Omaha

A word about Omaha.  I have been there but it has been years ago.  My Aunt Thelma and Uncle Dudley lived there and as a kid we used to visit every once in a while.  My sister, Kathy once had to go to the hospital while there because she ingested an entire bottle of baby asprin (Yum, they are tasty, like candy).  But I digress.  My real topic today is the game of Omaha.  Damn, I love that game sooooo much more than hold 'em.  Omaha is to Hold 'em what chess is to checkers.  It is both more of a thinking game and more of a five card, river game.  Big draws are much better than made hands (unless it is a straight flush or quads).  Yesterday, playing at Talking Stick I saw, in the 2- 3 hours I played, two quads (jacks) and a straight flush.  Big hands are not uncommon.  Flopping a straight is usually not a winning strategy, and if the board pairs or a flush is possible, you lose most of the time.

270,725 vs. 1,326  the number of distinctive starting hands vs. hold 'em.  Think about it.  You could play for years and not be dealt the same hand vs. seeing the same hand time after time playing hold 'em.

I waver in my playing style from super loosey-goosey to rock tight.  Yesterday was loose, playing most hands which turned out very bad for me.  Besides not getting a lot of premium hands just did not connect with many flops.  Oh, and I forgot to mention the unreasonable rake at Talking Stick, which was $6 max.  I mentioned on earlier post that twice lost on flopped set of 10's.  First time an Asian lady rivered a straight, second time same woman flopped a set of queens.  Bad luck with that pair all day.

Most really good players feel that a hand without A/2 is almost unplayable.  I tend to like any hand that is super connected, one gaps o.k., contains high pairs, is double suited with one high card, or an ace with a couple of low cards 3 through 7.  So, A/3/K/Q single or double suited is playable by me, while something like K/Q/10/4 is not.  Dan Harrington calls this type of hand a "dangler", which is the 4 which does not work with the other cards.  I am o.k. with two high cards and two low cards, say K/J/A/3.....one of the cards should be an ace, but am not adverse to something like K/Q/2/3, as this can make nut straights and wheels.

Generally speaking, there is no low 40% of the time, but the "scoop" is what you really want to do, so that is where the A/2 (preferably suited) comes in.

Really wish the free websites I play on offered omaha, closest is card player's "no river" which is weird.  Ask me about that game some time.  You get 4 cards, can play 3, flop and turn only.  Tough game to beat.

Late Breaking News....Just cashed for 3rd time in online tournament.  264 players.....1st place, $10.00, woo-hoo.

Talking Stick Casino

My friend Don and I played in the tournament today at Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona.  There were 149 entries, I finished 39th, Don made the final table and took 8th place.  It paid 15 spots.  Beautiful, hi-tech poker room, swipe your player's card to check in for comps & to put yourself on the waiting list for a wide variety of games.  After busting out I put my name on the 4/8 Omaha list and sat down in the 3/6 limit game.

Sitting in the Omaha, I look up to see Hal, a player from Tri-Cities.  He is playing the 8/16 Omaha game next to mine.  Terrible luck, did not win a single low pot and had my sets of 10's cracked twice.  On a side note, pocket 10's was not kind to me today.  Knocked out of the tournament with them on my pre-flop shove and called by AK offsuit.  He spiked an ace.  Oh, well.

Gun Appreciation Day

Today is national gun appreciation day.  In light of the recent tragedies and knee-jerk liberal reactions I must comment.  First of all, much of my family is on the anti-gun side of the question so I sometimes feel like "a voice crying in the wilderness".  It is clearly an emotional issue and not necessarily a logical one with statistics backing up both sides.  I have been accused of being paranoid (paranoia is clearly possible unless of course they really are trying to "get" you).  Let me start by giving you some background in my life.  I have not exactly led a sheltered life, particularly when I was younger.  I want to relate a few violent episodes.

• When I was in high school another kid threatened me with a knife outside a dance.
• I have gotten in a few fights and witnessed many more while in high school.  They were a regular thing back then.
• When I was in college a group of guys attacked me and my friends early one morning outside a restaurant.  I was surrounded and one of the bad guys was attempting to slash me with a knife. One of my friends was knocked to the ground and kicked.
• In the army another soldier pulled a knife on me and accused me of stealing a camera.
• In the army I was assaulted with a rock while driving an open jeep.
• While substitute teaching a student pulled a knife.
• Crossing the street from my business in downtown Pasco (late '70's) I was caught in the crossfire during a robbery.
• Following some shoplifters out of Macy's I was attacked by a knife.  I fought him off with a bronze sculpture he had stolen that I recovered.

