DkBlue Omaha Tournaments at Poker Stars.
Decimare Omaha Articles
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
DkBlue Omaha Tournaments at Poker Stars.
Decimare Omaha Articles
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
||||
|
|||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
ADVICE TO A NEW OMAHA H/L PLAYER
I now have a referral email, Decimare@DkBluesky.com
If you click this it goes to DkBlueSky and then it is immediately forwarded
to my email address here in Sumas, Washington.
Almost immediately I received 2 email messages from new players that had
tried Omaha H/L a few times and they were overwhelmed. The primary problem was the combinations within the 4 cards dealt and
the ability to read into the flop the value of their hand.
Although each posed a different question, the real message was “how
does a new player to Omaha H/L get enough information to play without burning up all their bankroll during the learning curve.”
So, I thought I’d write up a little commentary for the new player. If you’ve been around the block, this may be
elementary.
1, First, get an understanding of the game. Click on player commentary
at the home page and you’ll find an excellent review by glosterricky and Dr. Jim on the basics of Omaha H/L. As you
read their message you might get the impression that their play is similar. This is not so. I’ve played with both on
numerous occasions and find glosterricky is more aggressive in betting his draws. He’ll make more mistakes, however,
he will develop bigger pots. Thus, he is more likely to bomb out of a tournament early. However, if he is in it later he usually
has developed a larger chip count and that gives him a commanding position at the final table. On the other hand, Dr. Jim
is a plodder. He makes very few mistakes. When he leads in the betting you know he has a made hand. Because of this conservative
play you will see him at the final table more often. I believe glosterricky’s style is more suited to a Pot Limit game
or PL tournament. I believe Dr. Jim’s style is more suited to structured betting limits like a $2.00/$4.00 live game
or a tournament where the betting amount is “fixed”. As a new player I would probably follow Dr. Jim’s style
as you will last much longer in a tournament and thus gain more experience.
2. Read the decimare Omaha tips section. Pay particular attention to the
2-card combination hands and start to think about how all four cards can create many, many combinations. Pay attention to
the value of an Ace.
3. Do what I did when I began playing on the Internet. I started playing
at the play money tables. I was unsure of how the betting structure worked. I didn’t know what the buttons meant. It
just took time to feel comfortable with the whole system. And, don’t fall into the trap of “it’s just play
money.” Treat each session as a poker lesson. Don’t develop bad habits just because the money isn’t real.
I started out at another Poker Site. You could get $2000.00 as a starting amount and if you lost it, you just requested another
$2000.00. I treated it like a chess game. To make the game interesting, my goal was to wipe out the table. You could only
start for $2,000.00; however, the game allowed unlimited $2,000.00 re-buys. So, I would get on a table where several of the
players had amassed $100,000 plus. I would slowly develop my bankroll and then wait for a made hand. Then I would bet; raise;
check-raise to get all my chips all in. I learned a valuable lesson. The person with 2nd best will not lay down. They just
will not give up. They don’t want to be bluffed and they’ll put all their money in to “see what you have.”
This is also true in real money games. The trick is to start hands that will give you the nuts and then bet like hell. There’ll
always be a Sheriff at the table to check your honesty. Usually within three hours I would have all the big stacks and I would
quit that table and go to another to repeat the experience. It took me a couple of months to build up to 16 million in play
money and to develop a playing style that I could adjust based on the player profile.
4. You must remember that the caliber of player at a “play money”
table is not nearly as good as a live game or a tournament. However, until you can beat the play money table with regularity
you’re just not ready for the live game.
5. You need to learn a very important rule. Patience and discipline go
a long way toward survival in poker. You’ll notice that the play money tables have a calling percentage in the high
80’s to low 90’s. This style will bankrupt you in live games. You need to prove that to yourself that selective
play will develop a profit. So, practice selective play. In Omaha H/L you’ll find that waiting for a good starting hand
will cause a call ratio of about 30%, and, this includes your blinds. Wait for good hands and then bet aggressively. You’ll
soon be beating the play money table and after awhile you’ll be ready to venture into the live games.
