Scooping
in Split-Pot games
In split-pot games, like Omaha/8
and 7-stud/8, your goal is to win, or "scoop,"
the entire pot - not just part of it. Therefore: seek hands
offering an opportunity to make the best high and the best
low. Don't get trapped in situations where you can win just
half the pot, and then only if you get lucky. That's not
to say you should never play hands that can win in only
one direction. After all, you might flop the best possible
fl1sh, a full house, or even four-of-a-kind in a hand with
a bunch of opponents. Even if you split the pot with a low
hand, you'll make money.
But most of the time you won't
be lucky enough to flop a good hand. In fact, much of the
time you won't flop a real hand at all - you'll be drawing
instead. Maybe it's a draw to the best possible straight
or flush, or maybe you've flopped a big set and need the
board to pair. If there's a pesky flush or straight draw
that always seems to get there when you're in the pot, you'll
need a higher flush or straight, or even a full house, to
show down the best hand.
In such situations, you need
to compare pot odds to the odds against making your hand.
Then you can decide whether to continue playing. Although
you don't have the best hand at this juncture, there's a
silver lining in that cloud, and here it is: If you fail
to make your hand and don't improve, you're certainly not
going to call at showdown. Since you're going to save that
last bet whenever you miss your hand, you're actually getting
slightly better pot odds than any player with a made hand
who's planning to bet on the river.
If you're playing Omaha high,
these are simple issues - the very same ones you face playing
Texas hold'em. After all, if the pot is offering four dollars
for each dollar you have to wager, and the odds against
making your hand are only 2-to-1, you're going to chase
that hand every time. But what if you're playing Omaha/8
and figure to win only half the pot if you make your hand?
Suppose you can win a total
of $500 for calling a $100 wager. That's a net profit of
$400 (a total pot of five hundred dollars minus the $100
you invested by calling) and it's a good call if the odds
against making your hand are only 2-to-1 or 3-to-1. But
what if you're in an Omaha/8 games and figure to win only
half the pot? When that happens, the dealer will push $250
dollars in your direction if you make the hand you are hoping
for. And - Ugh! - what if you don't?
But let's say you win half the
pot. While the size of your win was just cut in half, the
odds against making your hand remained the same, and the
cost to draw for half the pot was still $100, which was
identical to the cost of drawing for the entire thing. Now
your profit on that hand has been reduced from $400 to $150
(you'll receive a total of $250 for the same $100 investment,
so your net profit now is only $150).
The odds have changed dramatically,
since you've changed one side of the equation but not the
other. Your profit has gone down considerably. yet your
costs have stayed the same.
You'll see numerous instances
in Omaha/8 and 7-stud/8 of opponents drawing for half the
pot - when the payoff doesn't even come close to offsetting
the odds against making their hand. In the long run, plays
like these destroy bankrolls, one bet at a time. Let them
be someone else's plays, not yours!
In Omaha/8 and 7-stud/8,
scooping is the main strategic objective. While you won't
scoop often, it's important to play hands that can scoop.
Anytime you can play a hand offering a sure win of half
the pot plus an opportunity - regardless of how long the
odds may be against it - of winning the rest of the pot,
too, you've got a fortunate situation. You've got a lock
on half of the pot, and get to "freeroll" for
the other half. Whenever you can draw to the remainder of
the pot at no cost this way, you're getting infinite odds
for your investment. You just can't lose on bets like that!
