This hand is still bugging me a week later. It's a situation that seems to come up a lot, and I'm not sure when I'm better off folding a nut low when I have no real high to go with it.

Poker Stars
Pot Limit Omaha Ring game
Blinds: $0.10/$0.25
9 players


Stack sizes:
UTG: $4.50
Hero: $21.45
MP1: $27.70
MP2: $24.70
MP3: $6.25
CO: $25.80
Button: $15.45
SB: $38.10
BB: $17.20

Pre-flop: (9 players) Hero is UTG+1 with
UTG folds, Hero calls, MP1 folds, MP2 raises to $1.1, 5 folds, Hero calls.

Flop: ($2.55, 2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 bets $2.45, Hero calls.

Turn: ($7.45, 2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 bets $7.1, Hero calls.

River: ($21.65, 2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 is all-in $14.05, Hero calls all-in $10.8.
Uncalled bets: $3.25 returned to MP2.

Results:
Final pot: $43.25

Is there any point in the hand where I should let it go? As is usually the case, the better the read you have (will he jam with a high-only hand) the better you can play, but how do you play this when you don't have a good read yet?

Does your answer change -

a) if you don't even have a pair for high?
b) if there's an additional player in the hand?

i think this is a key plo8 question, and will become moreso if/when you move up.

as you said, it really depends on reads. given that you often won't have them...

1) you usually want a high or a decent draw to a high.

2) how much of a made high depends on your opponent(s). in some aggressive games in which people play their marginal hands (e.g., bare 2pr) and draws fast, you can often get aggressive with something as light as a low draw (not even necessarily nut low, if you know villain will jam light) plus a pair. usually top pair is best here, but against some people any pair will do -- again, it depends on if you know they'll push with thin draws, bare nut low draws, and/or if you have decent fold equity. note that some interesting things can happen when you have a pair and get a second pair (sometimes your 4th card, sometimes by being counterfeited). these are "marginal" hands that are often big money spinners.

3) for me, a set or better and a low draw is enough for me to push all the chips in the middle. with 2pr, it REALLY depends on the opponent. some players are so fvcking tight, you know they aren't betting/raising without a set or better -- this is especially true for relatively aggressive players like me (i.e., they often telegraph the strength of their hand to me).

4) as with made hands, the value of your high draw can vary depending on your opponent. nut flush draw is good, a wrap is great, a clean-looking oesd is also nice. sometimes, though, you can play any flush draw or something like a gutshot with overcards.

5) you also need some hand reading skills to determine if villain is likely going high, low, or both ways. if he's going high, you can often call down REALLY light if you think you can push him off a hand when a scarecard comes. my experience, though, is that the value of this is marginal up to the 100s since people can't seem to fold big made hands that might be beat (e.g., nut flush on a paired board, straight on a flush board, etc.). it's great when you have the big hand, but it sucks for semi-bluffing with lows.

6) last but not least, take this advice with a big ol' chunck of rock salt. i've played about 5k hands so far in 2007, and my biggest losses/leaks are from getting quartered and sixthed. i always have SOME sort of high, but people seem to either have nut-nut or seem to catch their flushes and 2nd pairs on me. also, i'm pretty sure that i'm overestimating my fold equity since i've only won one decent-sized pot by getting folds with the one-pair plus low draw aggression. not only that, but weak made hands (e.g., bare bottom 2pr) are calling me down even on made low boards. needless to say, fold equity is low. anyway, this is a tricky question. i'm not sure that my lines are wrong, but they all depend on putting villains on a relatively accurate range and correctly assessing fold equity.


as for the posted hand, hhhmmm... i really want reads here. if villain has been showing down decent hands, i'd actually fold the flop since you have very little counterfeit protection, and a simple A23x has you crushed. if villain is the typical donkey 25 player, i'd bet out on either the turn or river hoping that villain is overplaying AAxx and maybe will fold or villain is taking the common 25plo8 line of pimping a bare nut low. i think you made a big mistake by calling off your whole stack here once you decided to play -- you want to punish bare weak highs.

fwiw, i've seen people take villain's line with hands like bottom set and 2pr on a low straight board -- just take your notes and wait for the big hands.