About Pot Limit Play and Table Image

About Pot Limit Play and Table Image
By Rolf Slotboom

In 1998 I started playing poker for a living. The first 18 months, I played mostly limit hold'em (I still consider this my main game). But I've also tried to improve my game at stud, Omaha and high / low-games. For the past couple of months I have been focusing almost entirely on improving my potlimitgame, as in Holland, France and Austria.

Pot Limit Poker is becoming increasingly popular (even in the U.S. potlimit seems to get more attention). The game that is best suited for playing potlimit is Omaha high (I don't like limit Omaha though). It offers much more action to the gambling types of players than potlimit hold'em, yet it is an extremely skillful game. This way, the top players figure to make a lot of money. Because of its pot limit structure, a large percentage of pots are won without a showdown. In this game, it is impossible (that is, it is very unwise) to chase all the way to the river or to call someone down with a weak hand. What becomes important when deciding whether or not to play your hand, is who you are up against: do you think your opponent has the goods or not? This is how table image comes into play.

In the beginning of my poker career, I did everything I could to create the image of a tight, unimaginative rock who's never involved in a hand without having the goods (in Vienna people called me "The Ace", because I always seemed to have an ace whenever I was in a hand). I tried to achieve that image by playing only a few hands, showing a winner every time I played a hand, and assuring my opponents they did the right thing whenever they folded their hands against me on the turn or river.

At the same time, I tried to profit from that image by stealing some pots and getting away with bluffs no other player would get away with. In potlimit, how others perceive you is of paramount importance. If you sit and wait for the nuts in potlimit Omaha, you'll grow old doing so, but more important, this strategy is -by itself- not good enough for two reasons:

• You've got to invest a lot of money before you can get the nuts. If you haven't invested a lot of money into the pot already whenever you get the nuts, you will rarely win a big pot. In this game, you have to build the pot to win a lot.
  
  
• Even when you have the nuts early, most of the time there are so many draws out against you (remember, this is Omaha where the draw can be the favorite over the temporary nuts), that you might still lose.
  

What then is the correct strategy for playing this game? Following are a few suggestions:

1. Play aggressively. You must show your opponents you're willing to put your entire stack in whenever you're involved in a hand. Lots of times, your aggression will make others give up (unless they flop a great hand like top set or a wraparound straight- and flushdraw) and you will win the pot uncontested. However, make sure you have more money than any other player on the table (that is, any player you figure to make money from in the long run). If you buy in for the minimum, people will fear you less and you will have to show the winning hand every time.
   
   
2. Call only when you're setting someone up. Sometimes in potlimit, you're last to act on the flop, there has been a small bet and, let' say, two callers. You have a good draw so you call because you have the proper odds, just like in limit poker. Sometimes this call is logical; sometimes it is right. Always consider your alternatives. Always consider whom and what you're up against. If you think there are no great hands out against you, this might be the time to make a big raise and blast your opponents off their hands.
   If you have a big stack and show the other players that you're willing to put all your money in the middle, the hand might end right there. In potlimit, you have to bet or raise at some point in the hand, unless you're setting someone up to bluff off all his money. However, when making a call, always consider implied odds (how much extra money will I make if I hit my hand?) and bluffing rights (can I bluff my opponent out of the pot if a scare card comes up?).
   
   
   
3. Play very tight before the flop. A great starting hand can, with a favorable flop, become a huge moneymaker. With an average hand and the same great flop, the pot won't be nearly as big most of the time. Quality starting hands might also give you some escape hatches, some additional backdoor outs to get lucky and win.
   
   
4. Play your position. Position in potlimit is much more important than it is in limit. In potlimit you will win lots of pots just because of your position and / or the weakness that is shown by players who've acted before you. If you have a good hand in position, you'll make a lot more money than when out of position.
   
   
5. Always aim at the opposition's entire stack. Don't worry too much about trying to win small (unraised) pots. Instead, do everything you can to build a big pot when you have a hand that has the potential to flop something good, so that when this happens, you might break your opponent(s).
   
   
6. Put your chips in before your opponent puts his in. In Omaha you often flop hands like the bare nutflushdraw or a small wraparound straight draw, hands that you may not be willing to pay off a pot-sized bet with.
   

Note the intimidation factor here. When you bet $200 into a $200 pot, and both you and your opponent have a $2600 stack, you're basically betting your entire stack. When he calls your bet on the flop, you might very well bet the turn ($600) and the river ($1800). He may re-evaluate his hand, thinking, "Is this hand worth my entire stack?" and then decide to pass. Unless someone has the temporary nuts or a monster draw, you might win the pot uncontested. But when you check, someone else will certainly bet and you may have to pass.

Nevertheless, don't be aggressive every time you flop some kind of draw, but when you do get involved, play aggressively and, most of all, make people fear you. Intimidating your opponents, coupled with utilizing the hand-reading and psychology skills I hope you've developed when moving up the ranks, will pave the way for you to become a successful potlimit poker player.

Play the people and the cards. A favorite quote by action players in limit poker, whenever they win a pot uncontested, is: "Rocks play their cards. I play the players." In potlimit, you've got to play the cards and the players. Can your opponents stand the heat? Can they fold a good draw? Do they call with two pair? When you check, will they bluff? It may be correct to play exactly the same hand in a totally different way depending on whom you are up against.

This is what I consider to be a basic, winning potlimit Omaha strategy. When you're new to potlimit, it might be good to gain some experience in tournaments or small cash games, or to buy in for a smaller amount than I advised here to get used to the flow of the game and to avoid some of the huge swings that are part of potlimit poker.