PLO4 Beta

Seven things hold'em players get wrong

Read these once, then use the tools. Each takes about ten seconds.

1. 1

   Exactly two from your hand, three from the board

   Not one, not three. Four spades on the board and the lone ace of spades in your hand is not a flush. A straight on the board is not your straight unless two of your cards remake it. This rule causes most first-week mistakes.

   Check a hand in the equity calculator
2. 2

   Equities run much closer than in hold'em

   Aces against kings is about 80/20 in hold'em. In PLO, AAKK double-suited against a double-suited rundown is closer to 60/40, and most matchups are tighter than that. Pre-flop edges are small, so the money is made after the flop.

   Run AAKK against a rundown
3. 3

   Draw to the nuts

   With four cards each, somebody usually has it. A queen-high flush or the low end of a straight wins small pots and loses big ones. Ask whether your draw makes the best possible hand, not just a hand.

4. 4

   Double-suited and connected beats raw high cards

   Four cards make six two-card combinations. JT98 double-suited uses all six: every pair of cards can make a straight or a flush. AK72 rainbow uses one. Hands that flop many strong draws are worth more than hands that flop one pair.

   Grade a hand
5. 5

   One dangler hurts the whole hand

   A dangler is a card that works with nothing else, like the deuce in AKQ2. You are now playing three cards against opponents playing four, with half as many combinations. Hands with a dangler are worth a full grade less than they look.

6. 6

   Position matters even more

   Pots are bigger, draws are everywhere, and the player who acts last sees what everyone does before putting chips in. Out of position you pay to find out where you stand. Play tighter from early seats than you would in hold'em, and widen on the button.

7. 7

   Variance is higher, so the bankroll is bigger

   Close equities and pot-sized bets mean big swings even when you play well. A common guide is 50 buy-ins or more for PLO, against 20 to 30 for hold'em. Move down sooner than your pride would like.

   Track it in the bankroll tool

Beta. The grader is a teaching heuristic and the equity calculator is a simulation. Neither is solver output.