It’s not every day that a new poker format actually catches on but enough players seem
to be flocking to 🧾 Fusion Poker on PokerStars that it actually might stick.
The early
returns on the game are that it’s quite swingy but 🧾 it’s also attracting a number of
inexperienced players so it’s potentially lucrative.
It’s taken players years to reach
the current level 🧾 of play in both Hold’em and PLO so Fusion Poker represents some new
strategies for both new and old players 🧾 alike.
We’ll break down some of the simplest
ways to improve your win-rate at the up-and-coming poker variant.
What is Fusion
Poker?
Fusion 🧾 Poker is a hybrid of No-Limit Hold’em and Pot-Limit Omaha (hence the
“fusion).
You begin with two cards (just like Hold’em) 🧾 but you’ll get an additional
card on the flop and one more on the turn.
If you get to the river 🧾 you must use two of
your cards to make the best five-card poker hand. This differs from Hold’em where you
🧾 can potentially use just one of your hole cards to make a five-card hand (a flush for
instance).
Because you get 🧾 more draws in Fusion Poker, you’ll find that you frequently
hit bigger hands.
The game is played with a Pot-Limit structure, 🧾 which means you can
only raise the amount that’s already in the pot. That means that if the pot
containsR$100 🧾 and you’re Sportsbook the betting then you can only betR$100.
This
structure is good for players who don’t enjoy having their 🧾 opponent shove all-in
frequently and the game is better suited to players who like to stay in a hand and
🧾 attempt to hit their draws.
Interestingly PokerStars only allows set buy-ins for Fusion
Poker, which range fromR$3 all the way up 🧾 toR$1,000.
Set buy-ins mean that players
can’t buy-in for a short stack or a huge one. It’s always going to be 🧾 the exact same
number so everyone has the same chance. You can top up at any point you want.
To
summarize 🧾 here’s the Fusion Poker bullet points:
> Pot-Limit Omaha/Hold’em Hybrid
>
Players two cards pre-flop, another hole card one the flop and 🧾 one more on the turn.
>
Players have four-cards by the river and must use two of them to make a 🧾 five-card poker
hand.
> Pot-Limit structure, which restricts players who like to shove on every hand
If
you’re just starting out at 🧾 Fusion Poker here are seven simple tips that should improve
your game.
1. Big Pocket Pairs Aren’t Quite as Strong
In Hold’em 🧾 you’ve got great
equity when you get a hand like pocket aces or pocket kings but those hands don’t play
🧾 quite as well in Fusion Poker.
There are a couple reasons for that. First of all you’re
opponents are going to 🧾 get more draws and that means they have a better chance of
cracking a big pair with hands like two-pair 🧾 and straights. Second of all you aren’t
able to make huge overbets because Fusion has a Pot-Limit structure so you’re 🧾 somewhat
limited when it comes to your raising sizes.
The bottom line is that Fusion Poker is a
drawing game and 🧾 pocket aces or kings aren’t a drawing hand. That doesn’t mean you
should fold them (in fact you should still 🧾 bet pre-flop) but you’ve got to be extremely
careful from that point on.
2. Connected Cards Have More Value
The flip side 🧾 of big
pocket pairs like aces and kings losing value is that connectors like 8-7 suited or 6-5
have more 🧾 value.
The reason is that you get two more potential draws to hit your big
hands. Suddenly if you have an 🧾 open-ended straight draw you’re got two more cards to
hit your hand. Keep that in mind when you see connectors.
Interestingly 🧾 suited hands
actually lose some value because you have to use two of your hole cards at showdown.
That means 🧾 you can actually block your own flush outs.
3. Expect to See Bigger Hands
If
you’re going to play Fusion Poker for 🧾 any amount of time then you’ll notice that some
of your strongest Hold’em hands get beaten on a regular basis.
That’s 🧾 because Fusion
Poker players have more chances to hit their hands and they are actually protected by
the Pot-Limit betting 🧾 structure.
You’ll notice that sets and big pairs get trounced
much more often then in Hold’em. If you get to the 🧾 river and there’s a straight on the
board (which their frequently is) don’t be shocked if someone has it.
Be particularly
🧾 careful with your sets and two-pairs because straights and full houses are more common
in Fusion Poker.
4. Play to the 🧾 Nuts
It’s definitely OK to go all-in on a draw in
Fusion Poker but make sure it’s the best one.
One of 🧾 the best (worst?) ways to
completely ruin yourself is by getting all-in against an opponent with the third-best
flush while 🧾 they have the nut-flush. You are effectively drawing dead and that’s pretty
hard to do most of the time because 🧾 everyone has so many outs.
Nut straight draws and
flush draws are even more valuable in Fusion Poker.
5. Fusion Poker has 🧾 More Variance
than PLO
This is a relatively simple concept when you think about it: In Pot-limit
Omaha you know exactly 🧾 what your four hole cards from the very beginning and you can
act accordingly.
Meanwhile in Fusion Hold’em you’ve got no 🧾 idea what the next two cards
will be and you’ve got to keep that in mind.
It’s also the reason that 🧾 players will
sometimes showdown the most unexpected hands on the river because they picked them up
on the flop or 🧾 turn draw.
Just keep that in mind when you’re buying into Fusion Poker
because it’s going to be very common to 🧾 win or lose a few buy-ins in a short amount of
time.
6. Calling is Better Than in Hold’em
Calling bets with 🧾 no regard in No-Limit
Hold’em can be a disastrous proposition because aggressive opponents will simply throw
all their chips at 🧾 you and essentially force you to fold marginal hands.
In Fusion
Poker you’re opponents are essentially capped out because they can 🧾 only bet the pot.
That can be a large amount but you know the exact amount your opponent will be 🧾 allowed
to bet on the turn or the river.
That’s why you’ll often see PLO pros call several
streets without even 🧾 thinking about it. It’s because they are protected from their
opponent throwing 500 big blinds in the pot.
7. Bluffs are 🧾 Harder in Fusion
It’s much
harder to bluff in PLO compared to No-Limit Hold’em and that holds true for Fusion
Poker 🧾 as well.
In Fusion you’re restricted by the Pot-Limit betting structure so you
can’t make huge over-bet bluffs to chase opponents 🧾 from pots.
Players essentially get
cost-certainty when it comes to how big the pot will be on subsequent streets so they
🧾 can call accordingly.
In addition players are going to have even more draws so they
will be less likely to fold.
Conversely 🧾 you can add the odd bluff to your range in
Fusion Poker because it’s so unexpected. Players will sometimes fold 🧾 extremely strong
hands simply because it’s so common for huge hands to pop up.
Use your own best
judgement and try 🧾 to get a good read on a player in those situations.