6. Start out in tournaments. Your money will go a lot further. You’ll
invest $5.00 to $15.00 and if you learned your lessons well, you’ll get an hour or two of experience. If you practiced
selective play during the play money games, you should be able to last through the first hour of play. If you find that you
are bombing out early go back to the basics. Tighten up your selective play. Your first objective is to survive. Later out,
you’ll develop a style that will suit your bankroll and your pleasure. However, first you need to learn how to survive!
7. OK, now you’ve mastered survival. Go back and read the Omaha tips
section again. It will make more sense the second time around. After survival comes profit. Good Luck.
____________________________________________
Posted by decimare on March 13, 2005 at 15:00:44:
Chart Comments
1. Dealing 100,000 hands of Omaha Hi-Low to a ten-handed table developed
this chart. All players were programmed to call all flops and never bet and never fold. Thus, I reviewed total of 1,000,000
hands (100,000 x 10 players in the game). Therefore the results are what might happen in a never fold game with absolutely
no pressure on the draw outs. The unusual gut-shot hands could play until the river. And, while this is an impossible condition,
some interesting statistics were developed that might help your game. 10 hand 100,000 total hand dealt- WIN percent PLACE- MENT 100,000 total
hand dealt- ACTUAL HAND DEALT 10 hand 100,000 total hand dealt 1million total hands reviewed- TOTAL TIMES DEALT 10 hand 100,000
total hand dealt 1million total hands reviewed- Average TIMES hand DEALT at 10 hand table per 100 hands 10 hand 100,000 total
hand dealt 1million total hands reviewed- TOTAL TIMES WON 10 hand 100,000 total hand dealt 1million total hands reviewed-
Average TIMES hand WON at 10 hand table per 100 hands 10 hand 100,000 total hand dealt 1million total hands reviewed- Percent
HAND WON at 10 hand table PER 100 HANDS 1. Don't play without an Ace unless you can get in Free (on the big blind)! _________________________________________________ Posted by decimare on March 13, 2005 at 15:55:34:
RAISING WITH NUT LOW?
1. Should you raise with nut low before the flop? Should you raise on
the river. OK, let’s not be subjective. We need to determine factual condition and act appropriately. 0-2 low cards on the river: 40.00% of the time. 2. We look at the chart and determine that in 1,000,000 hands, the A-2
is dealt 72,591 times (7 dealt hands out of 10). (This means that in 3 hands out of 10, on average, nobody will even have
an A-2.).. If you have A-2 and low is on-board why shouldn’t you bet? How can you call a bet and 3 raises before the
flop with a come hand and then not bet the nuts because you might be quartered? When you have it, you have it alone 3 out
of 4 times. I know you remember being quartered, however, that only happens 1 out of 4 times. 3. When you have the nuts, don't shut down! .... “Pound the pot”
and build a good return. Don't be trapped by “the never raise with low” whiners at the table. Bet your hand to
the max. In Limit Omaha Hi-Low getting quartered rarely costs you money, except perhaps in heads-up. Even then, you'll make
more money in the long run by betting. And, if you happen to have a two-way hand, you'll disguise your betting pattern. They
won’t be able to put you on high or low since you bet both types of hands similarly. You'll get much better action with
a two-way hand. Posted by decimare on March 17, 2005 at 14:53:35:
Chart Comments
1. Dealing 100,000 hands of Omaha Hi-Low to a ten-handed table developed
this chart. All players were programmed to call all flops and never bet and never fold. Thus, I reviewed total of 1,000,000
hands (100,000 x 10 players in the game). Therefore the results are what might happen in a never fold game with absolutely
no pressure on the draw outs. The unusual gut-shot hands could play until the river. And, while this is an impossible condition,
some interesting statistics were developed that might help your game.
#1. 10 handed game with 100,000 total hand dealt- WIN percent PLACEMENT.
#1 #2 #3 YOU CAN’T POLISH A TURD
1. On rare occasions you can put a move on another player in Omaha. Generally,
however, you can't make something out of nothing. They say a leopard doesn’t change its spots. I say, “you can’t
polish a turd”. Crap is crap. Before the flop, if your hand does not have a solid expectation, it probably won't change
a lot. Weak Omaha hands generally stay weak. Finally, remember that even the great hands lose. It is called a good
"starting" hand. The emphasis must be on the "starting". Then, your hand should match the flop. How you act before the flop
is a percentage judgement. If you act over-aggressively before the flop you may enjoy big rewards or banishment. At least
your aggression should be calculated. My motto is to live by the sword, and, to die by the sword. Deci. Posted by decimare on March 18, 2005 at 16:50:21:
OMAHA is a game of combinations and Nut flops
1. It's not enough to have two great starting cards. Combination hands
that go together can give you a 20-30 card out. Sometimes a hand with excellent outs is a better percentage play than a made
hand. (And I almost always state that a made hand is much better that an unmade hand.) Assume you have AH, 2H, 5S, KS, in
your hand and the flop is 3H, 4H, QS. Your outs are now all remaining non-paired hearts for nut hearts and all remaining non-paired
low cards (except for board pairs) for nut low, and in addition, any counterfeited low card may give you a straight (the A
gives you nut straight). Posted by decimare on March 18, 2005 at 17:00:48:
Let go of the bone!
1. Don't chase unless you have a nut out and the pot odds justify a call.
You are dealt 4 cards, you should wait for good cards and power bet (“pound it”) with nut hand flops. If you have
a K high flush possibility and the pot has been bet and raised with a low already made; and, if you are hoping for half a
pot, then you are in trouble. If it gets there, the possibility of an A-2 (suited on the ace) could pound you into the ground.
If the board pairs with the suit, a full house probably is there. It's just a bad chase and will eventually leak all your
money to other players. Posted by decimare on March 19, 2005 at 00:31:00:
Avoid starting hands that finish badly.
1. I did a simulation with 1,000,000 random hands. The surprise; a pair
is the lowest rated hand in Omaha. Do you know why are the 66, 77 and the 88 are such low rated pairs? When you think about
it, the answer is simple; “they just go away”. When you consider a full table where 10 hands are dealt and each
player gets four cards, then someone has cards that fit the flop. It could be a higher pair. So if a higher card falls and
hits the higher pair you lose. Additionally, the 6, 7 and 8 are right in the middle of the pack. When they hit both higher
and lower hands have straight shots. Finally, by the nature of the card (8 and below) a part of low has hit the board. Low
players will doggedly call all bets determined to make the low hand. Thus, if the remaining part of low gets there, you will
be splitting. If you happen to hit trip 7's on the flop it must be bet and raised. You just hope for a lower board pair. Otherwise
proceed with caution. Posted by decimare on March 19, 2005 at 00:57:08:
Should you ever raise before the flop?
1. RAISE before the flop when you have way the best of it. Profits are
made before the flop when everybody has a dream. If you play solid Omaha starting hands then why not improve your return by
getting as much money in the pot before their dream turns into a nightmare.
2. You will find that most players in Omaha play too many garbage hands.
When 6, 7, 8 players are calling all the time you know that many hands are sub-standard. These same players make these mistakes
all night long before the flop. This is where you make money. If you choose only solid combination hands and they choose all
hands, it stands to reason that you'll eventually come out ahead. Since these players will call all raises before the flop,
the profit potential is always available to you. This is where you increase your profits hugely in Omaha.
3. Remember, profit in Omaha occurs when other players are drawing dead.
This happens reasonably often. However, the big profit potential that occurs in every single hand (when you have strong starting
hands) is before the flop.
