Bluffing in 'Big O' and Other Split-Pot Games
"Big O" is a variant of pot-limit Omaha that plays like PLO except for the fact that players are dealt five cards instead of four. It's most often played as a hi-lo game as well, meaning the low and high hands split the pot.
Just like in regular PLO, players must use two of their hole cards along with three community cards in order to make a five-card poker hand. Like in Omaha hi-lo, players can use any two cards — including different ones — to make their high and low hands.
Big O has gained popularity as part of the rotation in some mixed cash games. As evidence of its growth, Big O turned up as part of the mix in four different World Series of Poker events this summer — the two "dealers choice" events, a mixed Omaha event, and as one of the seven games played in the "mixed big bet" event.
Having five cards instead of four makes a big difference strategically, giving players many more possible hand combinations than in regular Omaha. That circumstance led Brian Hastings jokingly to ask over Twitter "Is anyone ever bluffing in Big O? Asking for a friend."
PokerNews caught up with Hastings later to ask him whether or not there actually are bluffing opportunities in Big O.
"Definitely sickos are still bluffing in the right spots in Big O, but I think if you're playing against a random player... the answer is probably no," says Hastings. "If you're thinking about making a hero call, you probably shouldn't."
In the video below, Hastings recounts a Big O hand he played where he found himself on the river in what might have been a bluffing opportunity in regular PLO, but in Big O the prospects of his getting a bluff through in the same spot were considerably less bright.
Hastings further discusses the topic of bluffing in split-pot games, generally speaking. Take a look:
