Ari Engel has won more WSOP-C rings (19) than anyone else. He’s also claimed four WSOP bracelets, won the Aussie Millions Main Event, boasts 384 WSOP cashes, and has nearly $10 million in career earnings worldwide.
When you're playing split pot games, it's important to have a shot at both sides. It sounds simple but a lot of players that come across from Texas hold'em don't give it the right consideration, especially when they're looking down at pocket aces or A-K preflop.
When you only have a shot at one side of the board, whether it’s stud hi-lo or Omaha hi-lo, the max you're going to be getting is half the pot.
Let's say you have a flush draw and there are already low cards out there. If you do hit the flush draw, you're only going to get pushed half the pot. That means, if you're in a heads-up situation, you're basically playing for the chance to just win your own money back.
This critically changes the dynamics of the way you should look at pot odds and it even changes the kind of hands you want to play preflop to begin with.
The most ideal situations are when you can have a strong hand one way and at least still have some shot the other way.
Double board bomb pots
Double board bomb pots have become very common, even among non-mixed game players, and they raise a similar issue to split pot games.
In a double board game, two full boards of community cards are dealt and half the pot goes to the winner of one side of the board, and the other half goes to the winner of the other board. And in a bomb pot, the preflop round is skipped entirely so all players see the flop.
Often you can have the nuts on one board. But the fact that you’re capped at only winning one board and have no shot at the other board means your hand isn’t really that strong.
If you have the nut flush draw on one board and no shot at the other board, given that there are so many people who see these bomb pot flops, if the board pairs on your nut flush draw, you’re pretty much dead. Someone will almost certainly have a full house.
This is pretty relevant at the moment because of the proliferation of these type of double board hands, even in regular NLH cash games.
Pot-limit Omaha
Even in a game like pot-limit Omaha, the principle applies. Two players flop the nut straight, but one of them has two pair to go along with it, or a flush draw.
Having the extra opportunity to make a better hand is so valuable to the math. Guess what? Sometimes, you get lucky or unlucky. But you have to put yourself in the position to get lucky.
When you don't have those extra freerolls as a part of your hand, and you’re very aware of it, you’re able to view your strategy in a different light.
The bottom line? If no-limit hold'em is your bread and butter, make sure to adjust your thinking any time you're not playing for the whole pot.
