A Look At Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Sit & Go's
This text has been prepared by The Eureka Kid, on behalf of TheOmahaSplit.com
Early Stages
I believe that the optimal strategy in a PLO8 sit and go is to play rather tight early, the bad players will eliminate themselves. Take a few flops with suited A-2 and A-A combinations and try and be one of the players to benefit from the reckless players who get knocked out early, don't be one of those players yourself though. Don't commit to a big pot without the nuts or a very strong two way combination and be less inclined to chase. At this stage of the tournament (the first four blind levels or so) the blinds are small in comparison to stack sizes and there isn't much point taking big risks. The table is filled with players, and if your game selection is good then a few of them will be horribly bad and will self destruct early, you should stay out of trouble.
If you do for some reason lose a sizeable pot or get all-in and quartered there is little need to panic as there is still plenty of time left in the tournament to make a comeback. So often I see players lose half their stack early on to a bad beat and then get crazy trying to win it all back straight away. If you don't play any hands of significance in the first few levels there is absolutely no need to panic, the bigger and more important pots and confrontations tend to take place in the middle and later stages of the tournaments. If you stick to your regular deep stacked cash game strategy in the early stages of a sit and go, you shouldn't fair to badly.
Middle Stages
The middle stages refers to the fifth or sixth blind level when there should be about 5 or 6 players left. It stands to become crucial to understand how the hand values have changed, you will be playing a lot more heads-up and three way pots. Starting hands that gravitate towards the low end such as A234 and A256 lose their value and hands that go both ways like an A5KK or A4KQ go up in value. Remember the important fact that no starting hand is a huge favourite over another and because of this the more aggressive you are over time, the more rewards you will reap.
Making your opponents fold or 'folding equity' is crucial, scooping pots uncontested is paramount to being a winning PLO8 sit and go player. In the early rounds you should have observed your opponent's tendencies, identify the weaker players who lack aggression and don't defend their blinds. As play becomes more shorthanded amp up your aggression against these guys and you will get rewarded by picking up easy pots. Also be aware that as the money bubble approaches players will tighten up, if you are serious about winning sit and go's you need to be aggressive at this time and take advantage, having said that don't go too far and pick your opponents to do it against.
Late Stages
Now that you are in the money your goal is to maximize your profit by achieving the best position possible. Take your stack size and your opponent's tendencies into account during this period. Very often I find the situation is that there is one large stack and two small stacks, if you are the large stack constantly apply pressure to the two short stacks by pushing just about any hand that has alright low possibilities with some good high potential. If you are one of the shorter stacks don't be afraid to push your chips around, especially against the other short stack, put some pressure on them and they are likely to crumble. If you end up in a confrontation with the larger stack, make sure it with an average to above average holding that is more than likely going to result in you staying alive. When all three stacks are relatively even, the tournament is a little more wide open and your job is to adjust for the player types you are against. Against aggressive opponents, exercise some patience. Alternatively, against passive players pile the pressure on. The blind levels are also an important consideration. Sometimes the blinds will allow for a lot of post-flop play, i tend to play a little more passively pre-flop in these situations and try and outplay my opponents after the flop. In a situation where player stacks represent only a few big blinds the more aggressively you play pre-flop the better, winning a pot uncontested is so invaluable at that point.
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