PLO from Scratch Flashcards
Which are the components of starting hand strength ?
- high-card strength
- connectedness
- suitedness
- nutiness
What are the classifications of starting hands according to structure ?
- Big cards and ace high Broadway wraps
- Straight hands
- Suited ace hands
- Pair-plus hands
- Aces
- Marginal hands
Characteristics of Big cards and A high broadway wraps ?
4 cards T and higher, or 4 cards 9 and higher with an ace.
Strength component:
High, connected cards that build high pairs, high two pair, high straights, and high flushes when suited
Characteristics of straight hands ?
- 4 connected hands with at most 2 gaps in them
- These hands are also called “rundowns” or “wraps”, and they build straights. The number and quality of the straights we build are very dependent on the the number and location of gaps in the structure
What are premium rundowns ?
- Rundowns with no gaps (JT98)
- Rundowns with a single gap at the bottom (JT97)
- Rundowns with a single gap in the middle (JT87)
What are speculative rundowns ?
- Rundowns with a double gap at the bottom (JT96)
- Rundowns with two single gaps at the bottom (JT86)
- Rundowns with a double gap in the middle (JT76)
What do straight structures with gaps at the top build ?
a lot of non-nut straights !
Characteristics of suited A hands ?
Suited ace with a rundown, a pair, or two Broadway cards
The “backbone” of this starting hand structure is the nut flush potential. In addition, the side cards give us various
possibilities
suited A + rundown characteristics ?
A suited ace + rundown has straight potential to go with the flush potential. To evaluate the quality of the straight
component, we use the principles for evaluating straight hands discussed previously. Rundowns with high gaps(pic) are more speculative than rundowns with low gaps or no gaps.
suited A + pair characteristics ?
can flop a set. The higher the pair, the better. Also, note that we prefer the pair not to have the same suit as the ace
When the pair is offsuit to the
ace, we have a better chance of flopping the nut flush draw when we flop a set (which will give us a monster hand)
suited A + 2 Broadway cards characteristics ?
has high card strength plus some straight strength to go with the nut flush potential. We can build good top pair and top two pair hands, and some Broadway straights.
Characteristics of Pair plus hands ?
Pairs with suited and connected side cards, or a pair with another pair.
These hands can flop sets. In addition, the suited/connected side cards provide straight and flush potential; while a second pair doubles the chance of flopping a set (a double paired hand has about 25% chance of flopping a set).
Characteristics of AAxx hands ?
AAxx. These hands vary in strength from speculative (“dry” AAxx with worthless side cards) to ultra premium (doubly suited AAxx with good side cards).
AAxx is the nuts preflop, and the AA component gives us a monster hand when we flop top set. AAxx rarely wins showdowns unimproved in multiway pots, but will win some pots by going unimproved to showdown in heads-up pots.
What are speculative AAxx hands ?
“Dry” aces with worthless side cards, or with one suited ace and little else. For example:
What are premium AAxx hands ?
Double-suited to both aces, or single-suited with a pair, a connector, or 2 Broadway cards. For example:
What are magnum AAxx hands ?
Double-suited to both aces, and with a high pair, a connector, or 2 Broadway cards. For example:
