The flop

In this $25/$50 PLO hand from earlier this month I was dealt a pair of Kings double suited – a pretty strong hand in Omaha. My opponent, who I know to be a loose-aggressive player, raises pre-flop with another fairly strong hand with flush and straight possibilities. At this point I am a slight favourite at 56% and call the bet.

The flop comes down all hearts, giving me the third nuts (after the Ace-high flush and the straight flush). As my opponent raised pre-flop I can pretty much discount him having the 6;-8; for the straight flush (good Omaha players do not tend to raise with nothing prefl op in cash games) so the only hand I need to worry about is the Ace-high flush.

Flop and turn

On the flop I have a big decision to make: has he flopped the Ace-high flush or is he making a play? I know he is a strong player, but also one who plays a little too loose and aggressive, so I call. With a blank on the turn he puts me all-in and I call. I’ve decided that if he does have one of the two hands that beat me, I’m just going to pay him off.

My opponent’s play is very courageous, although he has nothing and a 0% chance of winning the hand at showdown, the fact that he has the A; in his hand means that he knows I can’t have the nut flush (he too discounts the straight flush). He also knows I am capable of folding a flush, so he plays according to type – aggressive – and bets.

River

The important thing to note is that there are many players that I would not even consider calling in this situation, but my experience of this player gives me the confidence to call. Of course, this is something that loose-aggressive players rely on to get paid off when they do have the nuts.

Although in this case my opponent had nothing, he knew I didn’t have the Ace-high flush and gambled on bluffing me right the way through the hand to put pressure on me. If I didn’t already know that he was capable of this I would have folded for sure, but in the end, I decided to gamble that he was making a move on me, and on this occasion I made the right call and it paid off.