Hi all,

One area where everyone can get better at is bluff catching rivers. Not that we should be doing this every time, since it’s so easy to have a strong hand in this game! Under the right circumstances though it can increase our win rate.

I wonder what situations arise frequently in plo where we have a second best hand and are contemplating calling a river bet where the board texture has changed significantly. What factors do you consider in deciding whether to call?

Blockers and opponents’ tendencies come to mind first and foremost. If V is repping the nut straight and we heavily block it but only have a set we are more apt to call. Same with flushes. If we have a flush ourselves that reduces their value combos. And having a boat blocker or a boat ourselves and should make us more inclined to call where V is repping a full house. Reverse blockers also come into play. If we unblock those value combos we should fold more often. If we unblock the draws and block the value we should call more often.

Any other thoughts in this area?

Thanks,
DT

If it’s heads up, it’s not necessary to have a super strong not-nut to make +EV calls. For me the criteria isn’t whether I have a super strong hand, but whether the V’s bet makes sense. I’ve called down with 1 pair and been right more often than not.

The criteria is whether the story makes sense. The most obvious example is where V is checking or calling with draws on board that don’t complete. Then all of a sudden if V fires after a check, it may be a calling spot.

The other main factor (of course) is whether V is capable of bluffing. In PLO it’s easier to categorize than hold ‘em… IMO.

We should obviously be bluff-catching a lot wider than 2nd nuts. Calling with 2p or 1p is way more common.

Its important to recognize that playing a balanced strategy on flop and turn will lead to a lot more natural calls with lesser holdings because villain will also arrive on river with many weaker hands.

This often means to check many 1p hands (including top pair and good 2nd pairs/underpairs) with limited nut potential / various hands that don't want to be blown off their nut potential. Even when it gives villains a chance to catch up with hands that would have folded.

Its also helpful to have a good feel for standard hand ranges by various position and betting strategy. Less technically sound players who play too many hands are going to end up taking strange and inferior lines a lot more frequently, as well as be less balanced post-flop.

IMO

-Are they are likely to be over or underbluffing this spot? Looking for natural / easy to find bluffs, does my opponent have to be creative or selective regarding bluff candidates

-Have I narrowed my opponents range more than normal in some spot? If opponent folds more to cbets, they end up on rivers with a stronger range and could easily be underbluffing

-Do I beat some over-valued hands? (Vs fish specifically sometimes they value bet a weird hand that loses to your bluffcatches)

If opponents value range is wide, look more for absolute hand strength. If opponents value range is small, blockers become more significant.