Pot Limit Omaha Hand History Analysis

The game is 6-handed $200 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha, with blinds of $1 and $2. Your stack is $300.

Preflop: You have KK75 in early position. Some aggressive players will enter the pot in early position for a raise with this hand, but unless the game was tight and I thought I could steal the blinds, I would just limp in. Assume that you limp, another player with a stack of only $100 limps behind you, and the button, who has you covered, raises the pot. The blinds fold, you call and the other limper calls.

Pot size: $36. Your stack: $289.

Flop: 3J5. You have the second nut flush draw and an overpair. The button, who raised you before the flop, is tight and aggressive. He’s a regular in your game and he definitely knows what he’s doing, but he rarely gets tricky. The other limper is very loose before the flop, and passive but not too loose after the flop. You decide to make a bet and try to steal the pot right here. If you get raised, it will be an easy fold. You bet $25. The other limper folds, and the button calls. A call like this is strange from an aggressive opponent, one who usually raises or folds. He could definitely be trapping with JJ in his hand, or he could have an A-high flush draw. Are there any other possibilities?

Pot size: $86. Your stack: $264.

Turn: 3. You missed and you’re in a tricky situation. Should you continue your bluff or give up and just check? Against a weak player or one who calls too much on the flop, it might be worth trying to bluff again. But our opponent’s call on the flop smelled funny, so this might be a good chance to get out of the pot. You check and the button checks behind! He definitely wouldn’t do that with JJJ, so he must have something else. Maybe a flush draw or maybe he was just getting stubborn on the flop with AA. It’s hard to read our opponent’s hand here, but we do know that an Ace high flush probably makes more sense than anything else.

Pot size: $86. Your stack: $264.

River: Q. You made your flush and you’ve got the second nuts, but you’ve got to be worried about the button holding the Ace high. You could try a smallish bet and plan on folding to a raise, but what hands that are worse than yours would he call with? Would he really call with AA thinking we’re bluffing? Wouldn’t he put us on the flush? I think against a player like this there’s no point in betting the river. The only hand he would call with is a lower flush, and since he’s tight and raised preflop, that’s unlikely. Also, if we were to make a smallish bet, he might suspect our plan and raise on a bluff. Instead, you check and your opponent bets $75. It may seem like an automatic call, but could he really be bluffing? Would he bet like this with a lower flush? It’s a very tough decision, but I think you have to fold in this situation. If anything were different about this opponent, if he was erratic or unknown to you, if he bluffed too much or called a lot, we would probably have to call. You fold and your opponent takes the pot. You’ll never know if you were right or wrong, but to be a successful pot limit Omaha player you’ll need the discipline to make this kind of fold