jonaselloco
Legend
Bronze Level
When I started this project of climbing levels in poker to be able to take it as a job or profession as much as possible, I first saw videos of players who talked about the convenience of playing cash at micro-limits against the mtts where the variance is greater.
In this case, I perfectly understood Elias Gutierrez, better known as "Zeros", a Spanish professional player. He speaks in a very clear video that he would advise a player who is starting out.
I started playing NL2 with let's say good results. Although at certain moments I began to feel the game a little boring, even though I was playing 2 zoom tables or rush and cash. Let's say that I saw a fairly schematized game, where the hands did not really come out with variety.
When I started to see this situation, I started to see videos especially of a player of Chilean origin and 2 other players of Spanish and North American origin, who played PLO and in their comments they talked about how their beginnings in NLH had been very similar to the ones mine, until they discovered PLO with excellent results.
I thought to myself, why not try PLO??? And start my path.
The beginnings were not easy, but after many hours of videos and studying the game I began to obtain very good daily results. Given that today after 3 months of having started and I could say that I have beaten the PLO2 level to start making shots according to my bankroll in PLO5.
What are the main characteristics that for me make PLO more attractive than NLH as a regular player??? They are the following:
1) Number of hands played
An NLH player who has a normal VPIP between 14% and 20% could be said to be a regular and good player, since with a higher level we could already say that he is a recreational player.
In PLO all the sessions give me a VPIP of between 25% and 30%, some reaching up to 33%.
To understand, in my 3 months of playing I have an approximate profit playing 2 zoom tables or Rush and cash of 18 bb per 100 hands, which for me is truly crazy.
When I see the other regulars who are playing, they are all more or less in the same VPIP, except for some who are extremely tight and are in the order of NLH 18% to 20&
In general it happens that many more hands are played than in NLH. For example, it is very likely that if you have a 45 in BB in NLH, depending on how the hand came about, you would not play it. But what happens if in NLH that 45 is accompanied by QQ and it could be a Q4sQ5s, surely if they would give you that possibility you would play that hand, right???
Well PLO gives you that possibility, that's why the game is so fun.
2) You have to have a better understanding of the hand
PLO is not an easy game, on the contrary it is a game that you have to be very attentive to, especially the fold button.
There are many variations when you see a flop on the table. Your or your opponent's hand can have an infinite number of variants with respect to the NLH.
In addition to being a game where even though you bluff, you have to know very well how to have a bluff catcher, because with so much variety in the game in a showdown, there is a huge amount of chance that the other player has the nuts and that makes it very difficult sometimes. make calls that, especially on the river, are too profitable.
That's why this is where you have to have the most notes or labels from your opponents.
3) You have to take into account the cards in hand to play.
I often see that different players get angry when someone beats them a hand, or gives them a supposed bad beat. But really, these bad beats are so supposed???
Many times these badbeats could be avoided if the player in question opened hands in which the odds were multiple so as not to have problems in the showdown.
But many times I see players who open hands or make calls with completely disconnected cards. To give you an example, it is as if in NLH you would call a 3 bet with Q3o or J4o or 82o out of position.
Apart from the fact that the cards in the showdown can favor you, in PLO generally a poorly played hand from the beginning almost always ends up favoring the opponent.
4) Preflop play is not so important
Apart from the fact that preflop play is still important in PLO, I think that in NLH it is much more important.
For me in PLO the most important thing is postflop play and in position. For me in PLO this is fundamental.
5) PLO is very useful for NLH
In my country, Ignacio "Nacho" Barbero is one of the best NLH players in the world in mtts. But he in turn is one of the best players in the world in PLO cash. He always says that the basis of his fortune was made by playing PLO cash at high stakes and that this helped him create a great gaming dynamic in NLH.
What is this about??? I understand that depending on the positions, he plays a very large number of hands that a player in mtts in general would not play.
For example, open a 97s in MP1 in NLH and maybe even pay a 3
bet depending on what position it comes from, what player does it, and what time of the mtt it is.
I did the 97s example because it is a hand that I remember, in which I called a 3 bet and on the turn he made a straight 56789 and won a tremento pot versus a KK.
In PLO just that happens.
