If you want to play Stud, Atlantic City is the place to go.

Where to Find Stud Games Live

While most casinos will claim to spread Stud poker regularly, the truth is that the games go off very infrequently in many rooms.  If you are a Stud player or looking to learn the game, the two best options for you are Atlantic City and Los Angeles.

In AC, you will want to focus on the Trump Taj and maybe Tropicana for lower stakes stud.  The Taj regularly runs $1to $5 and $5-$10 stud.  Topicanna regularly held a $3-$6 game.  If you are looking for mid stakes action in Stud, the Taj is one of your only daily stop you will likely find a game.  On the weekends and other high traffic times, you can also check out the Borgata for mid and high stake Stud games.  On the weekends, you can find stakes as high as $300-$600 at the Borgata and $100-$200 at the Taj.

In Los Angeles, the Bike and Hawaiin Gardens regularly hold low stake stud games starting at $1-$2.  HG even has a $3-$6 Stud Hi-Lo game that regularly goes off.  Hustler is another place you will want to try and find stud games.  Middle stakes games sometimes go off at the Bike and from I have heard, at the Hustler.  Try the Commerce for high stakes games, or call around.  They don’t go off often, and you might have to put up with a mixed game.

For those of you going to Vegas and looking for Stud, you might want to try Sam’s Town for lower limit Stud.  Otherwise, one of your only choices is probably going to be the Bellagio.  With Vegas, it is always a good idea to call around and see what’s available.

Omaha Hi-Lo

Again, Los Angles and AC are going to be spots you can find Omaha Hi-Lo, but Vegas has a decent spread depending on the time of week.  In Atlantic City, you are going to be looking only the Trump Taj Mahal and the Borgata for Omaha Hi-Lo.  It is probably a good idea to call ahead to either casino to see what is running.  The Taj regularly runs a $5-$10 Omaha and sometimes will run a $2-$4 Omaha Hi-Lo.  Higher games are available if there is interest.

The Borgata will hold Omaha Hi-Lo games when there is sufficient interest, but you will probably be looking at finding those games on the weekend.  When there is a big tournament series in town, you can probably find a game here as well.

In Los Angles, there are regular games going at the Bike and Hawaiin Garden and the weekends you may find higher.  Also call over to Hollywood Park to see if their game goes off, but usually you are going to probably find that only on the weekend.

You have a few options in Vegas depending on the time of week.  The Orleans has a $4-$8 Hi-Lo game that goes off daily, but beware that the game is full of regulars.  Binions downtown will spread the game when there is interest and it’s a $3-$6 game.  Otherwise, your best bet for Hi-Lo in Vegas is going to be Borgata or the Aria.  Also, if you like mixed games, try Treasure Island and they Wynn as well as they will sometimes spread mixed games.

Other Areas for Non-Hold’em Games

If you are in the deep south, check out Tunica, MS to see what you can find in regards to Omaha Hi-Lo.  Omaha Hi-Lo is popular in the south and you can usually find a game at the Gold Strike, and maybe even at Binions.

If you are up in the Minnesota area, check out the Canterbury Card Room in Shakopee, MN.  You can find Stud and even Stud Hi-Lo spread there as well as Omaha Hi-Lo but very sparsely spread.

Of course, if you have enough players and the casino has dealers trained in the game, any casino will spread a non-Hold’em game as long as you ask and can produce the players.  With any casino, call ahead and check to see if they have the game that you want to play.  Otherwise, you are going to probably be stuck playing Hold’em.  Good luck at the tables.

You should start learning PLO at the micro-stakes games. This limits the damage a bad run will make to your bankroll and lets you learn the nuances of the game without losing too much money in the beginning. Treating the game like Texas Hold ‘em where you started at the micro limits and over time built up your success and experience is certainly the recommended path to follow with PLO, indeed any new poker game you wish to learn.

You will encounter three types of opponent in the micro-stakes games of PLO. The first is the player that has migrated from Holdem and does not care about the changes they need to make. You beat this player by caring about the changes and learning them diligently. The second type of player is the complete fish who loves to play poker online but is unfortunately not very good at it. The third type of player is the solid player but fortunately there are far fewer solid PLO players than in Holdem games.

Because the pots are small in real terms players play micro stakes PLO even more aggressively than they normally would. This increases the games calling and raising even more. Players make a common error of playing too many hands and I have read that over 80% of PLO starting hands can look like they are playable. You can take an immediate advantage by researching good starting hand strategy for Pot Limit Omaha and not getting drawn into the madness that can ensue in online PLO micro stakes games. When you play you will hold on average a starting hand that has a better chance of winning the pot than your loose opponents, this gives you a great edge over them.

Do not overvalue pairs! Your opponents hold four hole cards and even if they are making small errors playing those cards they are still in the hand with more chances to hit their miracle cards to win. Chasing none nut draws (draws that if hit you still have possible hands your opponents could hold to beat you) is also dangerous and something that you will see over and over in PLO at the micro-limits. Players understand that it is a drawing game, but they get carried away with this and are too loose. Can you see yet why being tight with starting hands and valuing hands correctly is profitable? There will be action when you need it in PLO, unfortunately also action when you don’t.

Bluffing, therefore, becomes something should be used with care and rarely in a micro stakes game where players generally call regardless of board texture or opponent aggression. Most of the pots will be multi-way with multiple opponents, many of whom disregard position, or do not understand what a strong or weak hand is in PLO and call when they should fold. The way to beat the micro limits is to be very tight aggressive. Fold the trash and when the hand comes that you need to win a pot build it quickly. Make sure it is the nuts or very strong when you do it.

One of the principles that can be applied from No Limit Texas Hold’em is that you should always build a pot relative to your hand strength. This means when you hold a weak hand try and control the pot size and when you get a big hand create a big pot. That fundamental concept of poker is true for most games and most definitely true for PLO. Enjoy fishing!

By Malcolm Clarke