Absolute Poker
Pot Limit Omaha Tournament
Blinds: t20/t40
5 players
Converter

Stack sizes:
Hero: t2718.75
CO: t1330
Button: t3312.50
SB: t4710
BB: t1428.75

Pre-flop: (5 players) Hero is UTG with 8 Q K A
Hero calls t40 (pot was t60), CO calls t40 (pot was t100), Button folds, SB calls t20 (pot was t140), BB checks.

Flop: 4 T K (t160, 4 players)
SB checks, BB checks, Hero bets t160, CO calls t160 (pot was t320), 2 folds.

Turn: K (t480, 2 players)
Hero bets t480, CO calls t480 (pot was t960).

River: 6 (t1440, 2 players)
Hero bets t640, CO..............

I'd like advice on all streets please. How does this look to people? I have a hunch I might have played it too aggressively on the flop, but on the turn I think I had to punish whatever draw villain had. Thoughts?

from UTG, i either pot or fold that hand preflop. i usually pot it, because betting is more fun than folding.

as for postflop, tough spot. with four in, that's a huge action flop. i'd probably just c/f it most of the time. if your table's pretty tight, your flop bullet is just fine--it'll take the pot at a tight table more than 1/2 the time when you're 2nd to last to act, which is all that's necessary to make the play profitable, but at more LP tables i'd be fine with mucking it.

on the turn, you caught your gin. question is, you're still OOP and the CO might have you beat or might be drawing. i don't mind betting 1/2 the pot on the turn to make most draws make a whoopsie while still keeping the pot small-ish in case you're behind. if the CO is extremely straightforward, you can fold to any sizeable raise on the turn.

on the river, you're in a strange spot. OOP, your opponent was either drawing to beat you or had you crushed the whole time. in these sorts of spots, i like check/calling most of the time in order to block an "i flopped the nutz, sucka" river raise play while allowing a busted drawing hand to make a play at you when it is incapable of calling a bet. the only type of hand that the villain might have that would make this a bad play is something like KQxx, which you do beat and does call a bet, but i think that's a very small part of the villain's range as played.

Potting the flop is not a bad move given the cost relative to your stack, though this guy was obviously in calling-station mode up to the river. He was pot committed by the river (calling your bet basically puts him all-in or close to it, if my crack math is correct), so given your remarks, I'm guessing he called and turned over a boat that he spiked on the river after his flush draw missed?

If that's the case, then he made a bad call on the flop, while spiking the king on the turn gave him purpose to commit and see his hand to the river. People are donks and it happens. I think your play was reasonably aggressive, though trips in Omaha is as risky as betting aggressively with top pair in HE. You have to take chances and bet against your opponents' luck, though.

I just went back and re-read this. Thanks to both of you for your thoughts. This gives me a couple plays to think about.

i do the same. draws make up such a huge part of villains range while Kx is such a small part, check/calling is a much more profitable long term strategy.

rest of the hand:

is this a SNG? i probably fold preflop.

the flop bet is interesting, the problem is that its going to put us in a world of hurt on all other streets if it's called unless we spike we of the 3 offsuit jacks. i think i'm willing to let this go on the flop.

as played we hit a good turn, i think any play here probably has it's merits. i like potting the most i think.