A player can already open the hand with AAxx, but even less than in NLH it guarantees that he will have the hand insured, on the contrary. A large number of hands with AAxx that one opens usually end in fold, unless the showdown is unbeatable, which is different in NLH, because a hand like AA has a good chance of winning the hand.
This is why PLO is so attractive, because you really play with the full deck of cards, everything is valid.
6) It's very fun
Even though I take it as a daily job at the moment, I can spend a lot of hours (more than 6) playing PLO cash.
What's more, I see many players playing almost all the time.
7) There are a lot of recreational players
In NLH, generally all coaches of regular players indicate the choice of tables as advice.
It's classic that they tell you "where there are tables with recreational players, stay stuck"
But I think there is a drawback. In NLH many recreational players have become regular players, or at least a mix of them. This is because there is so much information about Holdem that a player who has a little understanding can improve his game just by watching videos, not to mention taking courses like Cardschat or other courses, or hiring a coach, etc.
What happens in PLO is that there is not that much information on the web about the game and about people who teach it. What's more, there are not many PLO software to better understand the game and they are generally also expensive.
What also happens with recreational players from what I have seen is that they also get tired of losing in NLH. Because it is very true that in truth a recreational player against a regular player has very few possibilities.
In PLO there is also a difference between regular players and recreational players, but I believe that here in PLO the recreational players have many more chances of winning a hand than in NLH, even if it is by "pure luck" in quotes, because they generally happen so much possibility of play in the hand that a hand in which you have the nuts on the flop can happen to your opponent having the nuts on the turn and you having the nuts on the river again.
That to me is something that makes it much more fun than the NLH.
8) I also play NLH
Although my profession is playing PLO, from time to time I play cash or mtts, especially in Holdem.
More than anything because I am aware that Holdem is the most played game in the world, and let's say I don't want to get out of the system.
But I also think that as people get to know PLO, it is very likely that in the future many Holdem players will switch to PLO once they know the game, and its pros and cons.
These are the things why I have decided to personally tip the balance towards the PLO.
If you want, leave me a comment to see what you think. If you play PLO, what other things do you find interesting in the game?
Greetings to everyone and thank you for taking the time to read the article.
Carlos
In this case, I perfectly understood Elias Gutierrez, better known as "Zeros", a Spanish professional player. He speaks in a very clear video that he would advise a player who is starting out.
I started playing NL2 with let's say good results. Although at certain moments I began to feel the game a little boring, even though I was playing 2 zoom tables or rush and cash. Let's say that I saw a fairly schematized game, where the hands did not really come out with variety.
When I started to see this situation, I started to see videos especially of a player of Chilean origin and 2 other players of Spanish and North American origin, who played PLO and in their comments they talked about how their beginnings in NLH had been very similar to the ones mine, until they discovered PLO with excellent results.
I thought to myself, why not try PLO??? And start my path.
The beginnings were not easy, but after many hours of videos and studying the game I began to obtain very good daily results. Given that today after 3 months of having started and I could say that I have beaten the PLO2 level to start making shots according to my bankroll in PLO5.
What are the main characteristics that for me make PLO more attractive than NLH as a regular player??? They are the following:
1) Number of hands played
An NLH player who has a normal VPIP between 14% and 20% could be said to be a regular and good player, since with a higher level we could already say that he is a recreational player.
In PLO all the sessions give me a VPIP of between 25% and 30%, some reaching up to 33%.
To understand, in my 3 months of playing I have an approximate profit playing 2 zoom tables or Rush and cash of 18 bb per 100 hands, which for me is truly crazy.
When I see the other regulars who are playing, they are all more or less in the same VPIP, except for some who are extremely tight and are in the order of NLH 18% to 20&
In general it happens that many more hands are played than in NLH. For example, it is very likely that if you have a 45 in BB in NLH, depending on how the hand came about, you would not play it. But what happens if in NLH that 45 is accompanied by QQ and it could be a Q4sQ5s, surely if they would give you that possibility you would play that hand, right???
Well PLO gives you that possibility, that's why the game is so fun.
2) You have to have a better understanding of the hand
PLO is not an easy game, on the contrary it is a game that you have to be very attentive to, especially the fold button.
