Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 44: John ��KasinoKrime�� Beauprez Rips My PLO Game Apart
The title of this column is Hold��em With Holloway, but every once in a while I like to veer off course and examine a hand from a different variant. Right now, I��ve been doing a lot of work on my pot-limit Omaha game, including spending some time studying John ��KasinoKrime�� Beauprez��s PLO QuickPro.
A few weeks back, I played a big hand in my weekly $2/$5 PLO game, which features a max buy-in of $500 but plays much bigger than you might expect. The hand in question was fraught with decision points, and I wasn��t overly confident with the choices I made. I took note of the hand, and reached out to Beauprez to get his thoughts on how it played out. Needless to say, I was thrilled he took the time to give me his analysis.
Below, I explain the hand in question, relate my thinking at the time, and offer Beauprez��s take.
Preflop
The Action: I don��t recall the exact preflop action, but I do know an extremely tight older gentleman made it $35 to go, four other players called, and I opted to put in an additional $30 from the big blind with Q?10?J?5?. The older gentleman and myself each started the hand with roughly $1,100.
My Thoughts: I know my hand isn��t that great, especially with the dangler; however, this game is very splashy, so whenever you hit a flop chances are you��re going to get paid off postflop.
Beauprez��s Take: The call preflop is questionable from anywhere besides the big blind, and even from there I still lean towards a fold. While it��s true that you��re getting a fantastic price pre, there are many reverse implied odds implications. In general when you call with a hand from the blinds, the important considerations are:
- Asking yourself ��Do I have enough implied odds to get value from my hand the times I get there to make up for the times I miss?��
- and, if you can objectively say that you can win the pot sometimes when you miss, then you almost always have a profitable call.
My gut says that you were unlikely to bluff postflop. Which again, makes me want to fold this pre from pretty much anywhere besides exactly the big blind, and even there I think it��s close. The quickest way to lose money in poker is to build up pots and give up on them, and the most common mistake people fall into in PLO is calling out of position with no plan postflop.
Remember, most players look at preflop in a vacuum, and since PLO is primarily a postflop game, preflop mistakes really compound postflop and cost you a lot of money.
The Flop
The Action: The flop came down K?A?2? giving me a flush draw and a Broadway wrap. The preflop raiser bet pot.
My Thoughts: Given my experience with this player, I��m 100% sure he would only do this with pocket aces. I considered raising, but knowing his hand, I thought it��d be better just to flat and hope other players entered the pot.
Beauprez��s Take: Flop is standard because of our big draw. We have 42% against AxAxXxXx.
The Turn
The Action: Unfortunately all the other players folded making it heads-up action to the 8? turn. Once again my opponent bet pot ($585 I think).
My Thoughts: At that point I was sitting on about $900 total, which barely had my opponent covered. I obviously had three options�� I could give up on the hand, I could call and hope to hit my hand on the river (if I did I could bet the rest, and if not I could save $300), or I could raise all in hoping to get maximum value if my draw came in.
I opted to move all in, which I hate in hindsight. At the time I was thinking if I hit, he probably would fold the river and I��d be missing out on that value (I now don��t think that would be the case). He likes to cling to hands and probably would have paid me off regardless. If I could do it over again, I would have just called.
Beauprez��s Take: The turn is where it gets interesting. It depends on whether you think the opponent will pay off when you fill the draw. Competent players will never pay you off and in this case your turn call is borderline. But even if you think villain will pay off only sometimes �� which from the sounds of it, seems like he will �� then I would call one more time.
I ran the numbers and your equity on the turn against AxAxXxXx is exactly 33.08%. That means not only is your call immediately break-even, it��s clearly +EV if he calls the $315 river jam even some of the time. Just make sure not to jam on the 8? or 2?.
The River
The Action: The river was the 2?, so I missed. My opponent held A?A?9?3? for a full house.
My Thoughts: I obviously could have saved $315 by just calling, so opting to shove the turn was clearly a mistake, especially when I��m confident my opponent would have called the river had I made my hand (he��s very clingy).
