Bovada $500 PLO8 Bounty

Forty hands into an online PLO8 bounty tournament with 65 entries. On my table (I’m player 21), three bounties have already been claimed (I got one on hand 19). You can get a feel for just how aggressive the field is (and possibly just how bad some of the players are) by the fact that more than half the field has been eliminated already. I started in the middle of the 30/60 level, each level is lasting about seven or eight hands. PLO has more players to the flop and more post-flop action than NLHE, so hands tend to last longer, and these are full-ring tables unlike the 6-Max hand-by-hand.

At the end of Thursday’s installment, I’d lost some ground, but was still at double the starting stack. With half the players gone, that’s about chip average.

A note for anyone who’s interested in how the numbers for these charts (and the charts themselves) get cranked out. I wrote a tool using an old-school software development tool called Adobe Director. It’s so old that the first versions I used came on big bunches of floppy disks. But it has fantastically simple text parsing and file input/output, so I wrote a tool to parse a Bovada hand history file and create two new files: an HTML file with the tables, showing players, cards, stacks, and blind levels, and a text file with statements in the Poker Query Language (PQL) used by ProPokerTools. The PQL statement for each hand could be input into the PPT’s online PQL Runner (or into their desktop Odds Oracle application). The PQL cranked out chances for the cards dealt to the player to have the best high (winsHi or tiesHi) or best low (winsLo or tiesLo) hand, as well as their overall equity (riverEquity) . You can see in the sample below the results for the cards as dealt for Hand 41 for CO, D, SB, and BB, and below that how it translated into the chart. Values for subsequent streets of action were created by modifying the PQL statement.

D has what looks to be a strong hand, at least for a high. A suited ace, with a pair in the top half of the ranks. He has only 1% equity in the pot to start with, however, because a) he has no low; b) the other two nines are dealt out, making it impossible for him to get a set, and two other players have higher pairs; c) only three spades remain in the deck, making his flush draw more difficult; d) only one ace and one king are undealt, and even if both cards show up to make two pair and that’s the best hand, he’d potentially be splitting the pot with HJ. Nonetheless, he limps into the pot, along with four others. UTG1 folds a hand that has 17% equity, more than anyone except SB (19%, with the nut low, suited ace, and a pair) or BB (25% with a pair and no low). SB checks his monster and everyone checks behind. SB finally makes a 250 bet after his set is behind on the turn, BB folds, UTG and I call. UTG misses his draws for a straight and a flush on the river, SB’s set stays good and he bets another 250. UTG calls with the pair of aces, my 6532A low isn’t perfect but I call and take half the pot.

Pre-flop, UTG2 has 24% equity in the hand overall—more than twice the average of 11%—though he has no low. BB, UTG3, and CO, essentially tied for the most equity in any possible low pot, have 18%, 10%, and 8% respectively, because their best draws are to low hands. Action folds to UTG3, who limps in, along with CO. The three players check the flop. BB checks the turn and UTG3 makes a min-bet with a pair of aces. CO’s low card is counterfeit and he folds, leaving BB to make the call. With CO out of the hand, no card can come to prevent BB from at least splitting the high, and he still has a chance for the low. The river gives BB two pair but ruins his low, which goes to UTG3.

BB’s low drawing hand with a suied ace has 42% equity, about as much as you’re ever going to get in a nine-way PLO8 hand. Which is sad, because everyone folds to SB, who limps in. SB check-calls a bet of 500 on the flop as he picks up top pair and a straight draw. SB calls another 1.5K on the turn, with top two pair, then folds his share of the pot to an all-in from BB, who takes in 4.5K. SB loses half his stack.

UTG and CO limp into the pot. Everyone checks the flop. I can’t know in BB I’ve got the best high but I’m secure with my low, and pots 875 on the turn, getting folds from both of the other players.

UTG3 and SB (me, again) limp in. BB starts out with a pair of kings and an ace, with a not-horrible low draw, but SB flops the world, with a set and a flush draw for the high. I pot to 750 and get called by UTG3. The turn makes a flush for me and gives both of us the same 8432A low., but I pots to 2.3K and UTG3 gives it up. He’d only lose chips to call, anyway, since he’d be quartered.

