Circus Strategy: Scrotum8 (13 Viewers)

[MatB]

Brief primer: Scrotum8 Dealt 5 cards, discard on your betting action pre flop, play what you keep, 8 low qualifier. Aces high or low.


So i was in hand last weekend, surprise surprise. with @Schmendr1ck @ni9n3r @CraigT78 @Copper44 (matt were you there?)

Playing Scrotum8, hero looks down at 579kk

I know its scrotum8, so most times your mucking that hand, sometimes you gamble.

Hero has about $500 maybe little less,
Villain has about $1k+

I keep KK. (my reasoning is, you either smash the flop or you walk away. for Scrotum8 this for me is the equivalent of playing 68 suited in Holdem)

We are heads up.

Villain keeps 3 cards.

Flop: 6 K 6

Villain pots. I repot. pot. pot pot. Re pot etc. Hero is all in.

Villain. " I have a boat" rolls over 333. Table erupts, its 2am maybe 3am.
Hero "me too", rolls over the KK table erupts again.

Can you guess what happens next?

 

[ReallyGoodUsername]

Can you guess what happens next?

I realize I have no idea how to play Scrotum8?

 

[RocAFella1]

I don’t know much about this game having never played it, but you have the virtual nuts there, only behind to AAA(A) or running aces full/quads/straight flush and/or low chop.

 

[Redwing1967]

Case 3 on the river?

 

[MatB]

I don’t know much about this game having never played it, but you have the virtual nuts there, only behind to AAA(A) or running quads/straight flush and/or low chop.

Yes villain in theory could have A66 but that would be a strange hand to hold in this game.

When i see 3 or 4 cards being held, typically for high its a set or most of the time its A 2 3 for the low or A 3 4 etc.

 

[MatB]

Case 3 on the river?

Case 3 on the turn

 

[RocAFella1]

Yes villain in theory could have A66 but that would be a strange hand to hold in this game.

When i see 3 or 4 cards being held, typically for high its a set or most of the time its A 2 3 for the low or A 3 4 etc.

Can’t be A66 or else there would be five 6’s in the deck. Only AA6 but that doesn’t seem like a logical hand. You block quad 6’s after mucking one.

 

[MatB]

I took the hand for what is was. I pay villain off with a shrug. I actually consider going to bed as it was a cooler and id lost a big hand earlier to villain, so getting stacked twice in an hour, i wasn't 'feeling it'.
But decided to keep playing.

 

[MatB]

Can’t be A66 or else there would be five 6’s in the deck. Only AA6 but that doesn’t seem like a logical hand. You block quad 6’s after mucking one.

let me edit my preflop hand. i threw an irrelevant 6 in there. I'll take it out. i dont think i had a 6.

 

[Forty4]

Well after the flop and subsequent action you should have discounted the low with overcard and paired board. But really is a cooler. He’s not keeping 66x, as stated above.

 

[Jonesey07]

So as an impartial observer to this hand, it was absolutely crazy to watch!

If I'm not mistaken there was a quadruple straddle on, with villain potting on his action so there's a significant amount of money in the middle preflop.

I can see the preflop reasoning to fold on @MatB's part but I do understand the call. It's -ev to play 2 cards every hand but not every hand should and could be played the same way. Yes, you expose yourself to holding only AA or KK if you hold two cards and seeing that your opponent is holding 3 cards means he's either going for a low or has trips in the hand.

I could actually see a case for villain to fold after the flop once hero pot's the first time. He knows hero is only potting with KK in that situation as villain knows that hero is very less likely to pot with 2 pair facing a boat (trips in the hand, pair on the board).

Sucky turn for the hero brings the case 3 for quads and an eruption that may have woke the house (sorry, eh).

 

[detroitdad]

Villain pots. I repot Mother F*. pot. pot pot. Re pot etc. Hero is all in.

Clearly this is where you went wrong.

 

[DarPodo]

You want to keep your spirits up, congratulate the winner and keep him happy. Then play as many pots against him as possible. They tried dumping you a big pot and you got coolered. Suck it up, rebuy, grab a 9% abv beer and keep grinding.

 

[Anthony Martino]

Not sure this is a strategy post, seems more like a bad beat post.

That being said, Villain could've also held AAA in the hole and had Hero drawing to 1 out.

I remember my first forays into Scrotum and Dramaha cost me a good chunk o' cash (back at the last Shootout at the Post) because I'm sitting there going nuts with my Ace-high flush not realizing someone had an Ace-high flush hidden of a completely different suit, lol.

 

[Anthony Martino]

 

[Mr Tree]

I think the thing is you have to say am I making a long term intelligent play or a fun meetup play? I mean it’s not like there are rounders out there grinding Scrotum 8.

If you are legitimately playing this game to maximize profit then I think this is an easy fold. With the Hi-lo aspect of this game 90% of the time you are playing two cards for half the pot. Your analogy of 5/8 is partially correct, but this is a 5/8 with o lay high aspirations. Also Leonard made a comment that is spot on. In Scrotum if you are holding less than three cards all your post flop moves are hamstrung. Anyone holding three or more cards completely unravels board texture. Anyone holding two cards is subject to standard board texture. You can’t represent anything greater than anyone playing NLHE could make while anyone with three cards could conceivable make quads off of any flop or make but lows off of most.

In this situation when the flop came the likelihood of your opponent holding 66 or AAA are so low you are never not shipping. I think the bigger argument is holding two kings will put you in a lot of spots where you catch cards that Mae you sweat someone else’s freeroll where someone has the low locked. But you are at a meetup and you are MatB so you aren’t going to fold 85% of your Scrotum 8 hands which is probably optimal play.

So in conclusion for monies yes I think this is an easy preflop fold. For meetups where you want to splash around I understand the call.

 

[Mr Tree]

If someone really invested time into Scrotum8 I think you would find the range of actual playable preflop hands is nauseatingly narrow by the way.

 

[manamongkids]

fold pre donkey

 

[MatB]

I think the thing is you have to say am I making a long term intelligent play or a fun meetup play? I mean it’s not like there are rounders out there grinding Scrotum 8.

If you are legitimately playing this game to maximize profit then I think this is an easy fold. With the Hi-lo aspect of this game 90% of the time you are playing two cards for half the pot. Your analogy of 5/8 is partially correct, but this is a 5/8 with o lay high aspirations. Also Leonard made a comment that is spot on. In Scrotum if you are holding less than three cards all your post flop moves are hamstrung. Anyone holding three or more cards completely unravels board texture. Anyone holding two cards is subject to standard board texture. You can’t represent anything greater than anyone playing NLHE could make while anyone with three cards could conceivable make quads off of any flop or make but lows off of most.

In this situation when the flop came the likelihood of your opponent holding 66 or AAA are so low you are never not shipping. I think the bigger argument is holding two kings will put you in a lot of spots where you catch cards that Mae you sweat someone else’s freeroll where someone has the low locked. But you are at a meetup and you are MatB so you aren’t going to fold 85% of your Scrotum 8 hands which is probably optimal play.

So in conclusion for monies yes I think this is an easy preflop fold. For meetups where you want to splash around I understand the call.

I agree it can be an easy fold pre.

I also agree that holding 2 cards in Scrotum8 plays like a Holdem hand.

Also though. As loose as my image can be. I have no qualms about folding after the flop if I don’t flop a monster.

 

[MatB]

I would play it that way again for sure

For $4 or $5 pre flop. Probably. Heads up ? 100%

Would I ship my stack flopping K66. All day baby !

 

[MatB]

fold pre donkey

You are the foldiest of folders.
I want to see you and BG heads up circus games.

Wonder what the over under would be on how many times you saw the turn card !

 

[Rhodeman77]

I think I have only ever played 1 or 2 orbits of this game and had several people refuse to play it after the one orbit of it in my last dealer’s choice game.

Most of my group won’t play flop games that the best possible hand isn’t capped by board texture. So any game that allows 3+ hole cards to be used are out.

Games of this nature should really be played as limit.

Cooler hand for sure, but you were only ever ahead on the flop

 

[MatB]

‘Tis the law of poker.

Unless you both have the same hand.
Someone is ALWAYS ahead pre.

 

[Moxie Mike]

I hope it's OK if I hijack for just a second to ask a few questions about this game...

So if I understand: a player a dealt 5 cards, then a round of discards. Does discarding happen before or after the first round of betting?

Once a player discards, they must play their hole cards for high and low? So if a player holds a pair (or any card 9 or higher), there's no way they can make a low. Correct?

So really, the only way a player is likely to scoop is to make a straight lower than 8 (unless no one makes a low at all). Is calling flop and turn bets going for a marginal low even a viable strategy in a multiway pot? For example, is A-2-5-7-X a fold preflop?

Is there a 4-hole-card version of this game?

 

[MatB]

Good questions..

I posted this hand In the strategy thread for the very reason it’s good to discuss circus games

Scrotum8

Dealt 5 cards. Pre flop on your action you discard what you don’t want. Spread the kept cards so people can see what you kept.

Flop/ bet
Turn / bet
River / bet

Final hand is everything you kept plus any remaining cards from the board.
Keep 5 cards and that is your final hand. Nothing from the board.
It’s hi/lo. So yes keeping 99. Or any pair or cards above an 8 is automatic that you are not getting a low

 

[detroitdad]

make a straight lower than 8

I won a 400 pot at a meet up with A/3/6 suited. I flopped the nut low and the nut flush.

 

[Moxie Mike]

Dealt 5 cards. Pre flop on your action you discard what you don’t want. Spread the kept cards so people can see what you kept.

OK thanks for the clarification. So early position players don't get info on other players' discard intentions. Good to know.

 

[Rhodeman77]

Playing KK even when you flop too set vs someone that kept 3 cards on a board with 2 low cards should be a fold. You are now hoping to chop at best the vast majority of the time and can be getting free rolled with possible wrap and or flush draw to go with the low. The only time you are in good shape is when someone kept trips.

So unless you flop a full house how playable is KK really?

 

[MatB]

Playing KK even when you flop too set vs someone that kept 3 cards on a board with 2 low cards should be a fold. You are now hoping to chop at best the vast majority of the time and can be getting free rolled with possible wrap and or flush draw to go with the low. The only time you are in good shape is when someone kept trips.

So unless you flop a full house how playable is KK really?

i did flop a full house

 

[Rhodeman77]

i did flop a full house

I realize that lol. But are you folding your KK hand every time you flop a set with it? Playing to flop full houses is very tough!