4. Strangely, many seasoned players at this site who understand that Omaha
is about good starting hands don't aggressively bet good starting hands before the flop. They call passively “to look
at the flop" before they act. Then, when they bet it's a big tell like a big ringing bell. They wait for the absolute nuts.
And, if they only bet when they have the absolute nuts, they are a very easy read. Posted by decimare on March 19, 2005 at 22:55:29:
TOP TEN REASONS why I Participate in the OMAHA H/L forum. A response to
Crunch.
10. Social. It is good visit with people that have common interests. I
enjoy Omaha H/L and this gives me an opportunity to visit with others who also have a similar interest. Additionally, I believe
that Omaha is the intellectual part of Poker. The outcome is based on complex mathematical probabilities. Those persons who
excel at Omaha generally are more interesting than the standard Poker player. I enjoy the banter. (Not the petty bickering,
however, you can glean the good stuff of the top.)
09. Personal Self-Help. I am in a learning mode. If I can gain a little
knowledge, sometimes that may be enough of an edge to help me in one critical action during a big hand. I’ve found the
difference between winning and losing can be so subtle that it is sometimes difficult to define. Women call it intuition.
I call it my poker zone. Something happens that triggers a response based on knowledge, experience, and probability (and player
notes). Sometimes I make a mistake, and I learn a little and I adjust.
08. Personal Recognition. We all have the Parent, Adult and Child built
into our psyche. I suppose I enjoy some recognition away from the poker table. And, it is kind of fun to see yourself up on
the reader board. However, the real reason is that this gets you some type of respect. In the poker world you need to earn
respect before your opinions are seriously considered. And, then maybe just one or two people will listen. Talk is cheap without
qualification.
07. Intellectual stimulation. If you don’t exercise your brain,
it gets weak. I treat Omaha and Omaha H/L like some people treat chess. Hold’em is the easy game of math. Omaha is the
advanced course. The number of possibilities is any given hand is almost endless. If I can keep my focus and calculate pot
odds vs. outs during the quick play required I get this exercise. And, from time to time a player challenges my playing style.
The forum gives me a location to express myself. And, I enjoy it.
06. Adequate knowledge increases the enjoyment and PARTCIPATION in Omaha.
When you see a comment, “I don’t get it, I had an Ace and the board was 2,3,4,5. Why didn’t I have nut low
with my AAKQ?” you smile and know that this is a new player. If those types of players don’t get basic knowledge
fast they will go away. They will continue playing Poker; they just won’t play Omaha. And, if you don’t build
your player base with replacement players the game will go away. Why not develop these entry level players with enough knowledge
so they can start to play at a competitive level rather than a quick dump and run, never to return.
05. Where you learn, you churn. During my retirement years I helped manage
a small two-table card room that specialized in Omaha H/L. Many times player would stop in and not want to play Omaha due
to lack of knowledge. We would redirect the player to the Wilson Turbo Omaha H/L poker game we had set up on the computer.
After five minutes of instruction about the basics of the game, the new player was welcome to continue playing against the
computer to gain a comfort level. Then they would play. This is the type of player that never enters or never starts without
knowledge. If they don’t start, they can’t return. If they do start and they are offered an area that will increase
their knowledge and improve their game, then, they will play at your location.
04. Seasoned players must offer a positive impression and hopefully they
might read my advice and withhold negative comments. Advertising brings you into the game. A good time brings you back. You
don’t even need to win. You just need reinforcement and positive comments. Do you know how difficult it is to bring
just one new player into an Omaha tournament? And, then some smuck starts dumping on the new player because of a bad move
or a suck out. Let’s get real. If you drive the new player away, you’re stuck with the seasoned player. And, you
can’t beat the seasoned player. If you can play heads up with the seasoned player, the rake will get you. You need new
blood to maintain action. And those new players today will be the backbone of the tournaments in the future……if
you treat them with respect. A more positive suggestion might be to invite them to the Omaha forum at this site to help them
gain the basics and increase their enjoyment of the game.