UTG and UTG2 both have suited Ax 2x hands for the best low draw, though UTG2 has a better backup low. UTG inexplicably folds, leaving UTG2 and HJ limping into the flop along with SB. SB makes top set on the flop and bets half pot, getting a call from BB, with middle pair, a backdoor straight draw and a flush draw. UTG2 folds his low draw, which looks a little vague. HJ has bottom two pair and the nut flush draw and goes all-in for 2.1K. SB raises to 5.1K. BB folds. Until those folds, HJ doesn’t have a chance to win a low pot, but now he’s in contention for the low, if there is one. The turn keeps that possibility alive, then the river brings in a flush that counterfeits SB’s set while also making a low, and HJ scoops the pot.

It’s odd to think that UTG’s low rundown hand could have a 0% chance of making the low hand, but all four of the aces are dealt, so there’s nothing that can counterfeit one of them as a low. It won’t matter in this hand anyway. Only UTG3 folds pre-flop (with just 1% equity as dealt). I have top pair and a straight draw as CO, UTG2 has bottom two pair. Action checks around to D, with the nut low draw, who bets 900. UTG and UTG1 are the only callers, with an open-ended straight draw and flush draw, respectively. The flush comes through on the turn for UTG1, D’s still drawing to a low. UTG1 bets just 600, getting calls from D and UTG (who’s drawing dead). On the river, UTG1 bets another 600 but this time nobody calls and he wins the hand.

After a hand of carnage, there’s often a lull, and this was one of those hands. UTG raised to 1.1K with his aces (and 42% equity) and everyone folded behind him.

UTG in this hand has a pretty good low draw and pots to 1.1K, getting calls from me (in HJ) and CO. UTG goes all-in for 2.6K on the flop, both CO and I call, though my low is broken, I do have a bad flush draw and a backdoor flush possibility. CO has the nut heart draw and a made pair. The turn gets checked, as my chances get smaller and smaller, then the river kills any possibility of a low and CO pre-flop pair of tens makes the best hand and picks up a bounty for player 49, who’s eliminated in 37th place.

I limp in and I’m HU on the flop with BB. My chance of a low as dealt is 0.47%, but with most everyone else out of the field, I’m the only one with any chance and it’s about 50%. The flop makes a better pair for BB, but my flush draw has me in the lead for the best high by the river. The turn seals my flush as the best hand, but BB bets 300 on his straight draw and I call it.He bets another 300 on the river after making a straight, and I just call, because I do just have the fourth-best flush, and there is a possibility of a full house.

The first three players to act fold (not really sure why HJ’s folding here, with a suited ace and Ax 2x; what’s he waiting for?), and everyone else limps in. D hits the big time with top set on the flop and calls a bet of 1.2K from CO, who has a gut-shot Broadway draw, as well as middle pair and an over pair. SB comes along with low cards and an open-ended straight draw. On the turn, D bets 1.8K, SB folds due to a timeout, and CO calls. CO goes all-in with a full house on the river, but D has a better full house and takes the pot and a bounty.

CO and SB are the only limpers into the pot, despite HJ’s decent low draw and suited ace. SB checks the flop. I have a straight in BB with no equity and pot to 900. CO just calls with the nut flush, and SB folds (SB’s 1% chance for a win would be if the turn and river are running 6s, 7s, or 9s, giving him a full house). I thinks his straight might be good and bet 2.7K. CO disabuses me of my belief and pots to 10.8K. I folds.

HJ, CO, and SB limp in. HJ opens after the flop with trips for 700. CO shoved for 2.8K. I folded SB, BB folded, HJ called. The turn gives HJ a full house, the river makes a low for CO and they split the pot.

HJ and CO fold. SB folds because of a timeout, otherwise he’d probably be in because he has the low draw. UTG and D (me) limp. BB folds, despite not having to put any money in. Chances for a low are slim on the flop, UTG bets 400 and I call. There’s no low after the turn, I have the hand locked with the river giving me enough guts to bet 3K on the river, waving off UTG.

UTG calls, HJ calls, and I call with less-than-average equity because I’m a sucker for these weird mid-range run-downs. Amazingly, with half the other players folded out, I have a 50% chance of making the best high hand by the river. Things are even better after I get trips on the flop. HJ makes a bet of 900 with his aces. I have a flush draw—the only flush draw to be made. I have trips. I have a gut-shot straight draw to the ten. And I have three live cards to a full house with eights over. I pot to 4.5K and take the hand.

UTG2 pots his double-paired hand to 1.4K and takes the blinds without contest.

UTG has aces and pots to 1.4K, leaving only 2.2K behind. Action folds to BB, who re-pots a Broadway run-down with two suits. UTG calls all-in and goes HU with 75% equity in the hand. There are three qualified low cards on the board by the river, but the six invalidates UTG’s low and BB has only one qualified card in his hand. UTG’s aces don’t come into play: his jack and six make two pair on the flop and he gets a double.

UTG tries to limp in, everyone else folds to D, who min-raises to 800 with his pair of kings and no low draw. BB and UTG call. Both of them check the flop, then D fires for 2.6K. UTG has the best chance for a high hand, despite D’s made pair. A couple of aces for top pair, a couple of queens for Broadway, the last four for a set…hard to realize that facing a bet for more than a third of your stack and no pair. D takes the hand.

Everyone except for UTG1 and UTG2 sees the flop for minimum price. Despite BB’s over pair to the flop, he’s not favored for the high with the other kings already dealt; CO has the low locked up well. Everyone checks the flop. On the turn, everyone checks to CO, who bets his low for 800. SB has the five and a flush draw and calls with precious chips from his short stack. BB keeps on with his kings, which have picked up some equity with just one card to go The three players check the river and SB’s trip 5s pick up the high pot, with CO having the only low.

UTG, UTG2, and D join me in seeing the flop. Not really sure why UTG1 folds preflop; it’s good for him that he did, but it’s really a hand he should be playing with more preflop equity than any of the others. The flop looks good for me with trips and a flush draw, but I check it. UTG2 opens to 1.8K and I’m the only caller. I really don’t know how I avoided going broke on this hand; UTG2 had far more chips than I did, I have what seems to be a decent hand, but I check-fold to a 2K bet on the turn and escape relatively inexpensively.

Summary

Still running 60% VPIP. Still no pre-flop raises. Three showdowns, lost one, took all of another, and got a low. Won four pots without showdown, more than a quarter of the hands I put money into.

Overall, nine of the twenty hands went to showdown, and there were six made lows (one of which was in a hand that went to the river but not to showdown). Ten high-pot hands had pairs (six of them tens or better), and ten winning hands had suited aces. Only two of the made low hands had A2 combos.

More PLO8 tomorrow.

Bovada $500 PLO8 Bounty

Continuing with the tournament series we started Tuesday, I’ve nearly tripled my starting stack (as player 21). A reminder, the values in the chart are the percentage for getting the best high/low hand, not the amount of overall equity. See the first installment for a full explanation of the chart, if it’s not obvious.

Just UTG and me limping this hand. I check from SB on the flop, BB pots his set of fours, UTG repots his set of twos, I get the hell out of the hand, not knowing that my low’s live, and BB calls. They check the flop and it looks like BB’s going to scoop, until the river when UTG gets lucky with a card that counterfeit’s BB’s live low card.

People seem to be playing a little tighter at this level. Three players limp in and BB checks. BB pots his low draw on the flop, and everyone else folds.

NIne players, three limp in and BB checks. All four check the flop. On the turn, UTG3 and SB are likely tying the high with AAAT7, SB bets 480 and UTG3 is the only caller. The river fails to bring a low for either player, but UTG3 makes a full house and scoops.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a hand with more lopsided percentages to win. Because of the cards dealt, BB’s A2 has only a 6% chance of winning or tying a low hand, even though he’s the only player with that combo. The A34 low draw of UTG2 is actually better off. UTG and UTG1 fold, UTG2 raises to 240, and he’s called by UTG3 (with virtually no chance of winning), D, and BB. On the flop, BB scores big—though his low is gone—nobody else has a shot at the high anymore. He pots and UTG2 calls with the low draw. BB’s hand improves with a better full house on the turn, UTG2 makes his low, and they get all the chips in to chop the pot.

Some pre-flop raising action on this hand. UTG and I limp in, then CO pots his pair of aces (and not much else apart from the suit) to 660. D calls with some low cards, UTG calls with a run-down, and I’m in with my nut low draw and suited Broadway cards. The flop gives me a fairly strong low, and I’m going to run with it. CO has the nut flush draw and the aces, D has straight draws with an ace or a six to complete. UTG has nothing and checks. I pot my low, and CO calls. The others fold. I’ve got a slim chance to scoop with 5♠ for a wheel until the river. CO goes all-in on the turn and I call. We chop the pot.

