Folding the Nuts
Very few situations in poker are cut and dried. It’s always great when they are, because that takes away the chances of you making a mistake during the hand. But all to often, you are going to be forced to make decisions that aren’t all that clear. In Omaha Hi/Lo poker, these situations are common, and the skill of a player, or lack there of, really starts to show. I am going to share some situations with you where it seems that you have a great hand, but really you have very little. Suppose that you have limped into a pot in late position with A-2-10-K with two spades. You have three opponents (big blind, early limper, middle limper) when the flop comes down 6-7-8 with two hearts. At first glance, this seems to be a great flop for your hand because you made the nut low. However, a problem has developed when the big blind bets, the early limper raises and the middle player calls. What could they have?
Well, we know for sure that the big blind could have absolutely anything. This includes a good low, a flush draw, two pair, a set, or maybe even the nut straight. After all, he did get a free play; but what about the other two players? One of them almost certainly has the same nut low as you have. If they are solid players, they probably have a backup low/high hand also, such as a 3 or a set. Now, what about your hand?
What we know right now is that you have the nut low made. Now, just by looking at the board, it is easy to determine that you have little chance to make the high. Plus, as we have already discovered, there is a good chance that you are going to get quartered on the hand…and that’s the best possible scenario. Suppose another ace or deuce lands on either the turn or river. With out another low card in your hand, your nut low has just been counterfeited. Now what are you left with? Instead of making you guess, I’ll tell you. NOTHING! You have very little for high, and a one card low against three opponents who have all shown some strength.
This is one of those rare situations in Omaha poker where your best play may be folding the nut low right now. All you have is one small bet invested into this pot, so you aren’t going to be losing much on the hand. Also, your three opponents just limped in, so the pot isn’t very big anyway. On top of all of that, it is costing you two bets to continue, and it could get raised and re-raised again…and on each street. Trust me when I tell you that releasing that hand right now will save you a ton of money in the long run.
Another example of flopping the nuts and not having much could come in a different way. Suppose that you are new to the game and have posted in the cutoff seat. We will use the same three opponents as before, and also the same board of 6-7-8 with two hearts. This time though, you have a hand of 3-9-10-K rainbow. Also, we will keep the same action leading up to you. Once again, we have a very delicate situation of having the nut high, and nothing for backup.
As noted earlier, the big blind could have the same high as you, or something like two pair or a set. A set would also be a possibility for one of the limpers. In this situation though, we have to worry about that flush draw also.
What we know right now is that you have the nut high. We also know that you are only playing for half the pot…at best. On top of all of that, any heart, 6,7,8,9,or 10 could be disastrous. That’s about half of the remaining deck. This makes you a 2-1 underdog to still have the nut high at the end of the hand. That coupled with the fact that you may be getting quartered anyway and I believe that it is best to just dump this hand and get ready for the next. Remember, you have three opponents that have all shown some strength, and you are only in this hand because you posted in the cutoff seat and got a free play. At the very least, you need to just call at this point and see what happens in the action later. If the big blind just calls, that is good news because two limpers don’t figure to have a 9-10 in their hands (if they are solid players). Being last to act in this hand in crucial because if a blank hit’s the turn, you are able to raise the field with what is likely the only high. Plus, you are a favorite at this point to still have the best high on the river. There is a lot that needs to happen though, so I still believe that folding your hand on the flop (if you’re facing action), to be the best play at this point, given everything we know.
I’m not suggesting that you throw away the nuts every time someone raises, I’m just trying to give you something to think about. This is why redraws are so crucial in all Omaha poker games. The possibility of another player sharing in your profits is always present. A good Omaha Hi/Lo player will always tell you to make sure you have some redraws, or emergency outs, just in case. So the next time you flop the nuts in an Omaha High Low game and a raising war breaks out, be very careful as you continue through the hand. You don’t ever want to get to showdown and find out that you are quartered…or worse.
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