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The Case of the Naked ACE: AN OMAHA MYSTERY

Continuing with our Omaha theme from last month, let's look at a specific situation that occurs quite frequently in Pot Limit Omaha. The "naked ace" is a term some use in hold'em to denote a small ace, ie A-9 or lower or maybe even A-6 on down, depending on the crowd you play with. In PLO, however, the naked ace is a much more interesting situation that can lead to all sorts of pokeristic shenanigans.

The PLO naked ace is an unsuited ace, big or small. Seeing as you always use two of your four cards in PLO, even four spades on the board will not make your naked ace of spades a winner; someone with the 2 and 3 of spades will beat you. If you let them, that is. As discussed last time, you want all four starting cards in Omaha high to be coordinated, with no danglers. The only dangler that I will play with any regularity (unless the game is wide open, which it may be after a few naked ace plays) is a suited ace, ie AQT2 if the A2 is suited. If not, then I might even dump AQT7 (unless I have position and another good reason), though AQT8 looks just dandy. A hand like AQT9 or so is fine even if the ace is unsuited, so in we go if the pot isn't jacked too high already. If it is, that ace should be suited.

But, let's say it isn't, and you're the button. Position is more critical in PLO than in HE, as each round can change the possible nut so drastically in this four-card game. If you are last to act you have a great advantage in PLO, and that is precisely the place from which the naked ace becomes useful. So you're in with your naked AQT9 on the button with a small raise from up front, five players in the pot. The flop comes 827, rainbow.

The raiser checks, as do the next two players. The cut-off bets the pot, which is not yet very big, and the game is new so everyone's stacks are about equal. You could raise but decide to see what the raiser does and just call. The raiser calls as well, as does one other player.

The turn brings your money card, a jack. The J is a heart, as is the deuce. You hold a four-suited hand with the ace of hearts. You now have the nuts, but NO REDRAW. This is nowhere near as good a hand as it first looks. The raiser checks, as do the next two players, which is good for you in various ways. You know your opponents somewhat, but not well enough to reliably put them on a hand, which in PLO is quite something else from reading a HE hand. Best case scenario is you bet the pot and everyone folds. You really don't want callers here, as anyone who calls is very likely to be free rolling all over your ass with something like KQT9 with two hearts, or maybe T988 or T977.

Here is where PLO gets fun. If you bet the pot and get raised, you're probably going to have to lay this puppy down. What?!? Fold the nuts? Yep, for precisely the freeroll reasons just mentioned. We're assuming you're not butting heads with total PLO noobs here, but with some decent poker players who wouldn't raise without the nuts and a redraw, or maybe top set and a flush draw. But if you don't make a bet you're playing like a total puss and deserve to lose every chip you've got (according to some). The odds of a blank coming and someone betting are decent, and you'll probably split the pot in that case.

So what to do? Well, here comes the basic poker question back into play, as ever: how well do you know your opponents? If you know that someone who likes to gamble might reraise you with only a flush draw or set, that's a good place to be. The chips aren't too deep yet, you can afford another rebuy or two, so getting it all in with the best hand at the moment against one player with only one draw is ok. If he has the aforementioned set and flush draw, it's definitely not ok. Any 2, 7, 8, or J on the river leaves you helpless and you pretty much have to fold, especially if the cut-off who raised the flop is still around; putting him on a set is pretty logical. Betting your straight against a paired board in PLO is like giving someone your PIN number.

So you decide to play it cagey and you don't bet the turn at all. While not always the best play (anytime I can grab a pot uncontested on the turn I want to, but unlike HE, when you get called here in PLO you really don't know where you're at, except up the river and wishing for a paddle), this move has its merits. It's early in the night, and if a blank hits on the river and someone bets with a set or tries to steal and you raise them back a little and get called and show the nuts, you're going to get a lot more respect for your checks the rest of the night. That's never bad. You've made more than you would have if you'd bet the turn and won the pot (so who's a puss now?). Plus you've taken on the image of a tricky (if somewhat illogical) player who's tough to read. These are good thangs.

