Omaha High/Low:

IT LEFT A BAD TASTE IN MY MOUTH

BY: Russ Fox

"The food in Yugoslavia is either very good or very bad. One day they served us fried chains." - Mel Brooks

I was recently asked where I get the quotes I start each article with. My parents gave me a book of quotations that I use (Five Thousand Quotations for all Occasions, Lewis Henry, Ed.; Doubleday, Garden City, NY: 1945). Some come from the Internet (the researcher’s best friend). The above quote comes from the November 10, 2003 issue of Forbes. What does this have to do with today’s Omaha article? A little, of course; so at least one reader is now satisfied.

Here’s the link. I’m sure many of you have fond memories of institutional food. I remember the dorms at Berkeley, serving chicken surprise casserole. The surprise was that I, along with the 1000 others in Unit III, survived without more episodes of food poisoning.

And it’s food poisoning that actually is the lead-in to this story. I’ve gone through another of the diaries of Sam Vittorio, the bank robber who closed more banks than the Great Depression (according to the US government), who after a speedy trial and a speedier verdict, was sent off to Leavenworth for 10 years. During his stay at Leavenworth Sam, along with his cellmates, played a lot of Omaha, and I recently came in possession of his diaries.

The diaries don’t just deal with poker; they also have things such as the bout of food poisoning that impacted Sam’s cellblock at the end of his first year in Leavenworth. After he (and his cellmates) recovered, they were kept on "light duty" for a couple of weeks and got a lot of Omaha in.

Sam was the big blind on this hand, holding 3467. Six players called, Sam checked, and seven saw a good flop for Sam: A28 -- Sam flopped nut low, a straight draw and had a backdoor flush draw. The small blind, Carl, bet right out. Sam’s notes indicate that Carl was a straightforward player. Sam and four others called, so six saw the turn of the 6, giving Sam a pair and the flush draw. Carl again bet, and everyone called; the river was the 4, counterfeiting Sam’s low but giving him two low pair. Carl bet again, and Sam paused to consider, but just for a few moments, before folding. "Had I been feeling better I wouldn’t have needed to pause," Sam noted, "but my thinking was slowed by just having recovered [from being sick]."

On the very next hand, Sam, in the small blind, was dealt the Omaha hand that all of us want to see: AA23. Five had called when Sam had a decision to make. Sam elected not to raise ("I wanted to disguise my hand," according to the notes), the big blind checked, and seven saw a flop of 678, certainly a pretty good flop for Sam’s hand. Sam checked ("All I had was a low, for now, and with this group, the pot would be built up."), and the pot was raised when it got back to Sam. Sam called, and five saw the turn of the 2. Sam, still with just the low, checked, and the betting was again raised (with no one dropping out) when it got back to Sam. With the draw for the nut flush Sam, of course, didn’t fold; he called, as did the original bettor. The river was the ugly (for Sam) 3, giving Sam two pair, but undoubtedly making a flush for someone and counterfeiting his low. Sam checked and folded when the betting (which was raised) got back to him.

On the very next hand Sam, now on the button, was dealt 5678, an ugly Omaha hand. Everyone had called when the betting reached Sam. Sam folded, the small blind called, and eight saw a flop of A59. The betting was capped on the flop. The turn was the 5. The betting was again capped. The river was the 5. Yes, had Sam played the hand he would have made quads. Instead Carl, with pocket Kings, took down a large pot.

This was not a good session for Sam, and, apparently, it continued that way. He lost big, and in an ugly way – getting good hands that wouldn’t hold up and not playing bad hands that would have held up. Sam being Sam just shrugged it off.

Let’s take a look at the second hand, AA23 double suited. It’s the best possible hand in Omaha. But it only wins 33% of the time (against eight opponents). That means that two-thirds of the time you will lose when you hold the best possible hand. Now 5678 rainbow is not the worst hand you can get in Omaha (2222 is), but it only wins 7% of the time. Unfortunately for Sam, today was the day when the unlikely events kept on coming.

Omaha is like that – it can be a humbling game. There are days when, no matter how good a player you are, you will lose. There are days when the very worst players win big. The good news is that, over time, money flows from the impatient to the patient. As I mentioned in a previous column, Sam was, overall, a big winner during his stay at Leavenworth. If you play the wheat and throw away the chaff you, too, can be a winner.

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