I'm on button. There is one player deeper than me, I have ~500 (1-2, 5 to go) game. Lots of short stacks.

I have AKQQ on the button.

UTG makes it 10. He's new to the table, more of a gambler type, unsure how much he really knows PLO, game is round and round.

Gets to small stack in CO. CO is bad PLO player, and raises from him are almost always aces (or at worst kings). He makes it 50, and has 12 behind.

Now I'm stuck with a decision. I'm really liking my hand, I can repop it, likely isolate and get it in against the small stack, but I don't know what he's raising with that's not KK/AA. I do block each, and am double-suited. I can flat call and the EP likely calls here and see a flop. Or make a fold. I don't think a fold makes sense here, but I've been too loose preflop anyway.

FWIW game is about 8 handed here.

I think UTG's stack size is mega important...

Prob 4b for value. If UTG jams hate life and punch the air like a baby

UTG has me covered (I have 500). UTG still has the opportunity to pop here still too.

If I pot it, I can make it ~165 and leave myself 335 behind. 1-pot sized bet. I figure I'm stacking off with 2 hearts or diamonds out, maybe I can get away from a 3-flush board or 3-straight.

I thought this hand was going to be quite straightforward until CO 3-bet (literally a guy I've never seen raise without AA in many sessions). I've never seen him 3-bet before in PLO or Holdem. So I am reading extreme strength from him. Last time he raised, I shipped it with KJQTss, and he of course had aces (it was a fairly small pot, I'll gamble with him for $30).

I do get the idea I have a strong hand against UTG, and perhaps my best play is to make it expensive - he either folds and I gotta catch up on CO, or he pays and I probably have a straightforward hand.

If co is only raising aa, kk maybe this is just a fold

But vs weaker/new player at these stakes i prefer call due to our hand's excellent playability and villain being more likely to make mistakes post-flop than pre-flop

It's probably just a fold, although if UTG has like $400 or more we might be able to profit from a call.


Omaha Hi Simulation ?
600,000 trials (Randomized)
Hand Equity Wins Ties
QhQdAhKd 28.53% 169,099 4,161
AA 44.95% 268,085 3,249
25% 26.53% 157,157 4,032


we're doing 1.3% better vs 70% range.


Now if we can expand the short stack's range slightly beyond aces, we're doing very well.



Omaha Hi Simulation ?
600,000 trials (Randomized)
Hand Equity Wins Ties
QhQdAhKd 35.04% 201,552 17,602
6% 36.85% 213,567 15,278
25% 28.11% 164,916 7,720


A 6% PPT range is still pretty nutted, aside from AA we are talking about hands better than QJT9 ds. hands like ABBB (AKQT) ds, magnum kings, QQJJ ds, really strong hands.

How splashy is UTG? If he’s willing to call 150 then raise it and shove every flop. If not then you should fold because you’re not doing great vs shorty’s AA

I love calling CO when he has AA and any kind of stack behind. Unfortunately he only had 12 more behind so that kills that theory.

UTG is a new player to the table and seems like he could be splashy. But I really don't know him, he just joined, I had played with him previously, I remember him being splashy in Holdem and don't remember PLO, he bought in high and lost it all, he did not seem like a good player and seemed to like action.

In any case, I flat, UTG hems and haws then calls the 50.

Flop is 855.

This seems to be about as good of a flop I can get that's not a queen. UTG bets $20. Co calls his last $12.

My action is? I have 450 behind.

I am putting in a raise between 100 -150. We want to extract value from worse draws.

Raise to 100. UTG hems and haws and shoves. Do I have a fold here? 350 more, pot is ~700.

What is he betting small/shoving with? The small bet told me he thought he could get a draw cheaply from me, or he's got a monster that isn't scared of anything. I hate fearing monsters under the bed.

For draws, I'm only a little worried about hands like 6789 low wrap hands, but even then I'm not in terrible shape giving cheap/free cards. It would be a disaster to fold to their shoves.

I could see him making this move with a wrap + flush draw, 85, 88. Maybe discount 88 a bit since it's so well protected, he isn't in bad shape giving me a turn to catch up, and if he gets me to fold a flush draw it's a disaster for him, so I'm leaning more towards he has a hand that has equity but would prefer a fold, or a vulnerable hand like 85, or maybe even a 5 with some good kickers above an 8 so he can catch a boat in the event I have 85.

Against a 5, I'm not in great shape, but it could be a lot worse. I don't think I'm against AA ever here from UTG, possibly KK sometimes. Maybe something like 456A he could have in here?

For analysis purposes, it can be reasonable to treat the small bet as a check - its primary purpose may have been putting the short-stack all-in.

Facing a xr with our hand, its not an easy decision - i think i lean towards gii vs more action players and fold vs tighter. But i also think this hand is reasonable candidate to checkback. Hero should have very few 5x in range so some villains may xr quite light.

Its pretty hard for us to have less than 30% equity on average vs splashy player so i think calling it off with current pot offs is fine.

That was my thought process - it's really hard for me to be far behind, and even in those cases I have 2 outs. I called. He says "you don't have pocket 5's, do you?"

UTG had 8866. CO had AhKxJhTx.


Runout came heart heart, giving CO nut flush vs. my 2nd nut flush, but boat was good.

Looking back I do feel like my biggest mistake was not just reducing SPR early with a raise to 100-150. I just couldn't see CO doing this without having me in bad shape, and UTG raiser could very well have me crushed preflop. Flop felt about as good as I could ask for without a set, so I don't really have regrets donking it off there based on my read of UTG at that point. Against a few other players I fold that without thinking twice.