Cake Poker Darwin 6-Max Pot-Limit Omaha
I decided to change things up a bit, in part because the relatively few NLHE games on Cake are often full. So I tried out the lowest-stake PLO table, buying in for 40bb.
There were five players at the table. I was UTG and paid the bb to play, drawing a decent A♥J♦T♦T♥. I raised to 2bb and all but one player called. The flop gave me top two pair with J♠3♥A♠. The blinds checked, I potted to 8bb. BTN raised all-in to 8.25bb; BB was all-in for 1.5. BB flipped over 5♣6♥2♦5♦ and BTN showed 2♠3♠K♠7♣. Inside straight and a flush draw, I was slightly favored over both. 3♦ fell on the turn and shifted the balance to BTN with a set, but I made a full house with J♥ on the river and took 24.5bb. That knocked out two of the players at the table.
All the spots had filled back up a little later when I got J♥9♣9♦K♥ on BTN. Three players ahead of me called, I called, and only theSB sat the hand out. I made middle set on the 8♠9♠J♠ flop. Action checked to me and I bet half the pot, 2.75bb. Only one player dropped out. I got a great present with the turn J♦. Once again action checked to me and I half-potted for 8.25bb. Two players dropped out but CO stayed in. A♦ fell on the river. CO checked, I potted for 33bb, CO called and showed 4♥Q♠K♦3♠ for a flush that was great on the flop. I took in a total pot of 92.5bb and called it a session.
8 minutes, 11 hands. +63.25bb.
Cake Poker Odesa 6-Max Pot-Limit Omaha
Went up a rung of blinds for the next game, buying in for just 20bb. Third hand I was dealt was 8♥K♣A♠Q♥ and two of us limped in with the BB to see the flop. 2♦8♣K♠ gave me a decent-looking two pair without any flush or straight draws, I bet half the pot—1.8bb—and took it down, which put me slightly ahead after the first couple of hands.
Got 8♦7♠K♣Q♠ on SB. UTG raised to 2.3bb, I called along with BB. The rainbow flop here is almost as good for me as the one above—Q♦3♥T♠—although the queen and ten could fit into a straight. Everyone checks and I’m wondering if my pair of queens is good. 7♣ on the turn gives me two pair again, no chance for a flush on the board, and a couple of straights are possible but not made. I open with a bet of 3.5bb, the BB calls, and UTG drops out. I’m pretty sure the 4♠ on the river is a brick, but I check, BB checks, and he shows A♦9♥8♠8♥. He’s been behind since the flop. I take 13bb and I’m up over 35%.
Next hand is double-paired: K♣8♠8♦K♦. I raise to 2.5bb from BTN and the blinds fold.
High-paired and connect-suited: K♥8♠K♣9♠. I raise to 2bb in CO. Blinds fold.
Three-flushed with a spread of six: 8♥J♦6♥9♥. I limp from UTG, a new player in HJ checks his buy-in, BTN limps, SB raises to 2bb. BB folds, everyone else calls. The flop is flush- and stright-heavy with 9♣7♣8♣. Two pair for me with straight draws on either end. Everyone checks. The turn is 2♣, which gets checked around as well. J♣ on the river makes the flush on the board. I toss a bb bet out and everyone folds. Bizarre. My profit is 6.4bb and I’m up almost 17bb for the session. I should leave but I guess I decided to try to double my investment.
Double-suited with a high connector (Q♦K♦4♥9♥) on the big blind. One limper and the flop is 4♣J♥Q♥, giving me top and bottom pair asa well as a flush draw. We both check and I make my flush on the turn with 2♥. I bet a bb and HJ folds.
On BTN holding a seemingly big hand with a big pair and a large suited connector. Five of us limp in to a 5♥T♦K♣ flop. I’ve got top set right off the bat. Everyone checks around to me and I should bet this but don’t. 9♥ improves me to a straight. HJ bets 3.5bb and I raise to 15.5bb. Everyone between us gets out of the way. He re-raises to 2.75 and I call, leaving about 9bb behind. Q♠ on the river doesn’t improve my hand but it doesn’t make it any worse. HJ bets to put me all-in and I call, he shows Q♦A♦J♠9♣ for the ace-high straight. We were chopping it until that last queen.
10 minutes, 11 hands. -20bb.
