ98, if I had AKJT9, then I would consider raising preflop. If you also let me have a suited ace, then I am for sure raising AKJT9. And yes AKQJT is damn good too, but that required changing 2 cards.

We should downgrade this hand for being single-suited and non-nut flush draw, but 4-handed pre-flop raise could still be ok.

Raising was a consideration but having the whale bet 600 into 40 is preferred to betting 600 into a larger pot. He was doing this with 1 way nuts / draws getting free rolled

How have I played poker almost 30 years and just learned this now?

I bet river, he called and surprisingly mucked