Now let's say the river is not a blank, but rather the 4 of hearts. This is not such a good thang, but you can work it your advantage if you play your cards right. The initial raiser bets half the pot. The next guy folds, amazed that he saw the river in a five-handed PLO game that cheaply, and then the cut off ponders for a minute and finally lets it go. Now we come to one of my favorite poker situations, the case of the naked ace (picture yourself as Bogie in a gray snap-brim fedora with Bacall draped on your shoulder, poured into a long white gown, her diamond earrings tickling your neck as you stare down your opponent through squinted eyes).

What does this guy have? Odds are he's got the flush. If he had the straight on the turn he would have most likely bet it rather than chance everyone checking and giving a (terrible, for someone up front) free card away. But maybe he had the straight with no redraw, just like you, and was hoping to check raise and get it all in. Maybe he had a set on the flop. Who knows? All you know for sure is that he does NOT have the nuts! Your naked ace precludes that possibility. Now what?

Well, has this guy played you enough to know that if you reraise the maximum you've got the nut and nothing but? If so, and you're seen as a tight player night in and night out, then your tightness is about to pay off, so get in there with both gats blazing, Humphrey (not many Humphreys around anymore, are there? You see lots of Bogies though, especially if you're betting on Mickelson in a major). If you're known to be larcenous, however, then this is a very fascinating place to be.

You could just call and hope your straight is good. You're likely to see a baby flush, or maybe even king-high. He could just be bluffing, and this is a cheap way to find out. But if your chips aren't too deep yet and you don't mind a rebuy or two, this is a perfect time to bet the naked ace. You reraise the entire pot, which might tap your opponent. If he doesn't have the flush at all he will almost definitely fold. If he does have the flush you know it ain't the nut, and if he has chips and reraises another reraise is very likely to scare him off (if he's deep enough). Even if it doesn't, you've got good future equity from this hand…as long as you show your cards!

Even if you raise and he folds, you want to show your cards here. Or, at least one----and you know which. Tossing the naked ace out onto the board and mucking the rest, you have many choice comments to choose from while raking the pot. You can look at the guy and say, "nice fold". You can say, "I think I had you". You might say to the table, "The naked ace; never leave home without it." At which point they are sure you have the nuts. Or you can just smile and say nothing, often the very best poker move of all.

In any case, you now know you are very likely to get called in this situation later that night and for quite a few after. The beauty of this play is, if he calls or raises and you get it all in, you can still show your whole hand and get maximum advertising value for a long time to come. They see you had the nuts and position on the turn and didn't bet, which could get you lots of free cards as time goes by. Beautiful, maybe worth every penny you spent, as free cards in PLO are worth far more than in most poker games. They also see you were bluffing with the naked ace and now you will get called a lot more when you hold a very well-clothed ace on the river.

In any case, you are now seen as a gambler, a wild man, a real poker player, and that is a great place to be in a PLO game. Tight players don't get paid off enough on the river in this game, but gamblers sure do! If you happen to be a solid player who only gambles at the best times, though, then you are in poker heaven. You can continue to peddle the nuts and still get paid. After they've seen the shiznut enough, they'll back off, and away you go with your naked ace again!

I love playing the naked ace in PLO, but it is of course a very conditional move. It works best as advertising early in the session and works best as a steal late in the session when you've played tight and right all night (now there's a slogan for any number of products and situations). If you don't play with the same players much it's not as useful, but PLO games are relatively hard to come by so you're probably against the same group all the time. If they know you will play a naked ace you will get way more action on the river. If you play well, this is a wonderful bonus.

If it works, you might not even show it at all, and let everyone think that of course you had it. Maybe even throw your 9T out there with no comment and rake the pot; they'll be shaking their heads for a while after seeing that. Maybe the other guy will tilt when he thinks his baby flush was good. Whatever happens, you've thrown the game off kilter a bit, and that's always to the advantage of the player who can do it first and best.

A naked ace is only worth starting with if it's part of a high wrap, or paired with another ace, so keep that in mind. Played properly, though, your naked aces can make you a much more successful PLO player, and will always keep your opposition on their toes. Just make sure you bet it right; that kind of bluff can come with all sorts of tells that your opponents can go to town on.

So many fascinating things to consider! Omaha can start to make hold'em seem rather basic after a while, and even boring. Any poker game that keeps me thinking and makes me pay attention is a godsend, however, as I know most of the other players will not be keeping up their end of the constant study. And that is a fine overlay indeed.

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