PLO concept: Stop-n-go

Ištrauka iš Tri "SlowHabit" Nguyeno knygos "Advanced PLO Play: The Workbook":

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PLO concept: Stop-n-go

The stop and go is a play where you check-call the flop and donk the turn. This used to be a very popular play in no-limit holdem games because there players will stack off really light to protect their hands. The stop and go play also annoys other players easily and causes them to play badly. However, players rarely use it nowadays because it is very difficult to balance in NL.

In PLO, due to the nature of the game, it is easier to balance the stop and go. Moreover, the stop and go has a different function in PLO. The usual situation to apply such a concept is on the turn when you have about 1 to 1.5 pot-size bets left, the board is drawy, and you want to take down the pot and also don't want your opponent to check behind. So you pot on the turn after check-calling the flop. Another benefit of the stop and go is that it gives you more fold equity that you wouldn't otherwise have. Let's look at an example to help illustrate the situation.

You open in MP with 7:spade:8:spade:9:diamond:J:diamond:. CO re-raises. You know he has AAxx the majority of the time. The flop is 9:club:6:spade:3:heart:. You check. He pots. Check-raising the pot is never wrong here since you have a 57% equity against AAxx if you get it in on the flop. Of course, AAxx isn't bet-folding on this flop. However, if you check-call the flop and donk on any turn since you didn't think of folding in the first place, you might get some fold equity against tighter opponents, especially if the turn is a 2 or 4.

You might wonder why we want our opponent to fold when we have an equity advantage in the hand. The main reason is even if we are ahead, we aren't ahead by much. Secondly, it prevents our opponent from realizing his equity in the pot. And since being able to realize our equity is the key to winning in PLO, we are encouraging our opponent to make a huge mistake by folding in big pots.

Another reason for check-calling the flop is you can actually check-fold on the turn. It seems bad if you fail to get stacks when having an equity advantage, but if the turn is a bad card, there's nothing wrong with check-folding. The downside of check-folding on a turn ace is if your opponent has a wider 3-betting range than AAxx. In that case, you are making a mistake, although the mistake isn't that big. Against Axxx on a board of 9:club:6:spade:3:heart:A:club:, you only have 28% equity.

Last example. I have K:spade:T:spade:9:club:8:diamond:. I open in the CO. The BTN re-raises. I call. Flop is J:club:6:spade:5:spade:. I check. He bets. I can call here and pot on any turn. If the turn is a 4, 8, or 9, I can get folds from overpairs. Additionally, if the turn is a T or Q, my opponent can make a tight fold putting me on two pair.

It is important to note that the stop-n-go is best used against players with low c-bet frequency on the flop. The main reason is whenever they bet, they are more likely to bet and stack off if you check-raise since their ranges are stronger, so you have less fold equity on the flop.

Against players who have a high c-bet frequency on the flop, it's better to check-raise because their ranges are wide and they'll either fold to the check-raise or call your check-raise and see the turn. On occasions when they do call on the flop, you can bet again since your hand has so much equity when called. There is also a good chance they fold to your turn bet.

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