Omaha High/Low:

THREE OUTS

BY: Russ Fox

"The highlight of my baseball career came in Philadelphia’s Connie Mack Stadium when I saw a fan fall out of the upper deck. When he got up and walked away the crowd booed." - Bob Uecker

There are good days and bad days. Last Sunday was a bad day for me. And I played very well.

Towards the end of my misery, er, day, the table was graced with a visit from Estelle. I’ve seen Estelle fold a hand once pre-flop (she had quads). To say she’s good for the game is like saying that Sammy Sosa hits home runs. But if you try to put her on a hand….

I was sitting in the big blind with A34K, and six players had called. Some players might raise with this hand, but I decided to check, and we saw a flop that was pretty good for my hand: KQ2. I had the nut flush draw, top pair (although that was unlikely to be good), and the nut low draw if low was to come. I bet, not knowing if I wanted someone to drop out. No one did.

The turn was the 5. I still had the nut draws, and I still bet. One player did drop out, but then Estelle raised. Presumably she had a set of fives, or perhaps A35. As I said, it’s hard to put her on a hand. When she bets, though, she thinks she has the nuts. Those left in the pot called.

The river didn’t help me a bit – it was the 5. I checked (preparing to fold), the next player bet, Estelle loudly raised (here, strong meant strong), everyone folded to the original better who re-raised, and Estelle capped the betting, turning over 5589. Please don’t ask me why Estelle stayed in the hand on this flop. Neither I nor anyone else could tell you. For those who think I’m making this up I’m not. This actually happened.

As I said, this was not a good day for me (I lost quite a bit), but it was a very good day for Estelle, who won over $400 in two hours. My loss for the day wasn’t as much as her win (but it came close). Even after Estelle left the game I could have stayed – the game was very, very good – but I felt drained, and knew that my best bet was to get up and enjoy the rest of the evening at home.

Actually, it was an earlier hand I played against Football Freddie that started my downfall. Freddie hasn’t met a sporting event he doesn’t bet on so while playing Omaha he gets up and walks closer to the televisions – he doesn’t want to miss a play. Freddie, by the way, is usually a big loser in the game because even Estelle can tell when he has a big hand.

Anyway, I’m sitting in the big blind with AA3T, Freddie has raised a kill pot (we’re playing in a $6/$12 game, so with the kill we’re playing $12/$24) to $24. Four players have seen the raise before it gets to me. I just call, so five of us see the flop of KQ2. I decide to bet my flush draw, Freddie and one other call, and we see the turn of the A. This does make a high straight possible, and it does counterfeit my low, but I still have a great hand. I bet, Freddie raises, the other player folds, and I elect to re-raise Freddie (I think that all he has is a low draw) all-in (he was short-chipped).

We turn over our hands (we don’t have to – it’s a live game, not a tournament), and Freddie has picked up a draw: he has A245. How many outs does Freddie have to win the whole pot? How many outs does he have to chop the pot? (For those of you who don’t know, outs refers to the number of cards that will give a player the winning hand when he is currently losing the hand.)

The board pairing doesn’t help Freddie one bit – I’d have the nuts (Aces full). Any high card would either give me the nut flush or my three Aces would hold up. So Freddie needs a low card – but if a two, four or five comes he won’t have a low – he’ll either have two pair (which would lose) or a lower full house. A six, seven, or eight gives Freddie the low (all the Aces are out). A three would give him a scoop – he’ll have a wheel. So he has exactly three outs for the entire pot and twelve outs to split the pot. I have 25 cards that will give me the scoop. Freddie is drawing mighty slim.

The river, you ask? The 3.

I think Casey Stengel put it well. "There comes a time in every man’s life, and I’ve had many of them." Have a wonderful and safe New Year.

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