Omaha High/Low:

THE HOUSE ALWAYS WINS

BY: Russ Fox

"If winning isn't everything, why do they keep score?"
- Vince Lombardi

I must warn you - there will be little (if any) strategy and tactics in this month's article. But the topic I am presenting is probably the most important of any topic to understand when you sit at any poker table: the mathematics of losers and winners. Note that I did not say winners and losers. There are far, far more losers.

I live in Southern California and, generally, play all of my poker here. California has some unique rules in regards to poker. Raking isn't allowed under State law. Instead, there is a fixed 'drop' taken from the pot. In the $6/$12 Omaha game that I play in, $4 is dropped for the house and $1 for the jackpot. (There are some exceptions to this if there is no flop or if the game is shorthanded.) A typical game has between 20 and 25 hands per hour. At 25 hands per hour, $125 is removed from the table each hour. After four hours $500 has left the game.

Now assume that you play a four-hour session and win $150. On average, the other eight players will have each lost $81.25. As I said, there are many more losers than winners.

When I first started to play somewhat seriously (in 1999) I had problems dealing with some players. However, they weren't the type of players you're probably thinking of. I didn't have problems with tough players. No, I had difficulty dealing with players who wanted to lose. I need to repeat this for emphasis: players who want to lose.

The more incredulous of you are thinking no one wants to lose. Au, contraire; there are numerous people who happily dream of following the Beatles' mantra (in their The Loser). If you play Omaha you see them every day: they are the players who call (or, better, raise) every hand.

About three years ago I was playing in an Omaha game with Larry the loser. Larry held a job, but lied to his wife whenever she called him (about where he was). I never saw Larry win. One day Larry, who besides being a loser, always yelled at the dealers, re-bought on two straight hands (playing such monsters as QQQ5). On the next hand Larry lost with a good hand, threw his cards over the dealer's head, threatened the dealer with a security guard standing there, threatened the floorman who happened to be walking by, and got kicked out of the club. (Because of a quirk in the laws, he was barred for 10 years. Apparently a lifetime ban can be appealed but you can't appeal when you're barred for 10 years for cause.)

When you come across one of these losers, and you will, smile, sympathize with them, and take their money. If you don't, someone else will. (This is the lesson that I've learned. If I ever ran into Larry away from the table, I'd point out that he might want to get help for his problems. But at the table you must, if you want to be a winning player, take what others offer.) Larry was an extreme case; however, you will likely run into a loser in the future.

Another type of loser is the more typical 'nice guy who plays too many hands.' (Alternatively, someone who plays marginal hands but can't get away from them.) We have one of these in the game I frequent: Eileen, who works for some bureaucratic agency (and has been there 20+ years). I've added up Eileen's losses and wins on the days I'm playing (Eileen works a 4/10 schedule and plays much more often than I do, so it's possible, though unlikely, that I'm drawing the wrong conclusion). She's a big contributor to the game (and my wallet). Eileen's game has actually improved over the last two years. She used to be in Larry's category. If she were to play 50% fewer hands she'd probably break even. At least Eileen makes a lot of money and can afford her losses.

Remember, you want, no, you need these players in your game. Remember, the Peter Principle states, "Every [player] tends to rise to his level of incompetence. " For every winner (and I assume you want to be one of these) you must have three losers. What can you do to encourage these players to remain in your game?

The best advice I can give is to be a nice person at the table. In Southern California there are so few nice people that being kind, saying things like 'good night' when you leave the game can make all the difference in the world. Remember, it's to your benefit that these players remain in the game.

Next month I'll talk about the players you don't want in your game. As Paul the Prop would say, look at Russ' picture�.

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