PokerSoftware Interview with Omaha Wrap Wizard

Recently, Gerry Rodman posted in the PokerSoftware.com forum that he had written a smart phone app to make calculating the number of outs in Omaha wrap hands a breeze. Appropriately called Omaha Wrap Wizard, the program runs on iPhones and Android equipped devices. PokerSoftware.com caught up with Rodman to learn more.

PokerSoftware: What inspired you to write the Omaha Wrap Wizard smart phone app?

Gerry Rodman: I have always found it difficult to analyze Omaha wrap hands, so I wrote this app to help me learn to do it quickly and accurately. There is usually at least one wrap straight draw playing a factor in most big PLO pots. As PLO is a game of shoving large amounts of money, often with slim edges, it is important to be able to calculate the contributions of wrap straight draws to your winning percentage.

PokerSoftware: For any reader who may not know, what is a wrap draw?

Gerry Rodman: For contrast, let’s start by looking at some PLO hands that are not wrap draws. Say you have two hearts in your hand and there are two hearts on the board. It is simple to see that you have nine outs, consisting of the nine remaining hearts in the deck.

If you have and Ace and a 7 in your hand and the board contains an Ace and a 7, you now have two other Aces and 7s remaining, giving you four outs to make a full house. So far, everything is simple and identical to counting outs in Hold’em, but PLO wrap straight draws are different animals.

Let’s say your hand is K-Q-J-X and the board is T-9-X.  How many outs do you have to make a straight? Now, the answer is not so simple. The answer is 13 outs. The individual outs are three kings, three queens, three jacks, and four eights, for a total of 13 outs. In this case, all of the outs will give you a nut straight, meaning that they will not give another player a higher straight.

Let’s look at a situation where there are 20 outs to a straight. Suppose your hand is K-Q-9-8 and the board is J-T-X. In this case, you have 20 outs to a straight, of which 16 are to the nut straight and four are non-nut outs. Non-nuts means they might give a villain a higher straight. The nut outs are four aces, three nines, three eights, and four sevens, for a total of 14 outs. The non-nut outs are three kings and three queens, for a total of six outs.

I think you’d agree that counting the outs for wrap straight draws can be complex.

PokerSoftware: How does Omaha Wrap Wizard help this process?

Gerry Rodman: OWW features a calculator that can instantly count the outs for wrap hand draws. The individual outs are listed and separated into nut and non-nut outs.

It is designed for quick data entry in that you only enter the single character rank of each card (suits are irrelevant, as the app is only concerned with straight possibilities).

It also has a flashcard function to teach you to do these calculations on your own. The great news is that wrap draws follow certain patterns that can be instantly recognized with some practice. OWW makes it easy to get that practice.

PokerSoftware: How is the application useful in real-time play and post-game study?

Gerry Rodman: If you play online and you are dealt a rundown hand, you can enter the ranks of your hand in OWW. If the flop looks like it may present straight draws, enter the ranks and press “Calculate.” You can also use it to analyze past hands or book examples.

PokerSoftware: Tell us about the flashcard feature.

Gerry Rodman: The real value of OWW comes from using it to learn to analyze wrap hands on your own through the flashcard feature. This feature generates random hand and board combinations, each of which represents a wrap straight draw. Use your knowledge to formulate your best answer as to the number of outs and the individual outs and press the “Answer” key to check your accuracy. Practice reduces the time it takes you to analyze hands, as you will have lots of other things to think about in PLO.

You may benefit from Googling “Omaha Wrap Hands” and reading articles on the subject before using the flashcard feature.

PokerSoftware: Can you tell us about your poker background? What inspired you to write applications for poker?

Gerry Rodman: Sure. I am mostly a mid-level live cash player and currently play two to three times per week in Pennsylvania. I used to play a lot of tournaments, but the long hours and regimentation made it a lot like having a job, so I stick mostly to cash.

As a career software engineer, smart phone programming fascinates me. Smart phones are sophisticated, full-fledged computers that rest in the palm of your hand. I enjoy writing apps for them and get a thrill out of being published. Part of the inspiration to write Omaha Wrap Wizard was that it is unique. I know of no other software that gives you the same functionality.

PokerSoftware:  How can interested poker players find the app?

Gerry Rodman: Omaha Wrap Wizard is published for iPhone and Android phones. On the Android, it is published under the name PLO Wrap Calc Pro. On either phone, go to the app market and search for “PLO Wrap.” You will quickly find the app. I’ve also released an ICM calculator for Android phones called “ICM Poker Deal Calculator.”