There are many variations when you see a flop on the table. Your or your opponent's hand can have an infinite number of variants with respect to the NLH.
In addition to being a game where even though you bluff, you have to know very well how to have a bluff catcher, because with so much variety in the game in a showdown, there is a huge amount of chance that the other player has the nuts and that makes it very difficult sometimes. make calls that, especially on the river, are too profitable.
That's why this is where you have to have the most notes or labels from your opponents.
3) You have to take into account the cards in hand to play.
I often see that different players get angry when someone beats them a hand, or gives them a supposed bad beat. But really, these bad beats are so supposed???
Many times these badbeats could be avoided if the player in question opened hands in which the odds were multiple so as not to have problems in the showdown.
But many times I see players who open hands or make calls with completely disconnected cards. To give you an example, it is as if in NLH you would call a 3 bet with Q3o or J4o or 82o out of position.
Apart from the fact that the cards in the showdown can favor you, in PLO generally a poorly played hand from the beginning almost always ends up favoring the opponent.
4) Preflop play is not so important
Apart from the fact that preflop play is still important in PLO, I think that in NLH it is much more important.
For me in PLO the most important thing is postflop play and in position. For me in PLO this is fundamental.
5) PLO is very useful for NLH
In my country, Ignacio "Nacho" Barbero is one of the best NLH players in the world in mtts. But he in turn is one of the best players in the world in PLO cash. He always says that the basis of his fortune was made by playing PLO cash at high stakes and that this helped him create a great gaming dynamic in NLH.
What is this about??? I understand that depending on the positions, he plays a very large number of hands that a player in mtts in general would not play.
For example, open a 97s in MP1 in NLH and maybe even pay a 3
bet depending on what position it comes from, what player does it, and what time of the mtt it is.
I did the 97s example because it is a hand that I remember, in which I called a 3 bet and on the turn he made a straight 56789 and won a tremento pot versus a KK.
In PLO just that happens.
A player can already open the hand with AAxx, but even less than in NLH it guarantees that he will have the hand insured, on the contrary. A large number of hands with AAxx that one opens usually end in fold, unless the showdown is unbeatable, which is different in NLH, because a hand like AA has a good chance of winning the hand.
This is why PLO is so attractive, because you really play with the full deck of cards, everything is valid.
6) It's very fun
Even though I take it as a daily job at the moment, I can spend a lot of hours (more than 6) playing PLO cash.
What's more, I see many players playing almost all the time.
7) There are a lot of recreational players
In NLH, generally all coaches of regular players indicate the choice of tables as advice.
It's classic that they tell you "where there are tables with recreational players, stay stuck"
But I think there is a drawback. In NLH many recreational players have become regular players, or at least a mix of them. This is because there is so much information about Holdem that a player who has a little understanding can improve his game just by watching videos, not to mention taking courses like Cardschat or other courses, or hiring a coach, etc.
What happens in PLO is that there is not that much information on the web about the game and about people who teach it. What's more, there are not many PLO software to better understand the game and they are generally also expensive.
What also happens with recreational players from what I have seen is that they also get tired of losing in NLH. Because it is very true that in truth a recreational player against a regular player has very few possibilities.
In PLO there is also a difference between regular players and recreational players, but I believe that here in PLO the recreational players have many more chances of winning a hand than in NLH, even if it is by "pure luck" in quotes, because they generally happen so much possibility of play in the hand that a hand in which you have the nuts on the flop can happen to your opponent having the nuts on the turn and you having the nuts on the river again.
That to me is something that makes it much more fun than the NLH.
8) I also play NLH
Although my profession is playing PLO, from time to time I play cash or mtts, especially in Holdem.
More than anything because I am aware that Holdem is the most played game in the world, and let's say I don't want to get out of the system.
But I also think that as people get to know PLO, it is very likely that in the future many Holdem players will switch to PLO once they know the game, and its pros and cons.
These are the things why I have decided to personally tip the balance towards the PLO.
If you want, leave me a comment to see what you think. If you play PLO, what other things do you find interesting in the game?
Greetings to everyone and thank you for taking the time to read the article.
Carlos
Last edited:
