Omaha High/Low:

THE TAXMAN COMETH

BY: Russ Fox

"Look, we play the Star Spangled Banner before every game. You want us to pay income taxes, too?" - Bill Veeck [Late owner of the Chicago White Sox]

As I write this, summer has turned to fall. Soon instead of enjoying barbecues we’ll be enjoying hot chocolate. Hopefully, you’ve had a profitable summer at the poker tables.

Unfortunately for myself, I spent the summer studying for a professional exam on the tax code. I’m pretty sure that I passed; however, in typical IRS fashion, I won’t find out the official results until May (and I won’t receive my certification until July).

In the poker world, luckily, we don’t have to wait eight to ten months to find out how things turn out. Poker offers instant (or close to that) gratification. You bet, raise, call, check or fold and can determine, especially in a flop game like Omaha, if your action(s) led to the best possible result.

I played my first live poker last Friday. In the spirit of the exam that I took, here is an Omaha quiz, all multiple choice, based on situations that came up. Your first hand is: Q865. You’ve posted $6 directly behind the button (playing $6/$12 Omaha with a full kill). Five players have called, with you, the button, and the two blinds left to act. Do you: (a) check; (b) raise to $12; (c) fold.

Of course you don’t fold - why would you not see a hand for free? Checking is the obvious choice - this is a poor hand. Perhaps the flop will hit you.

The flop is: QQ5. A beautiful flop for your hand. Seven of you saw the flop; it’s checked when the action reaches you (you’re last to act). Do you (a) Bet $6; (b) Check or (c) Fold?

Although you’ve hit the flop, a bet here will likely get you just the money in the pot. Perhaps if you check someone will hit something (like a flush). Yes, you’re risking (a) runner-runner low and (b) a bigger full house. If you had a tell that someone else hit the flop a bet would be in order.

Assume you checked. The turn is the 9. Again, the action is checked when it reaches you. Do you (a) Bet $12; (b) Check; or (c) Fold?

Well, the flush got there - and there’s no chance for low. I bet, hoping someone had hit the hand. Only one player called (about what I expected). While I could talk about the River (an irrelevant deuce), where I bet and the other player called (he had the nut flush), the key point of this hand is to attempt to maximize your winnings.

Here’s your second hand: K653. You’ve just won a kill pot, and you’re the big blind, so you post the mandatory $12. You’re last to act. The first player into the pot raises (he’s been doing a lot of that, mostly unsuccessfully), and four others call. It’s your turn to act. Do you (a) Raise to $36; (b) Call the additional $12; or (c) Fold?

A case can be made for all three actions. A raise can be successful if it is likely to drive out players with better hands - but that won’t happen in this game. A fold is certainly reasonable; your hand is not that good: you’re certainly up against at least one A2, probably also an A3.

I elected to call based on the pot odds I was getting and that the other players would not put me on this hand. (Full credit for either (b) or (c).) Let’s assume you called, and here’s the flop: A87. You’re first to act, with five other players in the hand. Do you: (a) Bet $12; (b) Check; or (c) Fold?

This is a great flop for your hand. The A2 & A3 lows have been counterfeited and you have the nut flush draw. Additionally, you have the idiot end draw for the straight. The pot already has $139 ($144 less $4 drop and $1 jackpot). While a check might be right, I think a bet is called for because you can drop out some of the better lows (you’re representing the 23). Three players, including the original raiser, call you, and see the turn of the J. You’re again first to act (the pot has $187). Do you (a) Bet $24; (b) Check or (c) Fold?

This is not the card you wanted to see - now there’s a backdoor heart flush draw, various high straight draws, and you still have only a mediocre low with a pair of Aces. However, if you check you’re telling your opponents that (1) all I have is a flush draw and (2) my low isn’t particularly good. I believe in being aggressive in marginal situations. So I bet. One player drops out, so before the river card is dealt there is $259 in the pot. The river is the J. Again, you’re first to act. Do you (a) Bet $24; (b) Check or (c) Fold?

You’ve made the nut flush, but you’re high is beat by as little as 33xx. However, you’ve been representing trips so if you bet you might get a full house to fold. Also, it’s possible you have the best low. So betting is clear. The original raiser, with AT93 calls. Ah - the other reason to call - the other player may have made the second best hand. Posting kills is a good feeling.

Next month I’ll continue with a couple more interesting hands that have recently come up. Until then, here’s hoping that you’ll be as satisfied as Arthur Godfrey, who remarked, "I’m proud to be paying taxes in the United States. The only thing is I could be just as proud for half the money.

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