Playing PLO passively preflop on Pokerbros for pennies (1 Viewer)

grebe

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OK, so I have been playing micro stakes on poker bros lately and have kind of stumbled on to a pattern of winning. I talked to another PLO player and he says he has been doing the same with good results as well, but at a little higher stakes. So, I plan to start posting up some results here, good and bad. It's PLO, so shit fluctuates wildly. Here's the layout of the "experiment":

-This will be on a few different platforms, but mostly PokerBros on the Diamond and Paradise unions.
-Games will be from .05/.1 (usually with unlimited and crazy straddles), .1/.2, up to .5/1 from time to time. But mostly the lower ends. Buyins will be for 100-200 big blinds.
-I usually play short sessions, 30 to 60 minutes.
-Never first raise ANY hand....even the best hands. I reserve the right to back raise, especially when somebody is raising wide.
-Try to see as many flops as possible.
-The goal here is to outplay people that are overreaching with their overpairs and Cbets. Basically any way I can outplay people in deep waters of post flop play.
-I plan to call wide sometimes. There are many players that just spew, and I am forcing myself to be more willing to gamble here than in NLHE. I will be wrong sometimes....and that's ok.
-My biggest leak right now is bluffing. I am working on using it more reserved. Not stopping completely, but cutting way back.

I will post most hands in a video format, just because pokerbros makes it super easy to share hands.
I will do my best to update wins/losses. I am withdrawing some money today and will post the remainder as "ground zero". HOWEVER....I do play other games as well, so it will be messy. I am a sucker for OFC, and sometimes play MTT's.
 
OK, so I have been playing micro stakes on poker bros lately and have kind of stumbled on to a pattern of winning. I talked to another PLO player and he says he has been doing the same with good results as well, but at a little higher stakes. So, I plan to start posting up some results here, good and bad. It's PLO, so shit fluctuates wildly. Here's the layout of the "experiment":

-This will be on a few different platforms, but mostly PokerBros on the Diamond and Paradise unions.
-Games will be from .05/.1 (usually with unlimited and crazy straddles), .1/.2, up to .5/1 from time to time. But mostly the lower ends. Buyins will be for 100-200 big blinds.
-I usually play short sessions, 30 to 60 minutes.
-Never first raise ANY hand....even the best hands. I reserve the right to back raise, especially when somebody is raising wide.
-Try to see as many flops as possible.
-The goal here is to outplay people that are overreaching with their overpairs and Cbets. Basically any way I can outplay people in deep waters of post flop play.
-I plan to call wide sometimes. There are many players that just spew, and I am forcing myself to be more willing to gamble here than in NLHE. I will be wrong sometimes....and that's ok.
-My biggest leak right now is bluffing. I am working on using it more reserved. Not stopping completely, but cutting way back.

I will post most hands in a video format, just because pokerbros makes it super easy to share hands.
I will do my best to update wins/losses. I am withdrawing some money today and will post the remainder as "ground zero". HOWEVER....I do play other games as well, so it will be messy. I am a sucker for OFC, and sometimes play MTT's.
FWIW, I think almost any online game at the lowest microstakes can be won that way. But it's a grind, you're almost certainly leaving money on the table, and it's not a lot of fun. But maybe with short sessions, its sustainable.
 
FWIW, I think almost any online game at the lowest microstakes can be won that way. But it's a grind, you're almost certainly leaving money on the table, and it's not a lot of fun. But maybe with short sessions, its sustainable.
Most of my large losses are trying to push the action with premiums. Most of my largest wins are with silly hands that get there and get called down. NLHE is a grind....this is actually fun.
 
Also, feel free to disagree...this is a bit of an experiment. You may very well be able to say "I told you so" in a month. HOWEVER....I am pulling out over $600 today in profit from the last month playing nickel/dime poker. Is it just a heater? Maybe.
 
This strategy definitely works. Any suited ace is usually worth seeing a flop with. Anything that can flop a wrap is playable, where you need to be careful is with low suited hands and small pairs. Those flushes and sets will cost you money since everyone is in the hand you will see more bigger flushes and set over set happen. But if you are disciplined to fold made hands to big bets or raises you can definitely take advantage of the other players that can’t.
 
Love it. Encourage the weaker players into the pot who will pay off

The over aggros are going to bet full pot into 5 opponents on boards that whiff their range, etc

Sometimes the gamblers are gonna hit those 1-4 outers but you should do well overall playing solid at these stakes
 
OK, so I have been playing micro stakes on poker bros lately and have kind of stumbled on to a pattern of winning. I talked to another PLO player and he says he has been doing the same with good results as well, but at a little higher stakes. So, I plan to start posting up some results here, good and bad. It's PLO, so shit fluctuates wildly. Here's the layout of the "experiment":

-This will be on a few different platforms, but mostly PokerBros on the Diamond and Paradise unions.
-Games will be from .05/.1 (usually with unlimited and crazy straddles), .1/.2, up to .5/1 from time to time. But mostly the lower ends. Buyins will be for 100-200 big blinds.
-I usually play short sessions, 30 to 60 minutes.
-Never first raise ANY hand....even the best hands. I reserve the right to back raise, especially when somebody is raising wide.
-Try to see as many flops as possible.
-The goal here is to outplay people that are overreaching with their overpairs and Cbets. Basically any way I can outplay people in deep waters of post flop play.
-I plan to call wide sometimes. There are many players that just spew, and I am forcing myself to be more willing to gamble here than in NLHE. I will be wrong sometimes....and that's ok.
-My biggest leak right now is bluffing. I am working on using it more reserved. Not stopping completely, but cutting way back.

I will post most hands in a video format, just because pokerbros makes it super easy to share hands.
I will do my best to update wins/losses. I am withdrawing some money today and will post the remainder as "ground zero". HOWEVER....I do play other games as well, so it will be messy. I am a sucker for OFC, and sometimes play MTT's.
As long as you understand that this will most likely lead to a dramatic shift (not for the better) in your overall poker game - it sounds like a fun experiment. I’m not sure it’s worth the hours at these low stakes, basically trying to run better than everyone else, but I will happily tune in and be wrong :)
 
As long as you understand that this will most likely lead to a dramatic shift (not for the better) in your overall poker game - it sounds like a fun experiment. I’m not sure it’s worth the hours at these low stakes, basically trying to run better than everyone else, but I will happily tune in and be wrong :)

I mean, I've made a living using a similar style for 2 and a half years.

Will it work at all stakes and lineups? No. But at those stakes online or low to medium stakes live (full ring) it should be fine
 
Do you mean I don't play this style or are you referring to my brutal downswing?
I have not followed the thread of late, so not aware of the downswing (sorry to hear), but from the HH's that I remember, I don't recall you limping in 7-ways with AAKKs - correct me if I'm wrong! This just sounds like a +EV strategy at the lowest of stakes but just a terrible strategy to add into ones overall arsenal as a poker player who strives to improve.
 
I have not followed the thread of late, so not aware of the downswing (sorry to hear), but from the HH's that I remember, I don't recall you limping in 7-ways with AAKKs - correct me if I'm wrong! This just sounds like a +EV strategy at the lowest of stakes but just a terrible strategy to add into ones overall arsenal as a poker player who strives to improve.

It depends on stack sizes, position, the table makeup, etc

But "generally" I rarely raise preflop unless I am getting stacks in with a hand I feel has good equity, or if the SPR post-flop will be so low that I'm never folding

I want as many players in the pot so when I do hit, a weaker player is likely to pay me off

:as::ah::kh::ks: is beautiful until the flop comes :8d::7c::6c:

The flop is where equities change drastically
 
It depends on stack sizes, position, the table makeup, etc

But "generally" I rarely raise preflop unless I am getting stacks in with a hand I feel has good equity, or if the SPR post-flop will be so low that I'm never folding

I want as many players in the pot so when I do hit, a weaker player is likely to pay me off

:as::ah::kh::ks: is beautiful until the flop comes :8d::7c::6c:

The flop is where equities change drastically
You will have to believe me when I tell you I understand how PLO works lol - I still find this strategy of limping into huge multi-way pots with any holdings to be a pretty weak strategy overall. But I look forward to seeing how it develops!
 
You will have to believe me when I tell you I understand how PLO works lol - I still find this strategy of limping into huge multi-way pots with any holdings to be a pretty weak strategy overall. But I look forward to seeing how it develops!

I'm not playing "any" holdings, there is plenty of folding

But I want my opponents to make as large a mistake as possible, and that happens post-flop

So I try to keep pots small and pull others in. It helps because

1. The super aggro guys are going to have trouble running bluffs and bullying facing 5+ opponents

2. The weaker players will pay off with non-nut straights, flushes, underfulls, etc. I don't want to push them out pre

Sometimes I'll juice a pot pre, but rarely 3 bet
 
This strategy will work until folks stop paying you off when you have it. Then, you’ll have to adjust. I had about 18 months of feasting at .25/.50 using this approach before I had to begin adjusting. That said I play in a private pokerrrr group and the “survivors” are all griddled vets at this point. Have to recruit new players who are too rich to fold or the game will die in the muck. That doesn’t apply in larger player pools though.
 
This strategy will work until folks stop paying you off when you have it. Then, you’ll have to adjust. I had about 18 months of feasting at .25/.50 using this approach before I had to begin adjusting. That said I play in a private pokerrrr group and the “survivors” are all griddled vets at this point. Have to recruit new players who are too rich to fold or the game will die in the muck. That doesn’t apply in larger player pools though.
At the start of pandemic, any competent player was printing money. People were bored, on their computers inside, and barely knew how to play poker. This is not the norm obviously. It's less so that anyone adjusted, more so that there was a massive pandemic related influx of fish that lost their money and are done with it.
 
At the start of pandemic, any competent player was printing money. People were bored, on their computers inside, and barely knew how to play poker. This is not the norm obviously. It's less so that anyone adjusted, more so that there was a massive pandemic related influx of fish that lost their money and are done with it.
I think there is an additional layer of a bunch of holdem players jumping into PLO streets and not making adjustments post flop (or understanding equities preflop). My group has figured out PLO although new players get wrecked. Once the player pool has adapted, the passive style isn’t as profitable.
 
At the start of pandemic, any competent player was printing money. People were bored, on their computers inside, and barely knew how to play poker. This is not the norm obviously. It's less so that anyone adjusted, more so that there was a massive pandemic related influx of fish that lost their money and are done with it.

It depends on your pool. Obviously I adjust based on game dynamics

But I can't tell you how many guys KNOW my stack-committing repot is often going to be AAxx and they call it off with KKXX

People who know my style still regularly put in stacks post-flop with under 30% equity regularly, they can't help themselves
 
Well, naysayers rejoice! I got wrecked yesterday. My biggest loss by 3 fold since I started concentrating on plo. Let's call it an even -150.

Not for the faint of heart, or while you are eating... Here's a couple hands:

https://s.pokerbros.net/?t=42ha4hl5002en
https://s.pokerbros.net/?t=n4vbf9i4002en

First hand is a check-fold on the flop, not a pot betting spot. You have bottom 2 pair and the idiot end of the straight multiway

The 2nd hand is a fold preflop. As played, you go nuts with bottom 2 pair on an AT7 board, which has multiple straight draw possibilities and obviously better 2 pair can be out there multiway

This isn't hold em. Non nut straights, bottom 2 pair, etc are going to get you in trouble.

If you don't have the nuts, and aren't drawing to the nuts, someone else is
 
Well, naysayers rejoice! I got wrecked yesterday. My biggest loss by 3 fold since I started concentrating on plo. Let's call it an even -150.

Not for the faint of heart, or while you are eating... Here's a couple hands:

https://s.pokerbros.net/?t=42ha4hl5002en
https://s.pokerbros.net/?t=n4vbf9i4002en
As @Anthony Martino said, this is less run bad and more just being new to PLO it seems. I thought the “plan” was to get huge amounts of money in when you hit the nuts but in both these spots you get a ton on money in with the 3rd+ nuts (in PLO these hands are rarely good when 100+ bbs go in on the river - actually they are probably never good in those spots).
 

