There are few things as exciting in poker as getting on a rush.
Carl Collins, who ran the poker game at American Legion Post No. 1 in Phoenix, AZ for many years, posted a sign on the wall of our poker room about getting on a rush. I don't remember his exact words, but they had to do with enjoying it to the hilt.
All poker players get on a rush from time to time. A rush happens when your cards literally run over you and you can't do anything wrong.
You go into a hand with the worst possible cards like j-9 after someone with pocket aces raises the pot. The flop comes j-9-2. The raiser comes out betting, you call, and when he bets on fourth street, you raise.
Or a person flops kings full of deuces when the flop comes k-k-2. You have pocket deuces and you naturally call him. The fourth deuce comes on the river and you smile as the dealer pushes you the pot.
I have had many rushes over the years. You cannot plan them, by the way. They just come like a dust storm in the prairie country of New Mexico. They stay around for a while and then, like the wind, they vanish.
Thursday I was planning on taking the Amtrak from Charleston, S.C. to Jacksonville, FL. to play in an afternoon Omaha High-Low tournament. I overslept and missed the train. That afternoon, I made the four-hour trip to Jacksonville.
I played until late, didn't make much money, and retired to a nearby motel for a refreshing sleep.
The next day I returned to BestBet Casino on Monument Road. That was when the rush began.
We were playing pot-limit Omaha High-Low, a dangerous came that cam have wild swings in both directions. Our table was filled with good players who have been playing pot-limit Omaha eight-or-better for years. That day, they were no match for me.
The rush was on.
Omaha High-Low is a river game. You can flop a nut straight and be called by someone with trips or two pairs who fills up on the river. In order to win at this game, you must be willing to gamble.
The players at the table were super aggressive. On one hand that I won, four players went all in. The pot totaled more than $600. I flopped two pairs and made a full house on fourth street, while two other players made flushes. There was no low and I scooped the pot.
By midnight I was more than $1,300 ahead. I was tired but happy. As I cashed in my chips, I thought of my friend Carl Collins back in Phoenix and smiled. This was the kind of rush that would thrill any player, especially Carl.
I have made reference to this in the past and will do it again. While most casinos lean heavily toward Texas Hold'em when they stage a poker tournament, I am convinced Omaha High-Low and mixed games will be the games of the future.
You can use so much more strategy when you get four cards rather than just two. Big O poker, where you get a fifth card and play high-low, is also catching on in popularity. I see a bright future for these games and strongly urge poker room managers to increase the number of poker tournaments that feature high-low and other mixed games.
Good luck. Let the action begin.
Author: Geno Lawrenzi Jr.
(Geno Lawrenzi Jr. is an international journalist, magazine author and ghostwriter and poker player who lives in Phoenx, AZ. He has published 2,000 articles in 50 magazines and 125 newspapers. If you want to share a gambling story or book idea with him, send an email to glawrenzi@gmail.com ).
