"PLO is Still the Place to Make Money" - Interview with GodLikeRoy
We catch up with PokerStrategy.com coach and Team PokerStars Online pro Roy "GodLikeRoy" Bhasin to talk everything Pot-Limit Omaha.
Roy Bhasin is an online poker pro from Sydney, Australia, who primarily makes a living playing Pot-Limit Omaha. As well as grinding the cash tables and producing a number of Omaha training videos for PokerStrategy.com, he has also achieved SuperNova Elite on PokerStars several times and has become a member of Team PokerStars Online.
"PLO is still the place to make money"
 |
| Roy Bhasin |
PokerStrategy.com: It seems like people have been saying PLO is the place to make money for years now, surely it can't still be as easy as it is made out to be?
GodLikeRoy: PLO is still the place to make money. Is it getting tougher? Sure, but because the game is so complex and unsolved there is a much longer way to go before it reaches the same level of toughness that games like LHE and NLHE are now at.PokerStrategy.com: What is the biggest error you see from the PLO regs?
GodLikeRoy: The biggest error that regs make.. hmm. It's hard to say because there are so many different types of players and playing styles that still win.
I would say the biggest leak is actually nothing to do with gameplay itself but rather not taking everything else seriously: bankroll management, tilt management, eating well, studying and working on your game, etc.
PokerStrategy.com: How many buy-ins would you recommend a serious PLO player starts with?GodLikeRoy: This is always a tough question to answer as it varies depending on the stakes being played, the ability to replenish the roll if it diminishes and the goal of the player.
I will say that anything less than 50 buy-ins is simply laughable and 100 is still not really much in the scheme of things. I've seen graphs of players running two, three, even four hundred buy-ins below EV.
The variance is sickening and you can never be too prepared. Better yet is to have a plan where you move down in stakes should you fall below a threshold, and always play in games where you're a winner. If I had to give a blanket number I would say 100 minimum, 150 preferred.
"It's insane how much more swingy PLO is"
 |
| PLO is much swingier |
PokerStrategy.com: How do you mentally deal with the swings of PLO? How much swingier would you say it is than hold'em?
GodLikeRoy: It's insane how much more swingy PLO is to NLHE. Winning/losing 20-30 buy-ins a session is run of the mill for most players and going on 10 buy-in up/down swings in a matter of minutes is standard.
I deal with the swings by working on my mental game and getting to the point where I try to tie my emotions to how well I played rather than how well or badly I ran.
That way when I play well the results don't matter - I can lose 50 buyins and walk away with my head held high knowing that it's about the long run and that if I continue to play that well the money will follow later.
If however I play poorly I tend to be very harsh with myself and let it affect me -- even if I've booked a winning session/week. This is good and bad: on the one hand it can affect my mood away from the tables which is bad, but it makes me look harder at my game and approach and motivates me to play better next time which is good.
PokerStrategy.com: How much do you play FLO8 and/or PLO8? Is that the next place to make money in poker?
GodLikeRoy: I don't play much at the moment but I went through a period a couple of years ago where I played a significant amount. Nowadays it's usually just during WCOOP/SCOOP/TCOOP.
I think there's a lot of money to be made playing these games but I don't envision it catching on to the same extent as PLO, at least not until PLO is the main game and hold'em is a thing of the past, if that will ever happen.
FLO8 is a great game to know how to play though as it pops up in mixed games all the time and is just downright fun and interesting.
PokerStrategy.com: Is FLO8/PLO8 a lot more different from PLO than most think it is?
GodLikeRoy: Yes, FLO8 and PLO8 are very different games to PLO. Heck, FLO8 and PLO8 are incredibly different games to one another. There are some similarities sure: you get four cards, you must use two from your hand and three from the board. That's where the similarities stop.
Your entire approach to the game needs to be different for all three, you can't approach PLO8/FLO8 with the same mindset as PLO and expect it to work.
"PLO instruction is improving in quality and quantity"
 |
| Grinding PLO on PokerStars |
PokerStrategy.com: How would you rate the quality of information available out there for PLO compared to NLHE right now?
GodLikeRoy: It's improving but both quality and quantity of PLO information available still pales in comparison to what's out there for Hold'em.
The problem with the quality of information is that there are many varying viewpoints and approaches to PLO and what is "best" for one person may not be best for another (even though both are established winning regulars).
There's good information out there but you need to know what you're looking for to find it.
PokerStrategy.com: How much time do you spend working on your game away from the tables?
GodLikeRoy: I go through phases. Sometimes I'll spend an hour or two every day for weeks working on my game, other times I spend as little as 30 minutes a week on it. The ideal solution is probably somewhere in the middle.
PokerStrategy.com: What does that process look like? Do you study hands, post hands, work with a coach etc?
GodLikeRoy: The process varies depending on what part of my game I feel needs work on. I'm a big fan of running equity simulations over and over to really hammer in the details of certain spots.
I study hands and lines and discuss things with other players who play in similar games to me to get an outside perspective.
I do work with a coach, jaredtendler, for my mental game and he has helped me find leaks I never knew I had in that respect as well as work on all the ones I did know I had.
Watch GodLikeRoy's PLO videos:
• Climbing the ranks in Pot Limit Omaha 
Free
• PLO Shallow Stacks 
Platinum+
• PLO 1k Live Session 
Diamond+