03. Give back to the community where you make your money. I retired as
a Vice President for a large bank where I was in charge of Installment Credit. The bank strongly suggested involvement in
community functions. Thus, I worked my way through the chairs and was President of many clubs. I wasn’t paid for this
involvement. It was my civic responsibility. I feel the same way about promoting the Poker community and this forum. I have
some superior knowledge in certain areas of Omaha H/L. I have enjoyed Poker for 40 years. Now, in my retirement years it fills
my time. However, I have an internal need to do a little bit more. I feel a certain responsibility to share this knowledge
and give a little bit back to an area that I truly enjoy.
02. My comments will really only help about 10% of the group. You can
lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink. Most readers will speed read and discount my comments based on pre-conceived
ideas that just won’t change. I try to give factual information that challenges your thought pattern. Much of my information
is based on mathematical probability in a more easy to read format. It takes a lot of effort and a lot of patience and discipline
to put this information into action. Many recreational players will not take the time and effort to implement or test these
theories. But, I’ll reach a couple of people. I won’t make bad players good. I’ll make good players better.
And, finally the top reason why I try to help new players figure out Omaha
H/L.
01. The $1,000.00 learning curve. I believe that it takes about $1,000.00
to learn a new Poker game. It isn’t enough to read about it. You need practice and experience. No matter how good your
Hold’em game might be, it takes time to develop Omaha H/L skills. During this learning curve the player is going to
pay some group of players this money for the lesson. I’d just as soon they played here during that learning curve. I
can beat a new player. I can only play heads up (and lose money to the rake) with the top players. I enjoy the purity of the
game. However, I also enjoy putting a little change in my pocket. Good Luck. Play selective aggression and I’ll see
you at the final table. Deci. Posted by decimare on March 20, 2005 at 13:52:08:
How valuable are Pairs?
1. Pairs reduce my combinations so I don't find any particular value to
any pair but AA and then only in combinations with high and low cards. Hands like AA67 should be pitched unless one of the
Aces is suited, or, you are at or near button position and can get in for a single bet. Don't chase the AA after the flop
unless other combinations are working. 3. Remember that each player is dealt 4 hole cards. This increases the
likelihood that someone has a huge starting hand or flops the nuts once the board is down.
4. As an example, in hold'em the board is 34J 6 K and you have a set of
Jacks. That would normally be considered a very good hand. You would have raised pre-flop and got rid of the limpers. On the
flop you would have the absolute nuts. And in Hold’em when you “power bet” this hand, only over cards and
over pairs can call. The likelihood of someone still being in and having a straight draw against you by holding a 25 or a
57 is very unlikely.
5. If you have the same set of Jack’s in Omaha high-low you will
not drive out the draws. Your hand is actually barely adequate. This is because the straight is possible and small low cards
are generally played. If my hand had a full wrap, A256, I would probably raise your bet and you would probably raise me back
since you had the nuts. And, you would hate me when low got there and I also had nut-straight. And you would call me a suck
out dog. And, I would smile. But, mathematically, I played correctly. My hand has many 20 outs, and 16 of them are potential
“hogger” outs. (Aces, 3; 2’s, 3; 5’s, 3; 6’s, 4; 7’s, 3; 8’s, 4; and, that doesn’t
count flush potential.) And, I have 2 cards to draw. I’ll take the shot because I know if I get there you won’t
let go. And, if it is a pot limit tournament, you’re going to the showers…. You’ll be talking to yourself
and everybody else that will listen about how some maniac sucked out on the river.) 6. Remember, you want hands that can drive the pot. You want 2-way hands
(high and low possibilities) that give your aggressive play many outs. You want hands that will allow calculated aggression
so that passive players will lay down gut-shot outs.
7. However, aggression only works if your cards back up your bets in Omaha
H/L. Good players will recognize the blasters and will lay in wait. And, they will punish your over-aggressive nature. Moves
are only minimally effective in Omaha H/L. You must have a strong table image and a background of solid play for respect.
