Slow and Steady...

Tonight I played in one 9 person PLO8 Sit and Go. From the start of the match the action was fast and furious. Nearly half the table was eliminated during the first blind level. My strategy at this point was simple, let everyone bust each other out while I play only premium hands. Unfortunatly, once play got to five handed things slowed down considerably. There was almost no pre-flop raising and most pots were won on the flop. After playing Omaha for the last few weeks this turn of events was certainly puzzling.

As the blinds continued to increase pots continued to get pushed to the bettor and raiser. Only one of my pre-flop raises were ever contested and for several levels I was the only player making raises pre-flop. We got to the break with the chips pretty evenly distributed. I was the short-stack once we got 5 handed and stayed that way until the money bubble burst. It took almost 70 minutes to get to the money. That kind of timing is normal in a 18 person SnG but pretty rare in a 9 person match.

When the dust settled I ended up getting runner-up in the match. I'm happy with the result and how I played since I didn't over-value my hands and didn't chase low draws. Considering my chip stacks compared to everyone else for an hour of the match I'm happy with how things turned out.