Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) is a game that screws with your mind. It is your best friend and your worst; it is your favourite holiday destination and a dump; it is the difference between asking your Mum for sweets and asking your Dad. If there was a Jekyll and Hyde of poker, then it contains three magical letters – P.L.O.
When you make the decision to play the game with four-cards (or more), then your first lesson should be labelled ‘Variance’. In fact, you should not be allowed out of classroom until the word becomes part of your very fabric.
Participating in a Poker game with a huge amount of variance means you could win a lot and lose a lot. Your body will warm to the heaters and turn ice cold when the downswings come a knocking.
When you take a turn and nose dive into a downswing, you start to lose confidence. You question every decision, fold when you should call and call when you should fold. Nothing you do seems to go right and this devolves into a poor state of confidence.
It’s important that your confidence remains in tact even when you are on the worst downswing ever. One way of helping you to manage this is to review your game.
By reviewing your game, you will be able to see if you are making incorrect decisions, or are running on the wrong side of variance. It also helps to allow your poker friends to analyse your game for you, just in case you are worried about your own judgment.
One of the most important things to remember is to always play within a bankroll that doesn’t hurt you when you lose. This is huge when it comes to remaining confident at the table. If you aren’t thinking about the pound signs, then confidence won’t take so much of a hit.
The variance of PLO. You cannot avoid it, so you had better warm to the idea of embracing it – and fast.
