In last month’s introduction, we learned that Limit Omaha Double Board is a game of big pairs, big cards, and suited hands. When holding these cards, you will often have a very important equity edge over your opponent as well as a greater ability to realize your equity. The very best of these hands are those containing Aces or Kings which you are dealt approximately one in twenty at the table.
Within this article and throughout the series, we will use ProPokerTools (PPT) to rank hands as well as calculate equities against a range. PPT has one of the best ranking systems available in that it rates the holdings based upon their profitability assuming that only “good hands” contest the pot. This is greatly preferred over ranking starting hands based upon their performance against random holdings.
While it has some limitations in that it’s still based upon “hot/cold” simulations assuming all “good hands” play and go to showdown, it is very useful in ranking hands among each other. However, since it does have limitations we must also take into account playability considerations such as being able to realize your equity and implied and reverse implied odds.
As in most split pot games, we should play relatively tight from the first two positions. Over the next several issues, we will examine several different hand types and attempt to slot them where our opening frequencies in the aggregate will approximately resemble the following:
Target Frequencies
Under the Gun: 12% to 15%
Hijack: 16% to 20%
Cutoff: 20% to 30%
Button: 40% to 55%
Aces
Any hand containing a pair of Aces is very strong especially heads-up as you have a very nice scoop advantage over a single opponent and can often get to showdown profitably. You are dealt Aces around 2.5% of the time and with two boards in play will flop a set or better approximately 24% of the time. With a complete run out of two boards, a set or better will be made on at least one board around 38% of the time.
A
A
JT is probably the best starting hand in the game, however, both the average AA holding as well as the nut worst AA7
2
hold significant equity advantages over all opening percentiles:
As was demonstrated last issue, in a heads-up pot with 60% equity we are around 2.25 to 1 favorite (scoop equity 69%) in terms of scooping our opponent assuming both hands go to showdown.
Random Aces hand and the AA72 are also equity favorites against virtually any other holding that does not also contain Aces:
As we can see above, against a premium rundown such as T987 even the worst possible Aces hold a slight equity advantage. If the game was deep-stacked pot-limit Omaha, the premium rundown would be the superior holding as it can put maximum pressure on the Aces on more boards and deny equity. However, that is not the case in Limit Double Board. In this game, Aces hold the playability advantage and will only usually get out when both boards are very scary.
Aces also perform very well against premium high Broadway wraps that contain an Ace. Notice that AA72 has 60% equity AKQJ. An added benefit here is that AKQJ will often make a high pair on at least one board with which they will feel obligated to showdown. Even with unimproved Aces, it is possible to reap three streets of value knowing that you are more likely to scoop your opponent than vice versa.
It goes without saying that when holding Aces you really hope to be up against a pair of Kings or Queens. Aces are a large favorite and big pairs will most often showdown unimproved.
With any pair of Aces, you should open the pot from any position and when someone has already opened it is an automatic reraise. It is definitely to your benefit to play a heads-up pot, especially with position. For reference, according to PPT the AA72 has a ranking of 5 [r 5].
When in the big blind, reraising with a pair of Aces is not automatic especially if they are below average. Dissuading other players from coming in is no longer a factor and by putting in this aggressive action many players will put on you on Aces thus you are giving out a great deal of information. In a heads-up pot, you can elect to check-raise the flop or when the boards are not as advantageous to your holding Aces can strengthen your check-call range.
In multi-way pots, we really don’t want to be escalating the pot from the big blind with average or bad Aces as the equity edge we are pushing is much smaller, it is much harder to get to showdown unimproved, and there are potential strategic advantages to waiting. If we flop a set, players may not give us credit for such a strong hand and we may also be able to check-raise a late position opponent and enhance our scooping chances.
Kings
A pair of Kings is another strong holding in the game and it only really fears bumping into Aces. Without an Ace in your hand, there is a 2.9% probability that each remaining player left to act is holding Aces. From UTG in a six handed game, this translates to a probability of around 14% that one of the remaining players has bullets. This is not a great fear. However, with many players behind that will enter the pot with hands that contain an Ace, you will be at a distinct disadvantage when an Ace flops.
When you hold an Ace kicker with your pair of Kings, your hand is much stronger as it’s less likely someone else is holding Aces. Now there is only a probability of 1.5% that each player left to act is holding Aces. In addition, when an Ace hits one of the boards and someone else has an Ace, your King kicker may play.
Even without the Ace, we should be open-raising the overwhelming majority of our Kings. The only exceptions are when you are first to act in a six-handed game with terrible side cards such as KK83 [r 24]. From UTG in a six-handed game, we should be playing around 12% to 15% of our hands and thus this holding is just a little too weak. A slightly better hand with some straight potential such as KK85 [r 13] and similar hands would make up the bottom of the UTG range.
Facing an open with no one else is in the pot, we have a clear three-bet with Kings unless they are very low quality and the opener was a tight player from early position. In that situation, it is probably best to make a tight fold instead of smooth-calling which may be the worst of the three pre-flop options. Tight aggressive play is correct in Limit Omaha Double Board. Against a top 15%, hand the KK83 only has 46% equity and someone may pick up Aces behind us.
Make the hand slightly better and we should re-raise anyone; for example KK85 and KKT8 both have 51% equity against a top 15% hand. Subtle differences such as these are very important in this game. If the opener does happen to have Aces or if the pot goes off multi-way, we are not completely in the soup. In addition to making big sets, we also add some flush and straight possibilities.
In the next issue, we will discuss the play of other high pairs as well as two pair holdings.