Four players limp in and BB checks. D has a lot of draws to a straight on the flop and pots, everyone else folds.

CO pots his aces to 560 after everyone in front of him folds, getting a call from BB. Two high cards on the flop reduce the chance of BB’s low, both players check. The turn card is bad for CO as it gives BB two pair and the only low draw. BB bets 1.2K and CO folds.

Let’s consider double-paired/double-suited hands for a moment. HJ’s picked up a great hand by all conventional standards: two aces with second-nut low draws, and two nut flush draws. Yet he only has a 17% chance of having the best high hand, and an equal chance of having the best low hand. Yes, he will scoop the pot in this case, but his overall starting equity is 22%, compared to 25% for SB and 26% for UTG, neither of whom has what would be considered a good hand. Anyway, UTG2 tries to limp in with his low cards, HJ pots to 720, D calls with a suited ace, and UTG2 calls. HJ’s chance for the high hand go up dramatically against just two other players. HJ pots again to 2.4K on the flop with two pair and UTG2 calls with the six and backdoor low draw. UTG2 check-calls HJ’s all-in for 2.1K on the turn, the river doesn’t bring a low, and HJ scoops with the full house.

Three players limp in and BB checks. The flop looks good for my low, but great for UTG1. Four of us have backdoor draws as our only outs for the high, and that’s likely to get split up if it happens. I check my low draw, UTG1 opens up for 800, getting a fold from D and BB. I check the turn, UTG1 pots to 3.2K, and CO calls for 1K. UTG1 only has 300 behind and I raise to 6.5K. Naturally, he calls. I miss the low (which would have been a chop with CO, anyway) but CO is eliminated in 33rd position.

I just limp in as D and BB folds. I’ll have to try that more often.

UTG2 and HJ limp in, BB checks. Why I didn’t call with 4♣ 5♠ 8♥ J♠ I don’t know, I actually have the best chance of making a high. HJ is all over the flop, pots it to 560, and the others fold.

Here’s an odd—but not unusual—situation. I have A♦ 2♦, technically the best possible low combo, but SB and BB, each with 3x 5x, have a nearly 50% better chance of making the best low. How can that be? Let’s consider what’s been dealt: Axx3, 2xx1, 3xx4, 4xx1, 5xx3, 6xx2, 7xx3, and 8xx2. That leaves one ace, three deuces, three fours, one five, two sixes, a seven, and two eights. Assume three of those cards show up on the board to qualify a low. All of the threes are out, meaning that part of their draw is safe. Only one five remains to cancel out that draw. Meanwhile, nearly a quarter of the remaining low cards negate my deuce, and I can’t get a three. This is when you want an extra low card. Anyway, four players limp in and BB checks. CO should be reconsidering why he didn’t come into the hand with the rest of us. We all check the flop. On the turn, I have a straight and the best low draw; since nobody bet the flush on the flop, I pot to 1.3K after a minimum bet of 160 from UTG1 and his worthless aces. Everyone folds.

Three players limp in and BB checks. CO makes a tight but technically proper fold with his A3. Not having a backup low could easily get him into trouble here. Lots of action on the flop. BB has a set and a redraw to a full house or quads, so he pots to 720. UTG1 has the nut low and a draw to the wheel for the high, so he re-pots to 2.9K. I have nothing, so I fold. HJ goes all-in for 4.6K with the nut flush draw and second-nut low. Both BB and UTG1 call, with BB all-in for 1.6K. BB’s looking good on the turn, but the river swings the high pot to HJ’s flush and he chops the pot with UTG1, and they each get half a bounty. Player 14 finishes in 31st place.

No SB. UTG2 is the only player to limp in; he goes HU with BB. BB checks top two pair on the flop, UTG2 bets 400 with his flush, and with only a draw to the full house on the high end, BB lets it go.

I’m the only player (UTG) in the pot other than BB. BB has a draw to the same straight as me, and the best low, though he’s unlikely to realize that. I pot to 500 and he folds.

I get a walk in the BB. Rare in PLO8.

HJ is the only player to call out of the blinds. On the flop, HJ and BB have a good chance at a split high pot (good in the sense that a chop is likely, not that it’s really “good” for either of them). HJ has a better chance to make the high. All three check the flop. Only SB  (me) has a chance for a low after the turn, and I pick up more of an opportunity for the high. HJ bets 200, I call, BB folds. No low after the river shows up, HJ bets 400 with his straight, I fold a pair of fives.

The pair of aces in UTG’s hand has just a 7% chance of making the best high with everyone else in the hand. Both of the other aces are dealt out, something that’s fairly common with 32 of 52 cards gone from the deck in an eight-handed deal. The average equity with two aces against seven other players is only 19%; that’s about 1.5 times the average equity. That goes up to 30% with AA23. On this hand, UTG calls, UTG1 raises the aces to 900. SB and UTG call. The flop is checked around, then SB pots on the turn with a full house. UTG has a low draw and calls the 1.2K along with UTG1. SB has the nuts on the river and makes an all-in bet, the other players fold.

UTG1 raises to 400 and BB is the only caller. Both players have the A3 second-nut low, but only BB has a backup low card. This comes into play immediately when the players flop top two pair. On the flop, BB actually has 74% equity in the hand, compared to UTG1’s 26%. BB can only improve to a better two pair (the only hand that isn’t a tie with BB) with the final jack. BB checks the flop, UTG1 bets 450, and BB calls. The turn almost ensures a split high pot, and both players check, then the river makes the low for BB and UTG1 gets quartered.

UTG1, CO, and BB limp in. The flop gives CO two pair but makes his low draw practically useless. The blinds check, UTG1 bets his straight and flush draws for 200, getting called by everyone but BB. SB locks up the low on the turn, and CO has 41% equity in the hand for just his two pair. Neither bets the turn though, and the river fills in the gap in UTG1’s straight. SB has made the lower straight and with that and the low bets pot on the river. UTG1 calls, and CO wisely folds.

Summary

I didn’t limp into quite as many hands in this stage as I did in the first twenty, Only 45% VPIP in this batch, making it 60% over the first 40 hands. Still no pre-flop raising. People are already slightly less inclined to take it to the river: hands won without showdown goes from 1 to 4. I don’t go to as many showdowns myself: only 2 hands (with 1 win).

Only one of the six hands that won a low pot at showdown had an Ax 2x combination. Six of the winning high hands contained three or four different ranks under nine (including aces). Four of the winning high hands had a pair under tens; only three had pairs Tx Tx or better.

More PLO8 action on Saturday.

Bovada $500 PLO8 Bounty

A couple months back, I put together a series of articles showing equities for all of the hands dealt at my table(s) down to the last hand of a NLHE 6-Max tournament. In the middle of that project, I got into the same position in an online Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Bounty game, also on Bovada, and I thought it might be interesting to do the same type of breakdown for the hands in that game. One installment per day (except Wednesday and Friday) until the end of the tournament.

This was a smaller tournament, with 65 entries at nine-handed tables. The bounty was one-third of the entry fee, and nine places paid. I got into the tournament in the third level.

These hand charts vary slightly from those I did for the 6-Max. Instead of equity, the values are the percentage chance of making the best hand for the high (before the slash) and the low (after the slash).

Cards are shown for each player in the CARDS column. The flop, turn, and river cards are on the first row, along with the hand number, and blinds. Suits are designated by black for spades, green for clubs, red for hearts, and blue for diamonds. My player number is 21, it’s always in bold.

If there’s no chance of a low, there will be no second number (or slash). Because more than one player may make the best hand in many situations—particularly for low pots—the values represent shared equity.

Players who win chips in a hand are highlighted in yellow. Players who receive chips from the pot but have a net loss are highlighted in red.

I start off in the cutoff, and my hand looks decent until the flop, where two of my three low cards are counterfeit. I do pick up top two pair for my high (so does BB). HJ has the best low with a seven, but there’s no way he can know it. He comes along with his middle pair when BB min-bets the flop, but they both fold to my pot bet on the turn.

UTG and UTG2 fold as everyone else limps in. Six players check the flop, as UTG1 pulls ahead with top pair. Both the blinds are drawing dead for both hi and lo pots: the last queen wouldn’t catch SB up to UTG1’s set of kings, both of BB’s other fours are already dealt. UTG opens his set with a pot-sized bet on the turn, everyone folds but D, who does have Broadway and other straight draws, as well as a low draw. Nothing comes on the river except for a full house for UTG1, he makes a bet of less than half pot and D folds.

UTG, UTG1, CO, and D ditch out in an unraised pot. Everyone checks the flop and turn. SB bets 120 on the river with a 8542A low, and I call with 8532A. HJ pots his full house and takes the whole pot.