You see, in Omaha H/L you must display your bluff more often. When low hits the board (and it does 60% of the time) you must
show your hand. And, the players at the table will back out your play by reading the flop into your hand. And, they will recognize
your outs and the value of your bet. And, then the player notes will start out. Blasters don’t last long in Omaha H/L.
Posted by decimare on March 21, 2005 at 19:14:41:
1. Free roll betting in commonly referred to as getting a free bet while
others are still chasing an out. Generally, the free roll happens when one player has an A-2 and a possible straight, flush,
or even a single high pair in an Omaha H/L game. This happened to me in the Rainbow tournament today. I flopped nut low on
the button. I and one other player had an equal stack and commanded about 80% of the chips between us. The 20% stack was sitting
out. He checked the flop and I made a pot bet that he called. I figured he had a 2nd nut low or some type of draw. Good enough
to call but not enough to bet. I had no real high other than a backdoor king high spade draw. The turn was another low card,
a spade. He came out firing. I read into his play that he had hit his straight. I was relatively certain he did not have nut
low and I raised him all in with my spade out. A spade hit the river and he was tapped. He did have a straight. This is the
value of playing 2-way hands. You can build a pot with low and suck out for a “hogger”. Sometimes high can’t
get any better. However, nut lows have 3 cards working (the A to combine with any pair or perhaps a suited Ace and 2 other
cards). Some people don’t like to bet or raise with low. You should find a way to put it into your poker toolbox. It
ended up being a $480.00 payday. I love free rolling.
2. Nearly free rolling might also include a flop of Kd,Jd,Jc and you have
AKKT while your opponent has AKJT. I just had this very hand a few days ago and was under the gun (first small blind position).
Almost the absolute mortals. Since I was in first position, I elected to slow play and get the most money I could out of the
hand. I checked, big blind checked, and middle person who is short-stacked checks. The turn came up with a Qd. I made a limp
in bet hoping they would read me for a weak diamond. Big blind calls and middle position raises. What did middle person have?
Did he hit pocket Queens, nut diamonds, or, did he slow play quad Jacks on the flip. Then I realize that middle position is
short stacked and no matter what he has I can get all my money back from Big blind, so I make a small raise. Big blind re-raises
and puts middle position all in. Now, I’m really confused. I’m thinking they both can’t have big hands.
They must be split up and I must have the nuts. Of course I go over the top putting big blind all-in and congratulate myself
on maximizing my return. I focus on middle positions. He had Jack full of Kings on the flop. Then I look at big blind. The
Qd made him a Royal flush on the turn. Oh well, sometimes the 44:1 shot comes down. My cute little play cost me all my chips.
However, the point is that I’ll win this 43 out of 44 times. Some days you should just go for a walk.
3. We dream about flops when the other player(s) is drawing 100% dead.
You’ll win in almost any situation regardless of the card on the turn and river. When it happens, and it will, you’ll
want to bet and/or raise aggressively to maximize your profit. Sometimes we get cute and check (like I did) because we look
at a huge hand and know that the other player could never call a big bet. Suck-out players don’t care. They look at
the big bet as a bluff and they’ll call. Once committed, they’ll chase their money into your pot with a single
gut-shot. Many times they don’t even understand that the hand should be mucked. You should bet good flops aggressively
and let go of the weak hands. You’ll get another hand and it would be nice to have a chip stack to maximize your return.
Fold 2nd-nut-hands before you marry them. They’ll bankrupt you in the pot settlement. Posted by decimare on March 26, 2005 at 11:37:34:
The Art of being a Suck-Out-Dog or Did you call me Lucky?
1. Suck out dog is seemingly a derogatory term. From time to time you will
hear a player refer to another player as, “you’re just a suck-out-dog”. Don’t be sensitive if you
hear that expression. It’s music to my ears. When you call me a suck out dog, I'll just smile and stack the chips. And,
I won’t even offer an explanation!
2. Sometimes, after hearing this term, you automatically assume the player
is loose and drawing to long odds. Sometimes this is true. However, don’t rush to judgment. The hand that won is only
two of the cards that were played. Look at the other combinations. It may be that the total hand will show a Nut Low draw,
a Nut flush draw, and a single ugly pair of 9’s. When that card pairs at the end and the player wins with trips, the
suck-out-dog comment will be offered. Look at the total hand.
3. You should also look at the Pot Odds. If you have an A-2-3 with anything,
and, the Ace is suited, you are going to call all raises. If the pot is capped (a bet and 3 raises) before the flop by six
or seven players, a “15% out” draw can be justified. The important factor is that you are not drawing dead. (You’re
already beat no matter what card hits the board.) If you select combination hands, you should know whether you have a nut
out, or, a hand with no real positive expectation at the flop. Don’t chase 2nd place hands.
Suck out dog tells (a tell is a detectable behavior)
You will note the adrenaline rush by stimulation of heart action and an
increase in blood pressure, metabolic rate, and blood glucose concentration. Normally the face will flush. Sometimes this
“tell” will be obvious before you call, so look for it. And, then when they rake in the chips they will giggle.
This makes the “tell” memorable. 1. You
simply assign point values to card combinations according to their potential for making winning hands. As a percentage player,
you should always be looking for those items that a point system analyzes. 2. Your
high part of your hand is; Pairs, the higher the better; 2 card flushes, the higher the better; - 2 card to a straight, the
higher the better; and, High cards, the higher the better. 3. Your
low part of your hand is; Low cards, the lower the better. 4. When
you count points for a straight, each two-card combination counts separately. For
example: a J, Q, K yields 3 combinations: J-Q, J-K and Q-K. 5. Additionally,
add extra value for last and next to last position and subtract points for early position. 6. Then
you need minimum points (19) to complete the small blind. Minimum points are
needed to call (34) or raise (38). 7. If
you call too frequently it you’ll leak off your money. If you play too
tight you'll be giving up profitable winners. This will be influenced by the
tight or loose play of your opponents. A call frequency near 23% is a good start
and considered very tight play. Low Point Count for tight play High Card Low Card Ace 2 3 4 5 X 2 23 - - - - - 3 16 12 - - - - 4 11 9 7 - - - 5 7 6 5 4 - - 6 4 3 3 2 2 - 7 - - - - - 2 8 - - - - - 1 High Point Count for tight play High Card 2 card Flush 2 card straight No Gap 2 card straight Gap - 1 2 card straight Gap - 2 Pairs High Cards Ace 11 1 1 1 30 8 King 8 2 2 2 18 4 Queen 6 3 3 1 13 2 Jack 5 4 2 1 9 1 10 5 3 2 1 6 0 9 5 3 2 1 4 0 8 4 2 1 1 3 0 7 4 2 1 0 3 0 6 4 2 1 0 3 0 5 4 2 1 1 3 0 4 4 1 1 3 0 3 4 3 0 2 3 0 1.
After calculating points, the point count system suggests calling the small blind
with a minimum of 19 points (fold if raised). 2.
Call one bet with a minimum of 34 points. 3.
Call, raise, or cold call one raise with minimum of 37 points. 4.
Call, raise, or cold call 3+ raises with 48 points. 5.
Using this point count will cause a calling pattern of approximately 23% of dealt
hands. That calling pattern will be recognized as very tight play. 6.
I find the value of an A-2 (23 points) and the value of the high card A (11 points)
to be very significant. This 2-card combination alone in recognized by a statistically
sound point system as being worthy of a call. 7.
Familiarize yourself with the point count philosophy.
Don’t expect to use it as a new player. You’ll need a notepad
and calculator to figure your plays. Just remember the basics. Good hands have many combinations. The primary combination
includes an Ace. =============================================
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
