Omaha<\/a> eight-or-better game at the Wynn which also included a half kill. (If a player scoops, the next hand is played at $30-$60 and the winner would post an additional blind known as the kill. The kill has last action preflop unless they\u2019re directly facing a raise.)<\/p>\nIn this particular hand, I was in the cutoff and the kill was posted in the hijack. The small blind and blind remained at $10 and $20 respectively, but it would cost $30 to call. I peeled my cards dealt and looked at a playable but speculative holding of A![\"Club](\"https:\/\/www.cardplayer.com\/packages\/common\/suits\/club.gif\" "\\"Club")
9![\"Diamond](\"https:\/\/www.cardplayer.com\/packages\/common\/suits\/diamond.gif\" "\\"Diamond")
8![\"Heart](\"https:\/\/www.cardplayer.com\/packages\/common\/suits\/heart.gif\" "\\"Heart")
3.<\/p>\n
A loose player limped in in middle position in front of the kill, and I contemplated my options. The advantage to raising would be to put pressure on the blinds to prevent them from entering, and would also increase the existing pot size in a spot where between the random dealt kill and passive limper, I figured to be overall ahead.<\/p>\n
On the downside, it would limit the range of hands I could have. I would have a wider combination of almost any four playable cards (examples including everything from 10-5-4-2, K-Q-J-9, and weak A-2 and A-3 combinations.)<\/p>\n
If I did choose to raise, the hand I actually held would be closer to the bottom of my range in this spot as it didn\u2019t have particularly strong high potential and only had A-3-8 going towards the low. This would mean that I am behind any A-2, and I also lack backup protection in the event of pairing the ace or the three. All things considered, I elected to limp in.<\/p>\n
The small blind was a longtime pro who regularly plays in games ranging from $20-$40 to $80-$160. He generally leans towards aggressive tendencies and lines in the hands he plays, and this was no exception as he came in for a raise.<\/p>\n
At this point, I was glad I chose to limp since it exposed the power of his hand by letting him raise, and I would not have liked the position I would have been in if I raised my weaker holding and allowed him to three-bet which could potentially have forced folds from the big blind, kill, and maybe even the limper.<\/p>\n
As played, the loose, splashy player in the big blind called, the limper called, the kill folded, and we took the flop four ways with two bets and the dead kill, a pot totaling $270.<\/p>\n
The flop came Q-9-5 with two spades. The small blind fired $30, the big blind folded, and the limper called. Now I had a choice to call and peel, or fold.<\/p>\n
Given I had a pair and a backdoor low draw, and the current pot was $330 with a $30 bet laying me 11:1, my predisposition was to calling and taking a card off.<\/p>\n
Additionally, I attempted an assessment of every player\u2019s range in this spot. Since the small blind raised multiway out of position, I figured him to have a very strong preflop hand with a range generally consisting of A-2-3-x, A-2-wheel, A-2-wheel-paint, A-A-x-x, and other such combinations.<\/p>\n
Given the flop texture, I figured his hand generally missed this board, and that his most likely connection to this specific flop would be if he now has a spade draw. Obviously, he could have a holding like A-2-Q-Q or A![\"Spade](\"https:\/\/www.cardplayer.com\/packages\/common\/suits\/spade.gif\" "\\"Spade")
J 10x 2x that hit the flop rather hard, but I thought that would be the minority of his possible holdings.<\/p>\n
The limper figured to have a mixed bag range containing some low card and high card combinations, and I also determined from his flop call that he didn\u2019t think his hand warranted a raise while facing a bet from a player that most likely missed the flop. So I pegged his range as light as well.<\/p>\n
All things considered, I put in the call and the pot was now $360.<\/p>\n
Turn came a red 10 and the small blind bet $60. As he bet, the limper looked slightly displeased and took a moment before he mucked his hand. The most likely holding my opponent could have that still has a piece of this board would be a spade draw, and if I was going to have a reasonable chance of winning this pot I would have to represent a turned straight and raise now.<\/p>\n
I would also have to follow through with a bet on any non-spade river if I took this line since his most likely range is very likely to fold to a river bet when missed, and he would also often hold one or maybe two pair combinations which would beat me at showdown.<\/p>\n
Executing the two-street play would require a raise to $120 here and a potential $60 bet on the river, so the total I could be risking would be $180. The pot was at $420 and laying me about 2.33:1 odds on the move, so it would need to be successful only around 31% of the time to turn a profit.<\/p>\n
I announced raise and put in the two bets, and my opponent thought for about five seconds before folding his hand. I instantly felt good about the line I took and my read on the situation, and tried to assess what his most likely holding actually was.<\/p>\n
My best guess was A-A possibly with the naked A which he figured would be worth betting but did not have enough strength to compete against my raise, and thus wasn\u2019t worth seeing a river. By reading the range and situation appropriately, it allowed me to steal a pot which my hand had no business winning on pure strength. These spots come up from time to time in eight-or-better if we pay attention when hand ranges make them available.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/media.cardplayer.com\/assets\/000\/036\/221\/headshot.jpg\")
Mark Mazmanian has been a mixed-game specialist for more than two decades playing in games all over the country. The Las Vegas resident can be reached on IG maztastic1 or by email at markmaz17<\/code>hotmail.com.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
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I recently played in a good $20-$40