Cake Poker Darwin 6-Max Pot-Limit Omaha
Back down to the small stakes for a couple of games. Bought in for 40bb. Hand six here was small-paired and small gap-suited: 7♣5♣7♥A♦. I was UTG and limped, HJ limped, BTN min-raised, both the blinds, myself, and HJ called the raise. Got my two-pair-on-the-flop with Q♠A♠5♥. SB bet 2bb, BB called, I raised to almost the full pot: 10bb. BTN called and both the blinds folded, making it heads-up. 2♥ on the river didn’t change anything for me, I went all-in for 25.25bb and got a call from BTN, who had a couple of routes to a straight draw with T♠K♦T♦J♥. Heck, even another Tx would give him a better hand, but I was ahead 4:1. 3♠ on the river made me glad he hadn’t had spades. I took my 79bb pot and went home.
7 minutes, 7 hands. +39bb.
Cake Poker Darwin 6-Max Pot-Limit Omaha
A pattern starts to become visible in these sessions of minimal movement with a bit swing up or down. Down in this case. Bought in for 40bb. Nineteenth hand, I was down just 2.5bb from where I’d started. and got four to a wheel with a suited ace. I limped in from CO and four of us saw the flop. Nut flush draw and a six-high inside straight draw with 6♥6♦Q♦ but there was a potential full house—or four-of-a-kind—on the board. BB bet 4bb, I raised to 8bb, two others got out and BB re-raised to 28bb. I called, with 8.5bb behind. Hit my flush (and pointless straight) on the turn with 3♦. BB bet 1bb, I went all-in (what else?) and he called to show a full house with A♠6♣9♠3♣.
14 minutes, 19 hands. -40bb.
Cake Poker Perth 6-Max Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo
I’ve gotten the impression that I sort of liked H/L games playing D’s bi-weekly cash game but something about playing it online just left me feeling stupid. Maybe it was because I had K♦A♣A♥K♥ on my second hand here (with a 40bb buy-in) and I busted out. I was BB, BTN raised to 3.5bb, SB called, I re-raised to 14bb and got a call from BTN. Flop gave me the nut flush draw with Q♥3♥7♣. I checked instead of raising and BTN followed along. 8♣ on the turn looked inoffensive. I checked, BTN bet enough to put me all-in and I called. He showed J♣J♠8♦8♠ and the 6♦ hit on the river. Nothing really to do with the H/L game structure, really, I just decided to concentrate on pure PLO.
1 minute, 2 hands. -40bb.
Cake Poker Darwin 6-Max Pot-Limit Omaha
Only won a couple of hands in this session, not enough to right my boat but had to get out before I got even or lost everything. Only significant hand came when I was down almost 25bb from my 40bb buy-in. Got 8♣4♣3♥7♣ in UTG, a hand rife with unexpected straight and flush possibilities. I limped, BTN limped, SB min-raised, and three of us called. Hit two pair on the A♠3♣4♠ flop and called the SB’s 1bb bet along with BTN. Q♥ came on the turn and I called another 1bb bet from the SB, though I suspect I should have been scared. BTN opted out. 2♠ for the river either gave him a flush or it didn’t and I called another 1bb bet. He showed a great hand: T♠T♣J♦A♣. The problem was that it wasn’t a great board for that hand and my crappy low two pair was better. I got out a couple of hands later.
14 minutes, 12 hands. -16bb.
Cake Poker Darwin 6-Max Pot-Limit Omaha
Bought in for 40bb, First hand was low-paired and half-suited: K♦4♣2♥2♣. I was in for the bb as CO with five players. UTG called, I checked, BTN raised to 4bb, everyone called but SB. 7♣5♣K♥ on the flop gave me top pair and a low flush draw. Everyone checked. Turn T♦ did nothing for me, but it meant there were no straights on the board yet. BB and UTG checked but I bet 5bb. Everyone called and the pot was up to 36.5bb. Made my nearly-straight-flush with 6♣ on the river. BB checked, UTG bet 1BB, I just called in case there was a higher flush, BTN and BB called. UTG had a seven-high straight, BB had a set of sixes, BTN just had a pair of kings (albeit with a better kicker than I had). Won 28bb.
9♥8♥8♣Q♦ for hand two. I limped from UTG and was heads-up with BB. Hit a set on the flop with 9♠3♥8♦. BB bet a bb and I potted to 3.25bb. He re-raised to 12.25bb and I called. 4♣ turn didn’t mess things up for me. When BB went all-in for 9.5bb I called and saw his set of threes. With 3♣7♠5♦3♦ he had a potential nine-high straight, but I had him about 7:1. 5♠ maintained the status quo and I grabbed 20.25bb of profit.
I played a couple more hands and won both of them, too (though for lesser amounts) then got out and banked it.
4 minutes, 4 hands. +58.25bb.
Cake Poker Odesa 6-Max Pot-Limit Omaha
After the success of that outing, I stepped it back up to the higher-stakes tables. Kept the buy-in at the 20bb minimum and drifted along for a couple of hands as long as the flop in each case. I was down about 4bb by hand 5 when I got a three-suited four-straight: 9♠T♣J♥Q♣ in HJ. I limped, CO raised to 4bb, BB three-bet to 13bb, I called, CO called. My stack only had 3bb left. My flush hit on the flop with 3♣5♣A♣. I could be beat with a suited K♣ or 2♣3♣ in someone’s hand but it didn’t seem likely. BB checked, I tossed in my last 3bb, and BB felt he had to call to keep me honest, I guess. Then again, with a stack of 115bb, I guess he could afford to. He showed 6♠6♣T♠T♥ and needed two runners to win, which he didn’t get. I took in a profit of 26bb and left.
7 minutes, 5 hands. +22bb.
Cake Poker Darwin Pot-Limit Omaha
Winning was fun! It put a whole new perspective on poker. Because some of the other tables were full, I sat down at the full-sized low-rent tables for a bit. Did my usual of lying in wait through the blinds to the flop with hands I liked. I was down to 29bb from my original 40bb buy-in when I got K♣K♦T♠3♥. I called from UTG and was heads-up against the BB. The flop was 7♣9♥T♦, BB checked and I bet 1.25bb, half the pot. BB called. J♣ on the turn and I had a gut-shot straight draw. We both checked. J♠ on the river and it was checked to me again. I bet 5bb, got re-raised to 20bb, then called to see BB had 9♣K♠J♦3♦ for a full house.
Had two pair get knocked out by a five-high straight made on the flop the next hand.
14 minutes, 11 hands. -40bb.
Cake Poker Odesa 6-Max Pot-Limit Omaha
Started off well with 8♣A♥3♥5♥ in BB. UTG raised to 2.7bb, I was the only caller. The flop gave me top and bottom pair: 8♥4♠3♣. I bet 1bb and got a call. The 7♥ turn put the nut flush in my reach; I checked and got a check from UTG. A♦ on the turn improved by two pair and I bet another 1bb. UTG called, showed A♠T♦T♣Q♥ for only the aces. I earned 4.6bb.
Three hands later, 3♣7♠K♥A♠ as CO. Two limpers ahead of me, I called, and both blinds were in. Once again, I caught two pair on the flop of 2♠3♥7♥. Action checked to me and I bet half the pot: 2.5bb. Only HJ called. T♦ for the turn, HJ checked, and I checked, seeing as I did have only middle two pair. The river card was J♦. We both checked, and HJ showed Q♥J♠Q♦9♥. I profited about 6bb.
Fourteen hands in, it was 7♣7♠Q♣3♣ on BTN. I called after action folded to me, SB raised to 3bb, the BB folded, and I called to go heads-up. Hit a set with the flop of 8♦Q♠Q♥. SB checked and I raised to 3.5bb, was re-raised to 7bb, and went all-in for about 26bb. SB folded and I took in 10bb profit.
12 minutes, 14 hands. +18.3bb.
Cake Poker Odesa 6-Max Pot-Limit Omaha
Another excursion on the same table a couple of hours later. Nothing really happened for twenty hands, then I picked up a not-especially-choice 7♦Q♣T♦4♣ as HJ. Still, it was double-suited, and I limped in. CO and SB limped but BB raised to 5bb. I was the only caller. The 4♠Q♠Q♦ flop made me a full house and I was more than happy when BB led out with a 6bb bet. I went all-in with 18.6bb, fully expecting BB to call from his 60bb stack, and he complied, showing an already-dead K♣7♥9♥J♣. The 5♥ and 3♥ that hit the board were irrelevant, and my stack was up to 46bb, so I left.
21 minutes, 21 hands. +26bb.