Obviously losing that massive pot was gut wrenching, and of course had I practiced better hand selection preflop, I wouldn��t have found myself in that situation. That was the biggest lesson learned in the hand, while close behind is to pay better attention to equity situations.
Beauprez��s Take: I��m sure you see it now, but the turn jam is pretty bad. Without any fold equity and a clear range disadvantage, you have to just peel and see the river.
John ��KasinoKrime�� Beauprez is a World Series of Poker bracelet winner, best-selling author, and has successfully coached more than 300 students to date. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @jbeauprez, and to learn more about PLO QuickPro, visit ploquickpro.com.
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In this Series
- 1 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 1: Making Reads and Trusting Them
- 2 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 2: Playing in Poker Charity Events
- 3 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 3: Throttle Back Before You End Up Punting
- 4 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 4: Punish the Satellite Bubble
- 5 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 5: What is Proper Accumulator Strategy?
- 6 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 6: A Chip and a Chair Story with ��SirWatts��
- 7 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 7: 15 Things About Poker I Wish I��d Known Sooner
- 8 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 8: Examining the Largest Overlay in Poker History
- 9 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 9: Differences Between Rebuys and Reentries
- 10 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 10: Five Must-Read Poker Books of 2014
- 11 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 11: When Will You Finally Break Through?
- 12 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 12: Dealing with a Target on Your Back
- 13 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 13: Knowing When to Call It Quits
- 14 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 14: Embarking on a Year-Long Weight Loss Journey
- 15 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 15: Navigating Multiple Decision Points in a Poker Hand
- 16 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 16: Chris Moorman Tells Me How Badly I Play Poker
- 17 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 17: Richard ��nutsinho�� Lyndaker on Getting It in Marginal
- 18 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 18: Getting Inside the Head of Poker Pro Brian Rast
- 19 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 19: Stupid Calls & Lucky Draws in MSPT WI Championship
- 20 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 20: Talking Ante-Only Strategy with Greg ��FossilMan�� Raymer
- 21 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 21: Contributing to Jonathan Little��s New Book
- 22 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 22: Consequences of Acting Out of Turn & Tossing in Chips
- 23 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 23: When It Comes to Chops, Do What��s In Your Best Interest
- 24 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 24: Accepting Bad Beats & Lessons in Selling Action
- 25 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 25: Heinz�� Ace-High Call Shows Why He's a World Champ
- 26 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 26: Is Keeping the Short Stack Alive Collusion?
- 27 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 27: Great Laydown or Bad Fold on Poker Night in America?
- 28 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 28: Calling Hellmuth with Jack-Deuce Offsuit
- 29 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 29: The Philosophy of "No-Chop" Chad
- 30 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 30: Preparing to Play the World Series of Poker
- 31 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 31: Staying on Your Grind at the World Series of Poker
- 32 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 32: The Perilous Decision to Call Off with Ace-Queen
- 33 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 33: Using Poker Skills in Reality TV Competitions
- 34 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 34: Esfandiari Explains How to Recover from Bad Beats
- 35 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 35: Tilly vs. Brunson in Super High Roller Cash Game Hand
- 36 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol 36: Unconventional Play Leads to Good WSOP Main Event Start
- 37 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 37: Lessons in Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Low w/ Evan Jarvis
- 38 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 38: Things to Say and Do When You Bust a Poker Tournament
- 39 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 39: How Much Did I Have to Raise to Get You to Fold?
- 40 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 40: Practicing Patience in My Deep PPC Poker Tour Run
- 41 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 41: Analyzing a Questionable SHRPO Main Event Hand
- 42 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 42: Analyzing the Play of Neymar Jr. at EPT Barcelona
- 43 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 43: The Value of a Reliable Poker Reputation
- 44 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 44: John ��KasinoKrime�� Beauprez Rips My PLO Game Apart
- 45 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 45: Satellite Dilemmas -- To Call or Not to Call
- 46 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 46: Seiver Leverages the River in Super High Roller Bowl
- 47 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 47: What Untraditional Moves in Poker Might Mean
- 48 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 48: Thinking About the Future with Sam Grizzle
- 49 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 49: WCOOP Champ ��Coenaldinho7�� Offers Up His Biggest Hands
- 50 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 50: The Peril of Shoving Weak Aces
- 51 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 51: The Importance of Not Giving Up in Poker Tournaments
- 52 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 52: Does Asking ��Check�� Actually Constitute a Check?