This works as a basic strategy and you should be able to grind out a small profit in the long run but it's going to be boring AF. I've been doing this in the $100, $200 and $500 buyin games on Michigan PokerStars with decent results. So here are a few observations:

You're basically playing 'fit-or-fold' poker. This can only be done profitably if you have opponents that are dumb/clueless/reckless/drunk enough to 1) fail to recognize what you're doing; and 2) pay you off when you make a hand.

This strategy often works better for me when buying in for less than the full amount. YMMV.

This strategy largely relies on many hands going to showdown. The less likely the hand is to go to SD, the less viable it becomes.

The smaller the player pool, the less likely this is going to be viable to be as a long-term strategy.

If you look around, it becomes pretty easy to figure out who at the table is deploying the exact same strategy. Learn how to defeat them and you'll chip up nicely.

In PLO, you generally have to give action to get action. Showing a willingness to showdown non-nutted hands against observant opponents will eventually need to be part of your game.

Game selection is critical. Against a table full of NITs (or PLONITs), you're likely to just wind up sending small pots back and forth.

You'll eventually need to expand on the basic strategy in a similar way one expands on the basic NLHE strategy that everyone deploys in the beginning. For example, Basic strategy in NLHE prohibits playing certain hands, like K8 suited. But as your skills improve, you learn that hands like K8s can be played profitably if you know what you're doing.

In PLO, you'll want to expand your game to learn how to win with non-nutted hands. I.E. recognize when top two pair might be good, understand how holding bare aces not only serves as nut flush blockers, but also help narrow opponents' ranges.

Learn to recognize what holdings your opponents are likely raising with. Once you've established this, you can kind of figure out which types of flops are likely to connect with them. So flops that come 4-4-6 can often be picked up with a bet on the flop or turn since they pretty much have to give you credit for trips (or whatever your representing).
 
Learn how to defeat them and you'll chip up nicely
Agreed with basically everything ^ but just want to highlight this as it is really key. Unless you're strategy is to avoid these "other winning" players (tough to do when you limp in with a very wide range of course), you will have to actually *deviate* from your original plan to win significant $. Otherwise you and these guys are fighting over who can outflop the fish and punish them. Sure it will work for a small win-rate, but you quickly will find yourself deviating from your initial strategy (which is smart imo) in order to win more. Now... once you start adjusting play and deviating from original strategy - it's hard to say that you are still employing the strategy that you started out to experiment with right? And this was kind of my point. Why not just integrate seeing more flops into your overall game against weak player pools without coming up with this list of rules above? Just playing your best poker (folding many hands, playing looser in certain spots, exploiting the other players who are employing this same strategy... seems to just be a better strategy to me? Added bonus - you can actually improve your play for when you are in the .5/1 games where people actually notice these things.
 
Agreed with basically everything ^ but just want to highlight this as it is really key. Unless you're strategy is to avoid these "other winning" players (tough to do when you limp in with a very wide range of course), you will have to actually *deviate* from your original plan to win significant $. Otherwise you and these guys are fighting over who can outflop the fish and punish them. Sure it will work for a small win-rate, but you quickly will find yourself deviating from your initial strategy (which is smart imo) in order to win more. Now... once you start adjusting play and deviating from original strategy - it's hard to say that you are still employing the strategy that you started out to experiment with right? And this was kind of my point. Why not just integrate seeing more flops into your overall game against weak player pools without coming up with this list of rules above? Just playing your best poker (folding many hands, playing looser in certain spots, exploiting the other players who are employing this same strategy... seems to just be a better strategy to me? Added bonus - you can actually improve your play for when you are in the .5/1 games where people actually notice these things.

If he's potting 3rd nut straight with bottom 2 pr backup multiway, and betting or raising bottom two pair on an AT7 board with KT97, he should probably tighten his shit up, learn the fundamentals, THEN broaden his horizons to isolation plays, naked ave bluffs, etc
 

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