Interview with Greg (O8poker.com)
So many great blogs and so little time to read them all…Many bloggers are fantastic writers and are very very informative. So...for my blog, I would like to “interview” bloggers now and then. Sounds cheesy? Probably so….I am going to try to interview a blogger every two weeks or so…just to learn more about them and etc…
About Greg: I came across his site, O8poker.com, through 2+2. I find that his site is one of the top Omaha 8 websites out there. His advice and suggestions are fundamentally sound and great for beginners and for those who are thinking about the game. Ray Zee’s book is highly recommended and Greg covers some of the things Zee talks about in his book and add some of his own wisdom and interpretation on how to play certain hands/tables.
1. As you stated in your blog, you went to Chi-town for the weekend, any poker?
No, just hung out with family. I did retrieve my copy of Ciaffone and Reuben’s “NL and PL Holdem” from my brother and read thru it tho.
2. I find that O8poker.com is a very comprehensive site for LO8. Those who are "beginners" or who needs to "reevaluate" their play can really benefit from your site. However, you seem to be more on the PLO8 side than LO8 on your blog. Will there be a PLO8poker.com coming soon?
Probably not. More likely I would split the site up into Limit and PLO8 and build it up that way. But really I don’t know that there is enough demand to warrant sub-dividing it so much, and the concepts are similar anyway.
Btw, I am more focused in my blog on PLO8 these days, but that’s because that’s the main game I’m playing right now. I played NL primarily for the first 9 months or so I played poker, then switched to LO8 for both a change of pace and because I thought it might be a better fit for my skillset, then switched after 6 months or so to PLO8 because I thought my winrate would be higher and I could draw on my NL background. But I still dabble in LO8 and NL a few times a month.
3. Personally, I totally suck at PL08. When I jump in the PL games (PLO8*$25*), I still have that LO8 mentally. Any suggestions on how to change my approach (ex. A23Q a good hand in PLO8?)?
PLO8 definitely requires some adjustment. Aggression is more rewarded, semi-bluffing and bet-ability are key concepts, and position is critical. In PLO8, I play a bit looser, focus much more on position, pay more attention to my opponents tendencies as opposed to my cards (vs. LO8), and look for spots where I can steal/bet big to get weaker hands to pay and stronger hands to fold. Not sure how helpful that is, because the correct answer to a given hand in PLO8 vs. LO8 is “it depends” much more frequently.
4. Any online tournament suggestions? I get extremely bored in first 90 mins or so when the blinds are small. Even when I make a nice 5x preflop raise with a premium, I still get a few callers who will hit the flop and will eventually suck me out.
Personally, I think playing very tight early on is the way to go in tourneys. In many of my biggest successes in tourneys on-line, I’ve had VPIP scores around 14-18% for the first third of the tourney. Some people can play looser and make it work, but not me. But you need to find your own style.
I also get fairly bored in the early going, and have found my EV goes up if I play multiple tables so I’m not tempted to try and play bad hands early on. And I don’t mind a few callers with weaker hands – that’s how you make money in the long run – you just need to realize you’ll have bad luck at times.
5. Any good poker blogs out there that you recommend?
Yeah, I list a bunch in the links section of my site. I read LawSchoolDropout, BigDaveD, Daniel Negreanu, Paul Phillips and a few others periodically.
(below are quick questions/answers)
6. Sirus or XM?
I have no idea what this question is even asking. A quick google search suggests something to do with radio, but I’m about the least musically inclined person you’ll ever find.
7. WSOP PLO8 or WSOP Main Event (if you were able to participate in one)?
WSOP Main Event. More fish would play there. PLO8 isn’t offered, and if it was, playing against an expert table wouldn’t be much fun.
8. Favorite Online Poker Site?
It used to be Empire but you can’t find any ring games there these days. I’ll probably open accounts at Full Tilt and UB, and continue to play Party and Stars in the meantime.
9. Played with any pros?
No. But I did challenge Daniel to an O8 match!
10. Annie Duke or Ray Zee?
Ray Zee is the man. His advice is gold.
11. Raymer or Hansen?
Both are awesome tourney players, but I’ll go with Raymer. When I first started playing tourneys, I went back thru the 2+2 MTT forum and read everything he has written, both in the MTT forum and the archives going back 5 years. I learned a ton from him and consider him a bit of a “mentor” even tho I’ve never met him and he's never communicated with me personally!
12. Wintermute or Ribbo?
I’ll go with Wintermute here. He’s taken more money from me in live NL play, and besides, he’s got enough chest hair scare the fish into giving him their money.
--greg
Thanks for your time Greg!!!!!!
About Greg: I came across his site, O8poker.com, through 2+2. I find that his site is one of the top Omaha 8 websites out there. His advice and suggestions are fundamentally sound and great for beginners and for those who are thinking about the game. Ray Zee’s book is highly recommended and Greg covers some of the things Zee talks about in his book and add some of his own wisdom and interpretation on how to play certain hands/tables.
1. As you stated in your blog, you went to Chi-town for the weekend, any poker?
No, just hung out with family. I did retrieve my copy of Ciaffone and Reuben’s “NL and PL Holdem” from my brother and read thru it tho.
2. I find that O8poker.com is a very comprehensive site for LO8. Those who are "beginners" or who needs to "reevaluate" their play can really benefit from your site. However, you seem to be more on the PLO8 side than LO8 on your blog. Will there be a PLO8poker.com coming soon?
Probably not. More likely I would split the site up into Limit and PLO8 and build it up that way. But really I don’t know that there is enough demand to warrant sub-dividing it so much, and the concepts are similar anyway.
Btw, I am more focused in my blog on PLO8 these days, but that’s because that’s the main game I’m playing right now. I played NL primarily for the first 9 months or so I played poker, then switched to LO8 for both a change of pace and because I thought it might be a better fit for my skillset, then switched after 6 months or so to PLO8 because I thought my winrate would be higher and I could draw on my NL background. But I still dabble in LO8 and NL a few times a month.
3. Personally, I totally suck at PL08. When I jump in the PL games (PLO8*$25*), I still have that LO8 mentally. Any suggestions on how to change my approach (ex. A23Q a good hand in PLO8?)?
PLO8 definitely requires some adjustment. Aggression is more rewarded, semi-bluffing and bet-ability are key concepts, and position is critical. In PLO8, I play a bit looser, focus much more on position, pay more attention to my opponents tendencies as opposed to my cards (vs. LO8), and look for spots where I can steal/bet big to get weaker hands to pay and stronger hands to fold. Not sure how helpful that is, because the correct answer to a given hand in PLO8 vs. LO8 is “it depends” much more frequently.
4. Any online tournament suggestions? I get extremely bored in first 90 mins or so when the blinds are small. Even when I make a nice 5x preflop raise with a premium, I still get a few callers who will hit the flop and will eventually suck me out.
Personally, I think playing very tight early on is the way to go in tourneys. In many of my biggest successes in tourneys on-line, I’ve had VPIP scores around 14-18% for the first third of the tourney. Some people can play looser and make it work, but not me. But you need to find your own style.
I also get fairly bored in the early going, and have found my EV goes up if I play multiple tables so I’m not tempted to try and play bad hands early on. And I don’t mind a few callers with weaker hands – that’s how you make money in the long run – you just need to realize you’ll have bad luck at times.
5. Any good poker blogs out there that you recommend?
Yeah, I list a bunch in the links section of my site. I read LawSchoolDropout, BigDaveD, Daniel Negreanu, Paul Phillips and a few others periodically.
(below are quick questions/answers)
6. Sirus or XM?
I have no idea what this question is even asking. A quick google search suggests something to do with radio, but I’m about the least musically inclined person you’ll ever find.
7. WSOP PLO8 or WSOP Main Event (if you were able to participate in one)?
WSOP Main Event. More fish would play there. PLO8 isn’t offered, and if it was, playing against an expert table wouldn’t be much fun.
8. Favorite Online Poker Site?
It used to be Empire but you can’t find any ring games there these days. I’ll probably open accounts at Full Tilt and UB, and continue to play Party and Stars in the meantime.
9. Played with any pros?
No. But I did challenge Daniel to an O8 match!
10. Annie Duke or Ray Zee?
Ray Zee is the man. His advice is gold.
11. Raymer or Hansen?
Both are awesome tourney players, but I’ll go with Raymer. When I first started playing tourneys, I went back thru the 2+2 MTT forum and read everything he has written, both in the MTT forum and the archives going back 5 years. I learned a ton from him and consider him a bit of a “mentor” even tho I’ve never met him and he's never communicated with me personally!
12. Wintermute or Ribbo?
I’ll go with Wintermute here. He’s taken more money from me in live NL play, and besides, he’s got enough chest hair scare the fish into giving him their money.
--greg
Thanks for your time Greg!!!!!!
posted by MaxSquat at 6:58 AM
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