- 53 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 53: Thomas Cannuli Impresses Even After Main Event Bustout
- 54 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 54: Dealers Aren��t Always Right
- 55 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 55: Don��t Get Married to Pocket Aces
- 56 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 56: Bazeley��s Survival Instinct Leads to Continued Success
- 57 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 57: Playing ��Deuces Wild�� on the European Poker Tour
- 58 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 58: The Wildest Hand in European Poker Tour History
- 59 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 59: Death, Zombies & Spending Time w/Phil Hellmuth
- 60 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 60: How the Unstoppable Fedor Holz Managed to Win Again
- 61 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 61: Lessons To Be Learned When You Hit the Big Stage
- 62 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 62: Steve O��Dwyer Explains the ��Oreo Cookie Tell��
- 63 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 63: What Would Happen to a Chip Stack If a November Niner Died?
- 64 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 64: Forgetting One Chip -- Should It Still Be an All-In Bet?
- 65 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 65: Todd ��sharkslayerrr�� Breyfogle on Bankroll Management
- 66 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 66: Cash Game Pro Daniel Arfin Offers Sound Bankroll Advice
- 67 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 67: Honeyman Plays Kings to Keep in Opponent��s Bluff Range
- 68 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 68: Why Do I Even Bother Drinking at the Poker Table?
- 69 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 69: Is Your Favorite Poker Pro Left- or Right-Handed?
- 70 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 70: In Order to Live You Have to Be Willing to Die
- 71 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 71: How to Amass a Big Stack Early in a Poker Tournament
- 72 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 72: Answering User-Submitted Poker Scenarios
- 73 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 73: Saying Goodbye with a Top Five List
- 74 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 74: We're Back, Baby!
- 75 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 75: Jivkov on Exploiting Capped Ranges
- 76 Hold��em with Holloway, Vol. 76: Matt Bretzfield Gets Tricky With Aces
- 77 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 77: Joseph Cheong Gets Crazy with a Pair of Ladies
- 78 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 78: Wyoming Poker Action & Wild South Dakota Hand
- 79 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 79: Calling Controversy at WinStar
- 80 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 80: Going for Value with Matt Hunt
- 81 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 81: Bracelet Winner Ryan Leng on Bad Call
- 82 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 82: Romeopro33 Recounts XL Eclipse Victory
- 83 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 83: Men The Master Doesn't Get Paid
- 84 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 84: Harman Hits Back-to-Back Miracle Turns
- 85 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 85: Jamie Kerstetter on Dealing with Bounties
- 86 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 86: Matt Stout Develops a Limp Dynamic
- 87 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 87: Matt Alexander Caught in Between w/ Two Red Aces
- 88 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 88: John Beauprez on Why He Folded a Set of Jacks
- 89 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 89: Alex Aqel Lets Opponent Hang Himself with Aces
- 90 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 90: David Peters Makes Beastly Call Against Will Givens
- 91 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 91: Poker Lessons from a Game of Risk
- 92 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 92: My Upstuck Diagnosis by the CLC Squad
- 93 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 93: Alex Foxen Coolers Nick Petrangelo in SHRB
- 94 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 94: My $25,000 PSPC Experience at 2019 PCA
- 95 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 95: The Equity of Leveraging Time Extensions
- 96 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 96: Dan O'Brien on Developing Healthy Routines
- 97 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 97: Big Hands From the WSOP-C Potawatomi
- 98 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 98: Simon Deadman Rips Apart My NLH Tourney Play
- 99 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 99: Shoving 10-6 Smack Dab Into Pocket Aces
- 100 Hold'em with Holloway, Vol. 100: The Revived Re-Entries Debate