Fast Play

SPEED OF of calculation is a sure sign of expertise in poker. If a player makes a decision in a flash, practically a micro-second, it often unsettles opponents.

A strong Omaha player demonstrated this technique the other night. Omaha is the four card version of Hold 'em and a complicated game. The four cards of a player's hand give you six possible starting hands (AB, AC, AD, BC, BD, CD) instead of the simple two cards of Hold 'em. This was in the big game at the Grosvenor Victoria in Edgware Road, London.

The pot had been well raised before the flop with about £1,100 in the middle. The flop came down:

A 9 7

Dick, a capable amateur well able to hold his own in fast company, found A 7 7 6 in his hand, which gave him trips, or looking at it in another combination two pairs plus a bad spade draw. He bet the pot. The original raiser folded.

David Moseley, who is an acknowledged expert at Omaha, immediately called and raised £3,300. Two other players in the pot agonized a long time and finally called, all-in. What's going on?

Dick felt it was unlikely that Moseley had trip aces. But it was a very dangerous situation for him, because they both had a lot of money in front of them, over £11,000. This was his downside risk. Fearing David might have trip 9s in his hand, Dick folded his trip 7s. The clever part of Moseley's play was that he had instantly read that no one had trip aces. He was only drawing to the nut flush with the king of spades and another spade, plus a second king as back-up, and wanted to drive Dick out.

The other two had wrap-around straight draws (any card which fitted the 9-7 on the flop flop would give them straights) which they both hit on the turn (fourth card). All four players had two spades, plus two on the flop, so there were only three left in the deck. The elusive spade Moseley needed came down on the river. So Dick was quite clever too - he saved himself several thousand. The tricky and imaginative style of this hand, not to mention the cost, shows why it is so tough to survive in the big game.