Some stats on villain

limp: 63 %
rfi: 31 %

call open raise: 75 %
3bet: 25 %

cbet: 0 % (0/5)

So it looks like he really wants to play the hands.

What would be your bottom range for calling his river raise? And I pressume, that people will probably raise mostly with value, right?

Also, what about the sizing that I picked? Am I being too greedy?

PokerStars - $0.50 PL Hi FAST (2 max) - Omaha Hi - 2 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

SB: 96.06 BB
Hero (BB): 510.12 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 4 J K T

SB raises to 2 BB, Hero calls 1 BB

Flop: (4 BB, 2 players) Q J J
Hero checks, SB checks

Turn: (4 BB, 2 players) T
Hero bets 2.86 BB, SB calls 2.86 BB

River: (9.72 BB, 2 players) 4
Hero bets 9.24 BB, SB raises to 21 BB

I don't specialize in HU but I can imagine the river sizing being workable. It's not the one I'd choose (HP again), but that doesn't mean it's bad.

Either way, I have to imagine bet/call is hyperstandard here, but I could be surprised.

So I pressume when the board pairs, we don't want to go to crazy with our flushes (if we even bet them at all?).

Yeah, I got too greedy and reraised on the river. Didn't realize, that it's probably too thin as villain is not cbetting, so he can have all the nutty hands.

It's alright, that you don't play HU. If you play PLO, you must have a way better understanding of theory and dynamics than I do. It's similar to BBvBTN (I guess), but ranges are a lot wider, which makes them substantially weaker, too.

Assuming you're extrapolating WRT this hand: one can almost definitely bet flushes on paired boards for value, but when the board pair is a broadway pair and there are two more broadway cards on board and you're betting into the preflop raiser, that combination makes it a lot less profitable.

The trouble with 3betting river is that not only are villain's raises probably extremely unbalanced (just because most PLO players are extremely straightforward on the river), but it's very hard for them to call with anything but QJ+. Especially when you block villain's JT/J4/44.

3betting river isn't greedy so much as it doesn't account for how strong villain's raises rate to be and how their calls versus a 3bet are going to be even stronger. I really don't think you can 3bet lighter than QJ here, and even that might be too light versus some opponents.

(Forgot to mention you block TT, too.)

definitely do not reraise river, you have a bluff catcher

River re-raise is not outlandish, with no q or clubs in hero hand villain will have some good bluffcatchers.

Flop lead may be better than check.

Pure gold guys! Thank you for the insights.

Obv villain had QJ and I was like - why don't you just bet dude? Anyway, trapping some of the time makes a lot of sense. I don't really know if we should slowplay the flopped boats, but it's true that we block a lot of continues when we flop such a monster.

Anyway, it doesn't matter how villain played his hand, but how I misplayed it.

So I should:

- use blockers to my advantage and actually learn how to do that in game
- consider some unorthodox lines (but maybe leading is a thing here and even when villain just minraised preflop and is limping a bunch, it's definitely a very very very good idea to lead vs such guy)
- NOT overvalue my hands, it's omaha, more cards, more fun and bigger chance that somebody has a big hand (still getting used to this, as I have never played PLO)

he either has your hand or youre dead. the 4 fullhouse dont raise.

I don't know what a solver would say about it at the moment (or how applicable its insights would be given how—if I'm not mistaken—villain's preflop ranges are pretty far from optimal), but it's really not absurd to check QJ OTF. Pretty classic way-ahead situation.

If they have AKQJ with Ac, it's just like... what can you call with often enough to make betting worth it? Without discounting the possibility that a solver may have us betting this, my intuition in a situation like that is to win my bets from my opponent on later streets.

WRT the questions you're raising ("big hands" and such), just remember that it's still just poker. We've got a combo (which is part of a range) and our opponent has a range.

OTR, our combo doesn't want to raise our opponent's raising range. I assume. Yes, HU ranges are wider so maybe we 3bet this thin for value in theory, but I'd be very surprised (especially once we've accounted for villain's tendencies).

Also: as much as HUPLO is really fun and I'd honestly like to play/study it more myself, it probably isn't the best starting place for PLO. I almost said this in the first place, but I'm honestly not sure if you have a firm grasp on preflop HUPLO ranges from how you describe villain. I've been worried that I misunderstood you, but in HUPLO you're really not open folding the button all that much. Villain seeing a flop most of the time really isn't remarkable, and you might be getting run over if you approach it differently.

I tried to google "WRT", but I don't know what does it mean. Can you help me?

And yeah, what you are saying makes a perfect sense.

I am a former HU SnG player, so I am starting with the game, that I am most familiar with. I mean playing vs 1 player. Almost everything else is waaay more different.

Well, first day I was playing 100 % from SB and BB haha. But it turns out I should be doing some folding even on the button, because people don't like to fold the hands and also because of the rake. And on the BB I was misplaying waaaay to hard. I should play way less than 100 % lol (what a surprise).

I've been going through PLO Mastermind HU course, so it should be a good start. There is also PLO trainer for preflop+flops, so unfortunately I cannot look up this hand.

But I trust your skills and intuition guys. I just have to get used to the fact, that I cannot raise for thin value here, especially when I block so much of his potential value combos as you mentioned.

Oh and btw, I definitely suck in HU. I don't doubt that. It's sort of a learning for me now. As I get this redemption chests, I should be alright. Hopefully I will be able to beat the rake one day because it's a huge rake trap.

WRT is just "with regard to". Sorry about that. Not obscure poker lingo; just semi-newish online abbreviatin'.

So, yeah, honestly: PLO rake is already a nightmare in most games and doubly so for HU.

If you've already got access to good materials, then you could be fine to stick with HUPLO but I think that—to play it well—it's going to demand some pretty sophisticated play that you'd be better off building a foundation for at 6max. At least for, like, 10k-20k hands just to get used to the game a little more.

Because yeah, HU I'm quite sure that you just need to have a firmer understanding of obscure bluff spots and fine-tuned river ranges. 6max is a great deal more straightforward, but everything you learn there will be a good scaffold for HU, imo.

Not trying to tell you what to do; just trying to tell you what could help. Because, yeah, I honestly might play HUPLO exclusively if it was more available to me. Fun as heck, and I find most players are frankly just easy to run over because they still play it like it's 6max (or even full-ring).

I think AQT or AJxx with nut clubs can call. Of course it's mostly just a matter if you think villain can bluff. Our hand cannot really fold.

100% SB and BB is really really loose and bad.

I don't understand. Do you think people should never check raise rivers?

So yeah, it seems that I overvalue the hands without backdoors. And they seem to be very important. That's good to know



@DevWil: I just love the dynamics of HU. Maybe I will not be able to beat the rake, but I have to give it a shot. I just hate playing tigh ranges. But that's just my mental leak I guess. Thank you for suggestion. I might mix in some 6max (will have to study the ranges and boards first), or I might switch completely. It really depends.

@InkyPoker: that's just my fishy mentality and entitlement tilt in this particular hand. River raises seem to be pretty nutted (I don't think I saw any bluff raise yet). Would you also check back villain's combo, as he blocks a lot of my continues?