Omalympics

Over the last week I've been playing a lot of PL Omaha (Hi), both in prep for the Omalympics and just for a change of pace from the Hold'Em ass kickings I'm used to. Right off the bat I'm hitting Quads and Straight Flushes... I scored 2nd place in the first PLO SnG I played, and had a +200BB session at Full Tilt - too bad it was only at the .05c/.10c tables.

I got myself out of work an hour early so I could get home in time for the DADI Special Omalympics. I'd been in training for a week and was ready to go for the Gold. I had missed the first dozen hands (which the Hand History shows I had a lot of chances to chip up!), and the first hand I play after logging in, I flop a set and lose to a rivered straight. Luckily, there was a flush out there so the betting action wasn't that heavy.

I immediately get moved to a table with Iggy, Veneno, GCox and on_thg. The first hand I get involved in on that table, I hit two pair with AJ, but see some chips go to GCox who only has an Ace. I'm scratching my head as I look over the hand history, and see that he won the Low.

Oh yeah, we're playing Hi/Low split... I totally spaced on that aspect of it! "Now I'll be coming into EVERY hand!" I say. Sure enough, I am able to pick up a couple of low halves with hands I would have totally mucked if I had still thought we were playing only Hi. Then things started really going my way:

Dealt to skitchorama [6h Ac Kc 3h]
*** RIVER *** [4c 8c 9c 3c] [2s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
skitchorama: shows [6h Ac Kc 3h] (HI: a flush, Ace high; LO: 6,4,3,2,A)

Dealt to skitchorama [5s 5d 2h Ad]
*** RIVER *** [Ac 8h 3d Kd] [4d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
skitchorama: shows [5s 5d 2h Ad] (HI: a flush, Ace high; LO: 5,4,3,2,A)

These happened within 5 hands of each other, and both times I got paid off by ScarKnight who had a lower flush. Now that I had some chips, I decide to have a little fun with this hand: "Dealt to skitchorama [2s 7d 8s 2c]" and raise it to 72 and get callers. The flop:



Yea, nobody paid me off on that one, but I did get to drop DQB and HAMMER in chat! A few hands later:



It came runner runner Duece, but I had to let it go when the turn was a 3rd club.

I get this in the BB:

Dealt to skitchorama [3d 6h Jd 2d]
*** FLOP *** [7c Jh Ah]

I led out betting, but got raised and reraised... I folded and watched the other two get themselves all-in:

*** RIVER *** [7c Jh Ah 6s] [As]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
willythewise: shows [2c 4h 2h 5c] (HI: two pair, Aces and Deuces; LO: 7,6,4,2,A)
grupper: shows [Ad 5d Js Ac] (HI: four of a kind, Aces)

Ummm... I would have had A,2,3,6,7 for the Lo and taken willythewise out. I guess it was a good laydown though, wasn't it? If a 3 had fallen, it would have counterfeited mine and I would have lost to his Wheel. Having the A,2,3 was giving me the nut low draw, but with no Straight or Flush draw, my lone pair of Jacks wasn't strong enough for me to keep going, especially in the face of TWO all-ins. Is my line of thinking correct on this?

Dinner was cooking, and since I was up near the top ten I considered sitting out to protect my chips and let the rest of the Omatards take each other out. I was going to play through my button and then head out. I get this in the SB and complete:

Dealt to skitchorama [9h 3d 7h 4d]
*** FLOP *** [4h 9d Td]

I bet out and ScarKnight, whom I'd taken plenty of chips off, raises enough to let me know he's going all in. I started with about 2000 and he had 800. Everyone else folds and I go ahead and grant his wish:

*** RIVER *** [4h 9d Td 2d] [9s]
skitchorama: shows [9h 3d 7h 4d] (HI: a full house, Nines full of Fours)
ScarKnight: shows [Th 8d 9c 8s] (HI: a full house, Nines full of Tens)

Yea, he flopped the bigger two pair, but I turned the Flush only to lose to the bigger Full House. Great. Back down to 1200. Now I'd have to bring dinner to the computer desk so I wouldn't miss out on the hand that would bump me back up. I thought this might be this one here:

Dealt to skitchorama [Ah 5h 4d As] - but when the board came 998J with no flush possibility for me, I was resigned to let it go. It got checked around to the River, where a third Ace fell.



Nut full-house no good. I was thinking it was fortunate that on_thg only had 500 chips starting that hand. That left me with 700 to try and make something of. It turned out it didn't matter, because precisely 2 hands later, my BB no less:

Dealt to skitchorama [4s Kd 2h 4c]
*** FLOP *** [3c 5h Qc]
GCox25: checks
skitchorama: checks
yosoyveneno: bets 100
mowenumdown: calls 100
GCox25: folds
skitchorama: calls 100
*** TURN *** [3c 5h Qc] [6h]
skitchorama: bets 534 and is all-in
yosoyveneno: raises 79 to 613 and is all-in
*** RIVER *** [3c 5h Qc 6h] [Td]

So I had the 6 high straight... a possible scooper hand. I might lose the high to a 7-4, or lose the low to a A2 or A4. With Veneno betting the Flop, I figured she hit a set, or maybe had the A2 or A4 for the low draw. She had the A4, plus a 7 for the scoop:



Well, I guess it benefitted Veneno that I didn't lose all my chips to on_thg, as he busted out shortly afterwards. She, on the other hand, was able use my chips to make a comeback run all the way to the final table.

For me, it's back to the gym...