So the topic came up last Saturday about the HOHA format. As you all know it is currently one orbit of Hold'em, one orbit of Omaha hi/lo, another orbit of Hold'em, then finally an orbit of Omaha hi only. Adam had suggested that we go to two orbits of Hold'em in between Omaha rounds. After the table was queried the results ranged from supporting two orbits to indifference to opposition of two orbits. As some of you may recall the original format was AHO with one rotation of each game before repeating until the second rotation of Hold'em was put in.
I spoke with Adam afterward and the crux of the issue for him was shifting gears back and forth. And as we all recognize, Hold'em orbits go faster than Omaha and especially Omaha/8 orbits.
So I'm opening the floor to discussion about what we want to do. SOME of the options are below:
* HOHA - leave it as is.
* AHO - switch back to previous.
* HHOHHA - proposed double Hold'em format.
* AHHO - put both Hold'em orbits back to back so there are only three game changes each cycle instead of four.
* AHHHO - Compromise between HOHA and HHOHHA.
* Timed rotations - 20 minutes of Hold'em, 20 minutes of Omaha, 20 minutes of O/8 (or 30 minutes, whatever)
* Blocks of the evening - First third of the evening is Hold'em, second third is Omaha, final third is O/8.
* Omaha then Texas - First half of the night is Omaha and O/8, second half is Hold'em.
[Edit to add:
* HHOOHHAA - two orbits of each per Jeh's suggestion.
]
I'm sure there are other options as well so feel free to contribute any other ideas you may have.
12 comments:
Personally, I don't think that we need any more Hold'em. We play five hours of it during the middle of the week every week so if it is a question of equal time then it can be argued that we should be playing less Hold'em on the weekend instead of more.
If the main reason for the request is to minimize the game switching then I think AHHO format would address that without adding any more Hold'em to the mix.
Bottom line is I just don't really see a need for adding more Hold'em since we play it enough already. Just my opinion. I'm open to doing whatever the group agrees on.
After giving it more thought, even though my WNP time has been reduced a bit over the past month or so, and I’m consequently getting less Hold’em time in relative to the other regulars, I still prefer to play less hold'em.
I have a lot to learn in O/8 and PLO, and consequently I find those games eminently more interesting. I’m sure I still have more to learn about hold’em (as evidenced by the knowledge gained during this and the previous Cake Challenges), but the amount of learning is much lower overall. And that’s what I look for in our poker group — other than the fun conversation and the good group of guys — the learning is key.
I hear Adam about the switching of gears. I understand the issue, but I still think HOHA is the best way to go. I would prefer HOHA to AHHO, as I feel like any time we follow up O/8 immediately with PLO, someone will end up forgetting that we do or do not count the low for that particular hand. I think to cut down on the confusion, interspersing with a round of Hold’em is a nice palette cleanser. But two rounds would be too much.
Maybe instead of double stakes night on every 4th WNP night, we play PLO or O/8 exclusively? And alternate every month? I feel that a clear Omaha majority is developing within the group, and I for one would be open to a night of just that.
When we first started playing games other than Hold'em I asked if we wanted to mix that into the midweek lineup but the general sentiment was to keep weeknights pure and sully up the weekends with other games. People might have different opinions on that now.
I hear ya about the Omaha thing. I wish I could play that more because I don't have much experience with the game. One of these weekends I'll check interest on a OA night and see if people want to play just Omaha (/8) for the evening.
What if we do two rotations of each rather than one to reduce the amount of gear switching? This way we would have the same amount of each still.
Added Jeh's suggestion to OP.
Up for either keeping it the way it is as HOHA or Jeh's suggestion is fine too. Just don't want more Hold'em on the weekend nights we play.
I really like Jeh's idea of doing two orbits of each. I think it would feel better mentally that having to swap mindsets so often.
OK then, if Adam feels that the HHOOHHAA format would address his concerns then we can try that next time. Should it be 2xHOHA or would it be HOHA^2?
Ok so we are now doing the double orbits. That's good, it felt fine.
I really hate to rain on all of you innovators like this, but can we still just call it HOHA? The games didn't change, we are just doing 2 orbits for simplicity sake right?
I can't stand these all caps exclamation point emails.
Also, I don't agree about pushing hold'em out on the weekends. 5 hours per week is very little for live game, and NLHE is the most open option for potential weekenders.
I like HOOHHAAH as a name, but only because I created it. I don’t think the !! are necessary — that’s Martin’s call. I also don’t think just because it’s an acronym it has to be in all caps. You could go with Hoohhaah and I think we’d all still be ok with it.
Can we just leave it at HOHA for simplicities sake? I don't want to ask Woody if he is going to HOOHHAAH on Saturday, I would feel like an idiot. And got knows I don't need more of that feeling.
But seriously, I think we'll understand what HOHA includes.
Post a Comment