DAVE "EL BLONDIE" COLCLOUGH - European Player of the Year

[londonpokergirl]

Sorry to hear about you and Rhow  
Life does get better though just takes a bit of time
xx

Thanks Mel...hope to see you at BB4...watch out though...I am on the pull   

hehe mines a double vodka and sugarfree redbull lol x

[TightEnd]

Details of how to buy Dave's new CD "Inside Secrets of a Professional Poker Player" at a discount via blonde can be found by clicking this link

http://www.blondepoker.com/index.php?q=node/8807

[elblondie]

What I REALLY want to know though, is when his Omaha strategy comes out..I'd be very interested in that.

Now this is the truth... If I really wrote a few chapters on my Omaha strategy... everyone would just laugh and completely disagree with it
e.g. I actually think 6 card Omaha is a more skilfull game than 4 card Omaha
Just try and find one other payer who agrees with that statement
 

[boldie]

As you said 6O is a game of more skill than 4O I was wondering if you could post your thoughts on that here.
I have always considered (as I think do most players that I've met) that 6 O is more like bingo than 4 O is but seeing as you are one of the (if not THE) premier Omaha player in the world (definetly the best in europe) I was wondering if you could share your thoughts on that one and maybe post a little strategy for it here.

Omaha is one of the more interesting games out there and Lord knows there's plenty of money to be made playing it online and I think everyone from beginners to the very experienced would learn a great deal if you could write something up about it.

[elblondie]

Well here are a few of the more obvious thoughts...
a) everyone considers there to be more luck in 6 card. This isnt true. You are just as likely to hit a 23-1 back door flush in 4 card as you are in 6 card... Yes I agree your opponent may be more likely to have a backdoor flush or other lucky outs. However these should taken into consideration when making decisions.
b) With 6 card you can legitimately play twice as many hands in an evenings play. If you are only going to play 10 hands in an evenings play the fluctuations are going to be greater than if you are playing 20 hands where the 'luck factor' will be balanced out more
c) there are more cards & more complcations. therefore more tricky decisions. Poker is about making tricky decisions. the best decision maker usually wins the most money
d) bad players like to play every hand. 6 card gives them every opportunity to do this and get themselves into trouble
e) there are hundreds of technical errors that are completely exassapated at 6 card... e.g. calling with a King flush draw on the flop. In 4 card if you hit the lucky 2-1 against flush you will usually win the pot over 60% of the time. In 6 card you will hit the flush and 60% of the time still loose. Bad players get punished more
... more to come

[elblondie]

another typical flop may be 10, J, 10 and you hold J, 10, K, A... You get re-raised by your opponent.
In 4 card you don't rally have a tough decision. I would nearly always just stick my chips in
At 6 card you have a tough decision and I would have to take my opponent into consideration...
Would he only raise with JJ here? Would he usually slow play by just calling with JJ here? Is he likely to just be gambling with 10, Q, K, A here ?
The harder the decisions, the more edge a better player has... in my humble oppinion.
In 6 card I would pass in the coupe maybe a third of the time,  depending on all the other factors.
Many players would always call and often do their money.

[elblondie]

Another typical had may show 3 flush cards on an unpaired board by the river, and I may hold the bare Ace.
At 4 card I rarely run a bluff in this situation because many players just auto-ilot check call with lower flushes. So its usually an automatic check and loose the pot.
At 6 card I now have a difficult poker decision to make. Is my opponent capable of passing a King flush in this situation? Often the answer is yes, if the pot is big enough. What is my table image at the moment?
In some situations I can run this bluff and some I can't. More decisions. More poker.
 

[ifm]

Ahh but.............
Because bad players play every hand you have little or no way of having an idea of their holding.
Also because you get so many players that like their hand the pots build rapidly preflop with everyone calling, this means that you have to sit down VERY deep to compete and you can only continue post flop with multiple nut draws.
You *have* to hit whereas in 4 card you don't always.
I played 6 card at Walsall for 2 years a couple of times a week, the best mthod i found was to sit with one buyin and "have a gamble", you either walk out thousands up or you lose the buyin and try another day.
I have aslo played at the Broadway with those maniacs with the minimum sit down £100 and folks sat with £10,000 in front of them, the cheapest pot preflop was near £150 each with a minimum of 4 players, this is a £2 £2 blind game, where is the skill there?

[boldie]

Interesting points Dave.

IFM raises a fair point by saying 6O is more expensive pre-flop but yeah bad players who shouldn't be in there will be in there adding money to your pot.

food for thought for a while (I'm a decent 4 O player but 6 O just annoys me..maybe it shouldn't

[elblondie]

IFMs does raise a good point. For 6O to be a skillfull game then a lot of players need to be deep stacked. If all the money goes in on the flop then obviously the skill factor drops. However, sitting with players in the Broadway with between 2 grand and 6 grand in front of them with a £2 £5 blind structure..well thats a great scenario. I know because I play regularly. ifm's 'gamble' strategy is fine but it's his choice to gamble and not to play more poker.
remember though, even in short stach gambling type 6O games, most of the money goes in on the flop. We spend most of our time playing NLH tourneys when most of the money goes in pre-flop. At least the flop is adding one more level of complexity.

I rest my case though. the main reason I don't write anything on Omaha, is that the vast amjority of players disagree with me... and i am not interested in an arguement. I've won more money at 6o than every other game and tourney combined. It works for me, but I fully understand why it doesn't work for others.

[ifm]

I wasn't discounting what you say just pointing out that there is a fundamental flaw in 6 card and that is the maniac effect, the only way to overcome it is to be as deep stacked as the rest.
I have sat there for round upon round passing hands because i think the starting hand criteria should be a lot tighter, you can (and most do) look at every hand you get dealt and see magical properties therin.
The trouble is when you do enter a pot it is a) gonna be expensive and b) have to be a bloody good flop.
I specifically mentioned Walsall and The Broadway BECAUSE i know you've played there, it is a different prospect entirely for you because you have the bigger roll to play more pots.
I am fascinated by your insights into Omaha and specifically 6 card so don't let me put you off

[I KNOW IT]

What I REALLY want to know though, is when his Omaha strategy comes out..I'd be very interested in that.

Now this is the truth... If I really wrote a few chapters on my Omaha strategy... everyone would just laugh and completely disagree with it
e.g. I actually think 6 card Omaha is a more skilfull game than 4 card Omaha
Just try and find one other payer who agrees with that statement
 

P Maxfield always said that people who think 6 card omaha is a game of luck are very mistaken.
ps Good luck with the future

[Ironside]

i would love for elblondie and rolf slotbotton to put there heads together for an omaha book

[elblondie]

P Maxfield always said that people who think 6 card omaha is a game of luck are very mistaken.
ps Good luck with the future
[/quote]
Paul always chose 4 card given the choice though...however I suspect that may have been so that he could steal on the button 

[I KNOW IT]

P Maxfield always said that people who think 6 card omaha is a game of luck are very mistaken.
ps Good luck with the future

Paul always chose 4 card given the choice though...however I suspect that may have been so that he could steal on the button 
[/quote]
I dont know if he prefers 6 card omaha over 4 card, I think he was just making a few pointers to me about the misconception of it being a gambling game