As a kid I owned a gun or two, mostly just small gauge shotguns used for rabbit hunting.  My dad hunted some and owned a shotgun.  My grandfather had a small shotgun which ultimately passed on to me.  I hunted some in the 80's and still own the 12 gauge used for pheasant and ducks.  My dad taught me about gun safety.  There are very few rules, never point a gun at someone unless you intend to use it, treat every gun as loaded, make sure of your target and background.  He was not a fan of rifles or handguns as the bullets travel so much farther than shotgun rounds.  He briefly owned a 38 police special, but I think it was stolen from his business.  He got it as part of a trade-in on a car.

The incident that really changed my viewpoint was the brutal attack on my daughter's concierge at their downtown Seattle condo.  He was a very nice man, just a few years older than me, and was walking home from work late at night, something he had done for many years.  He was beaten and robbed, suffering severe injuries that left him almost dead, in the hospital for quite some time. He was unable to return to work afterwards.  Since then I have seen the police frisking suspects around the corner from their condo.  An old acquaintance who used to be a Seattle cop said that Belltown is a very dangerous place at night.  I think about that when I visit and take the dog out to potty at night, or walk a few blocks to get take out Vietnamese food.

With this background, and frankly my advancing age, I decided several months ago to apply for a concealed weapons permit.  After taking a class and filling out the paperwork I received it.  Also, since I travel so often to Washington got one there too (they do not have a reciprocal agreement).  The next step was purchasing a handgun.  I initially went with a Ruger LCR .38 revolver, but due to it's rather bulky size have changed to a smaller caliber Ruger LCP .380 pistol which is easier to carry, more bullets in magazine, and is lighter.

   What I have discovered that with your carry permit comes a great burden.  The last thing I want to do is shoot someone.  On the other hand, if I have the choice between being killed or killing will just have to live with the consequences.  I really believe that our last option should be to harm anyone.  We should walk or run away from trouble if at all possible.  Regarding our 2nd amendment rights, these are rights that are given to us by our creator, that is, to protect both our own life and our loved ones.  The 2nd amendment simply guarantees that our government will not interfere with that most basic human need, survival.

It is my intention to protect my family and myself from harm, both with my storage and use of the weapons and against anyone trying to hurt us.  We all wish for the violence in America and worldwide to stop, but that does not seem to be the case.  Failing that, I believe that if the honest folks can protect themselves from those that do not follow laws, are mentally ill, or are just plain evil, we will live in a safer country.  The "gun free" zones where killings have happened are not made safer by more laws.  They would, however, be safer if law-abiding citizens were there with defensive weapons.  As always, I appreciate your comments.   

 

Avoiding Bad Beats

In my infinite wisdom have figured out a way to avoid bad beats.....quit playing poker.  Other than that, not so much.  My friend Bob called me this week to ask about my beats....guess he is just a glutton for punishment.  Truth is, hearing about anyone else's bad beats usually solicits polite listening or mentally making out a grocery shopping list.  Have said before, the more you get the better you are usually playing.  After all, getting aces snapped by A/8 offsuit means you were way way in front and welcome the call.  Right?  There is something to be said by your opponent skillfully laying down a "nut" ace high flush when he correctly perceives that you have the full house, straight flush or quads, but honestly we welcome his call, even if sometimes the river rises up in all its ugliness and SNAPS you!  The raised pot or all-in bet which results in everyone folding is never a bad thing.

Tonight I get to play in the American Legion tournament.  Maybe I will even deal.  I like the small rebate on my buy-in that dealing offers.  Cheap poker is always better than full price poker.  Hoping to not take any bad beats or deliver any (that means I was behind and had to get lucky).  Missed my opportunity last night to win an I-pad cause I "forgot" to sign in.  Actually, wanted to watch American Idol instead (spoiler...the new female judges are highly dysfunctional). 

The Straight Life

I have been giving some serious thought about the frequency of hitting straights vs. flushes, and about the nature of straights in general.  If you give some serious thought to it, straights are much easier to hit than flushes.  The odds are:

Odds Against Flopping:

A flush.............118 to 1
A straight when holding any two connecting cards 5/4 through j/10............76 to 1
Three of a kind when holding a pocket pair..............7.5 to 1
Any pair (matching one of your hole cards)............2.45 to 1

So, hitting your set is 3 times less likely than hitting a pair, flopping a set is 10 times less likely than hitting a set (on the flop), and flopping your flush is 1.5 times less likely than flopping a straight.  Of course, you still have a couple of cards to come, so missing is not the end of the world.

But here is the catch in all of this.  In my experience you make far more money usually when you hit your straights than almost any other hand (except for sets), and they have the advantage of being much more common.  Chasing a pocket pair after the flop is usually a losing proposition while straights are much easier (open ender is 8 outs vs. 2 outs for set).  Even a gutshot offers 4 outs.

The other advantage of the straight is the disguise factor.  A flush is just darned obvious, and unless you have the nuts you can lose money even when you hit your hand.  On the other hand, the straight is sometimes beaten by the bigger straight, but on most boards you will play cautiously...if you are astute.....when that is possible.  The clueless that you sometimes run into will re-jam your nut straight with the "dumb end" at times and will always, always pay you off.

Playing some online poker today I tried to write down which hands would make the straight if one was possible.  It truly amazed me how many there were.  Furthermore, it illustrated how important the connectedness was (versus gapped connectors).

Out of 21 hands observed:

17 no gappers would have won
7  one gappers would win
6 two gappers would win

The reason this adds up to more than 21 is that on some hands more than one would make a straight.  For instance, one observed hand 4 different combinations would make a straight:

J/Q, 4/5, J/9, and 6/9, with JQ, the ungapped connector obviously the winner.

Two gappers sometimes beat one gappers, and "no gap" connectors sometimes were beaten by larger no gappers.  I realize that this is, statistically speaking, a totally useless study due to the small sample, but two observations are pertinent.  One, there are a hell of a lot of straight possibilities being dealt.  Second, no gap connectors are vastly superior to those with gaps.  In my opinion, anything more than  two gaps is just gambling unless they are face cards.....which is a different story for a different time.

Oh, and the best of the best?  4/5 with 5 winners (although beaten by bigger straights 3 times) K/Q- 4 winners, followed by Q/J, and J/10 with 2.  This also illustrates the point of playing larger connectors, as they can make big pairs....which sometimes keeps you in the hand until the straight develops.  They are not dominated, as the lowly 4/5 was so often, sometimes by gapped connectors.  Most books I have read do not recommend even playing any connector below 5/6 or 6/7.

All is Forgiven

 
So, last night at the Legion tournament, I went early with the intention of not playing, but seeking out those who were there Wed. night to apologize to them.  The first one I ran into just blew the incident off as "no big deal".  Then some other players came in who were not there.  One of them said, "Hey, I heard you went crazy Wednesday night (he played but left earlier)".  Then another joined in saying they were surprised because it was "so out of character".  Then the target of my tirade entered.  I shook hands with him and apologized and he didn't say much.  On the other hand, he is usually pretty friendly with me.  After we all joked about it decided to go ahead and play.

Ended up cashing for $87.00 (fifth place), getting knocked out with my pocket aces by A/8 offsuit.  He had the ace of hearts and three hearts flopped.  Of course another heart came on the turn on the unpaired board, so drawing dead.  Fitting that I get knocked out by another blankedy blankedy weak ace flush.  Karma is such a bitch. 

I Really Should Quit

Finished on the bubble, just like last night at the "private game" in Wheeler.  My luck is just so rotten, and so is my attitude.  I went crazy when my straight was busted with a flush last night.  Regrettably I said some pretty bad things, the player did not deserve it.

This tournament lasted forever, as it was a shootout style, so you win your table only to have to win another, then another to play on the 6 handed final table.  My last hand was KK vs QQ and he spiked a queen.  Good grief! 

Runners

Ya gotta love it when you are running good in poker.  This morning in a small tournament I limped in with QJ off suit.  The flop was Q/9/10, with 2 hearts (I had the Q).  It is bet small, I min-raise, the next player goes all-in and is called by the original bettor.  I call.  The hands are:  10/10 for flopped set, Q/9 for two pair, and my top pair, open-ender.  I hit the king on the turn and eliminate one player (the other had a few more chips than me).  Love it when you are way behind and get lucky.  This tournament is a qualifier for an I-Pad prize.


Dear fliphall,

You won an invitation to play in the "Apple iPad 2 Direct Qualifier" tournament which is scheduled to start 01/07/2013 02:26:00 PM, EST. If you have not already done so, you must register for this tournament to play in it. To register for this or any other tournament, log on and click the Tournaments tab. All tournaments and their details, including dates and start times, can be found there.

Came in first!  Won points plus chance to enter final.  One in 4 win a seat.

Dang, busted out in 10th place with J/J vs A/5.  Guess who went runner/runner aces?