4 Reasons Why Pot Limit Omaha is Popular

Since Chris Moneymaker won the WSOP almost 20 years ago, Texas Hold’em has been the most popular poker variant. However, in recent years, Pot Limit Omaha has seen increased traffic and becoming popular. In this article we will take a look at the reasons why PLO is bridging the gap.

1] More Action

Poker players love the opportunity to win bigger pots. This is definitely a reason players are attracted to PLO. Every pot can be an all-in pot as players don’t have to wait ages to get hands of value.

I think there is more action as players get big pairs and monster draws much easier than in hold’em. It’s not uncommon to get all your money in on the flop with someone holding a hand like top set and another holding a wrap and flush draw.

2] Easy to Transition

Unlike other poker games like seven card stud or razz, PLO is easy to understand when you’ve played Texas Hold’em. There are many similarities that make transitioning very simple. The hand rankings are the same, there are the same number of streets and pot limit is like no limit too.

The main difference lies in the starting hands. In PLO players start with 4 cards. You can only use two of them to make the best 5 card hand, just like hold’em.

3] Lots of Fishes

Good poker players don’t mind playing other forms if they feel there is value. Fortunately, there are loads of bad PLO players online. This is unquestionably a big reason for more people moving to PLO. They know they can sit in a cash game or tournament and expect to find more donkeys per table (on average) than if they play no limit hold’em. If you look for the best places to play Omaha online, you will see loads of cash tables with high value pots as fishes are donking their stack off lightly.

4] Best Available Alternative

I think a lot of Texas Hold’em players are burnt out or fed up of playing the same variant for years. However, they don’t want to quit poker so they look for the best available option – namely Pot Limit Omaha. As stated before, it’s easy to move from hold’em to PLO and there are lots of fishes. Also, as it’s a different game, players can learn new strategy and keep poker interesting. PLO is a tough game to master so it appeals to people keen to improve and learn new ideas.

Conclusion

As you can see there are powerful reasons why Pot Limit Omaha is becoming popular. The juicy pots attract cash players, the transition is easy, there are loads of fishes and it’s the best alternative to Texas Hold’em. We still think Texas Hold’em is the best poker variant but in the current poker climate, PLO is undoubtedly in 2nd place and worth trying if you’re looking for a break from your regular poker game. As always, play responsibly and employ sound bankroll management as the variance is greater in PLO.