Poker has been going really well the last couple of days. My side-bet’s finally ended and I feel like I’m a reborn player.

I decided to exchange 100$ from PS with someone on the forum for a 100$ on FT. This was the greatest decision I’ve ever made in poker. The reason that I wanted to play on FT is that they offer KO tourneys with a great structure. 3k starting stack (even though they’re turbos) and a bounty on every player you bust. I haven’t had succes in the first one I’'d entered, but in the second one I became third for 252$. It was so nice to ship an amount that contained more than two numbers.
So after a few hours I’ve tripled my BR on FT and I was satisfied. Then Sjaakiie (you might know him) added me on msn and we started talking. He was a bit tilty and asked if I wanted to play some HU PLO50. I thought ‘why not’ but joked around and said that I would leave after losing one bi and if I would win one. Unfortunately, I didn’t tick the box that makes sure you automatically save your hand histories. Therefore I can’t show you some hands, but I can show you how the session ended:

50PLO HU vs Sjaakiie (7 bi's up)

Hihi! I have to admit that I felt like God afterwards.
But okay, that was just a shot and something I shouldn’t be doing in the near future.

I’ve been playing 25nl omaha 8ob a lot, because I think that game is one of the easiest to beat. At least if you're having some experience playing 8ob. I was kinda proud of my read in the next hand and the (semi-)bluff I’ve made on the river:

Full Tilt Poker Game #6233488074: Table Swift (6 max) - $0.10/$0.25 - No Limit Omaha H/L - 6:59:07 ET - 2008/04/30
Seat 1: BOmanOTH ($38.85)
Seat 2: scheich666 ($24.20)
Seat 3: Madelon ($29.10)
Seat 4: sesamstraat ($23.20)
Seat 6: spicycabbage ($28.10)
scheich666 posts the small blind of $0.10
Madelon posts the big blind of $0.25
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Madelon [ ]
sesamstraat folds
spicycabbage folds
BOmanOTH raises to $0.85
scheich666 folds
Madelon calls $0.60
*** FLOP ***
Madelon checks
BOmanOTH bets $1.80
Madelon calls $1.80
*** TURN ***
Madelon checks
darkdelfon sits down
BOmanOTH bets $3.25
Madelon calls $3.25
*** RIVER ***
Madelon checks
darkdelfon adds $15
BOmanOTH bets $7
darkdelfon is feeling confused
Madelon raises to $21
BOmanOTH has 15 seconds left to act
BOmanOTH has requested TIME
BOmanOTH is sitting out
BOmanOTH has timed out
BOmanOTH folds
Uncalled bet of $14 returned to Madelon
Madelon mucks
Madelon wins the pot ($24.65)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $25.90 | Rake $1.25
Board:
Seat 1: BOmanOTH (button) folded on the River
Seat 2: scheich666 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: Madelon (big blind) collected ($24.65), mucked
Seat 4: sesamstraat didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: spicycabbage didn't bet (folded)

I think I’ll buy the omaha version of PT3 when it’s released. I’m pretty confident that I have an edge on most of the players, but I’m not very known with the maths. Plus it can come in handy for all of the same reasons people use it for NLHE.

Uhm, well.. Since I consider hi/lo to be my main game, I want to share my experiences with you. The next information is based on how I’ve observed the players and some stuff I've read in books. You can disagree with me, which would be fun, because this game needs more attention!!

I have discovered that 'donkbetting' is very significant in NL 8ob. The game is all about the redraws and players always seem to find a way to claim at least half of the pot. The last couple of days I’ve been experimenting by making overshoves/-bets on the flop as well as on the turn. (With the best hand ofc.) I’ve gotten so much value out of this, it’s unbelievable! If you know that someone is drawing to only a lo, ALWAYS bet your made hand and preferably bet more than the pot. Let’s say 20% on top of what’s already in the middle. It doesn’t matter on what street you’re at, this is important due to the fact that they don’t always hit a lo. In fact you want them to pay for a split by not giving them the odds to call.

This a great example. I knew that he had a deuce and wouldn't fold. If I would bet small, I probably wouldn't get as much value out of the hand as I got now:

Full Tilt Poker Game #6234549526: Table Meet (6 max) - $0.10/$0.25 - No Limit Omaha H/L - 10:20:55 ET - 2008/04/30
Seat 1: telsa21 ($9.30)
Seat 2: Madelon ($58.10)
Seat 3: bigbristols ($33.60)
Seat 4: spicycabbage ($21.70)
Seat 5: DamienMcD ($9.70)
Seat 6: newchampion ($18.35)
Madelon posts the small blind of $0.10
bigbristols posts the big blind of $0.25
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Madelon [ ]
spicycabbage calls $0.25
DamienMcD folds
newchampion folds
telsa21 folds
Madelon raises to $1
bigbristols calls $0.75
spicycabbage calls $0.75
*** FLOP ***
Madelon bets $3
bigbristols folds
spicycabbage calls $3
*** TURN ***
Madelon bets $54.10, and is all in
spicycabbage calls $17.70, and is all in
Madelon shows [ ]
spicycabbage shows
Uncalled bet of $36.40 returned to Madelon
*** RIVER *** []
Madelon shows a full house, Eights full of Twos, for high
spicycabbage shows three of a kind, Twos, for high
Madelon wins the pot ($42.20) with a full house, Eights full of Twos
spicycabbage is sitting out
No low hand qualified
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $44.40 | Rake $2.20
Board: [ ]
Seat 1: telsa21 (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: Madelon (small blind) showed [Kd 8c 8d Ac] and won ($42.20) with HI: a full house, Eights full of Twos
Seat 3: bigbristols (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 4: spicycabbage showed and lost with HI: three of a kind, Twos
Seat 5: DamienMcD didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: newchampion didn't bet (folded)
---
This doesn’t add up so much if there are multiple draws on the board such as a straight ánd a flush. So only do this when you’re the one having a made hand which can improve. I.e. top two pair with a wrap-around. There’s simply no use in doing this if it’s a drawheavy board. Also, overshoving the double nuts (nut hi/nut lo) on the river is something that you should definitely apply in your game. I noticed that there are a lot of players who valuebet their double nut hands by betting about half of the pot. In doing this, you’re not exploiting your hands enough. Any other player with a nut lo will call about 90% of the times. If you get called when you’re overshoving your hand, you will quarter them and gain so much more.
---
Oh and something that you should bear in mind is this:
If you think that you’re not the only one holding the nut lo, you will get quartered UNLESS there are 4 or more players in the pot. Then you get a neutral EV on your hand and break even. Therefore you should always fold your nut lo to a (big) bet on the river if you think someone else has it too. So this only goes if you’re facing three players in the pot. It does occur occasionally when playing HU, but if your reads are strong, you'll notice this.
---
This was nice as well, btw:

Ok, this is just a small post. But if any of you would like to discuss hi/lo in a serious way, I suggest that you send me a PM so we can talk thru msn. I'd love to learn more about it.
---
For good or ill,
Q.