Sisu41
Pair
I've been playing with a group of people at home games. They are all NLH players so I want to introduce them to the diversity of the game. What's the best way to?
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How should I introduce PLO to new players? (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter Sisu41
- Start date
detroitdad
Royal Flush
Tell them that 4 card PLO is the Hold'em of mixed games. Very clearly explain the you must use two cards out of your hand. "Must' is the key word there. Explain that the flopped nuts rarely stay the flopped nuts. It is important to have bigger redraws. Lastly, its my house, FRO if you don't want to play it 
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Sisu41
Pair
I have a brother who plays so it's our houseTell them that 4 card PLO is the Hold'em of mixed games. Very clearly explain the you must use two cards out of your hand. "Must' is the key word there. Explain that the flopped nuts rarely stay the flopped nuts. It is important to have bigger redraws. Lastly, its my house, FRO if you don't want to play it
The holdem games in my area introduced plo by starting with 1 plo hand per round, then once players get a taste moved to doing 1 round holdem then 1 round plo, then all plo after a certain time. The frequency of big actions hands in plo is much more constant. Thus, the game is much more fun from a poker playing perspective. Everyone loves plo once they get a taste. I have seen a few games in my area migrate from holdem to plo, or at least have plo 50% of the game.
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Sisu41
Pair
by round do you mean orbit? if so, how do you determine position? it doesn't seem fair the same person is on the button every plo round
Yes, orbit and round are same thing. You could have a plo puck that moves around the table (counterclockwise). Every time the dealer button hits the person with the puck you play a hand of plo. Believe me, it’s not going to be long before you are doing 1 orbit of each game. PLO is like a virus.
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NotRealNameNoSir
4 of a Kind
Ran a dealer's choice where I'd just introduce some pretty basic circus games, called PLO, and at one point a friend said, "This game's much easier, there's so many more cards to choose from!"
Felt like he was going to experience joy and pain soon.
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Sisu41
Pair
What are the best carnival games in your opinion?
trever
Flush
Make sure that you know how to track the pot and know how to determine how much anyone can raise at a given time.
NotRealNameNoSir
4 of a Kind
The one where you shoot the water into the clown's mouth. Fantastic first-date game, if not a little suggestive.
Jimulacrum
Full House
What got my group going with Omaha was bomb pots.
Game is normally 0.25/0.50 NLHE (20 max), but each buy-in and rebuy comes with a token you can redeem on your deal to play a NLO* bomb pot, i.e., ante of 1 and action begins on the flop. Players can also buy these tokens for 0.50 each at any time. Any player who wants to sit out a bomb pot is welcome to sit out, though no one really takes advantage of this except to go to the bathroom, buy drinks, etc.
The game is about 75% Omaha now, and the vast majority of players are very happy about it. A couple people aren't as enthusiastic, but they still play the NLO hands and don't complain; they just prefer to play NLHE and usually play it on their deal.
Game is normally 0.25/0.50 NLHE (20 max), but each buy-in and rebuy comes with a token you can redeem on your deal to play a NLO* bomb pot, i.e., ante of 1 and action begins on the flop. Players can also buy these tokens for 0.50 each at any time. Any player who wants to sit out a bomb pot is welcome to sit out, though no one really takes advantage of this except to go to the bathroom, buy drinks, etc.
The game is about 75% Omaha now, and the vast majority of players are very happy about it. A couple people aren't as enthusiastic, but they still play the NLO hands and don't complain; they just prefer to play NLHE and usually play it on their deal.
Pot limit would be a nightmare to manage with this group; I'm basically the only person who can count the pot with any speed or accuracy, and I'm also playing and running the bank. Fortunately, between the shallow buy-ins and the way people play, NLO works out to be about the same as PLO.
Chawks45
Flush
I was watching a TCR live stream a while back and saw one of the streamed tables incorporated a stationary Omaha button, which went to the right to the dealer button at the start of the game. Whenever the dealer button rotated around the table and landed on the Omaha, then a PLO hand was played. The Omaha button would then move to the next player on the right and stay put until the dealer button once again landed there, and so on.
I liked it, so did the same at my game. It took a bit to get used to for the players not familiar with Omaha, but in a way it forced them to learn the game. I pointed out that it was "just one hand" at the very beginning, and then slowly incorporated over time PLO hi-lo to the mix and eventually PLO double-board bomb pots once the player pool was comfortable with the game.
I like PLO, along with a handful of my regs who play it at our local casinos, but we never had enough people to do just a PLO game at my place. But now, we have plenty. Just ensure you have folks at the table who are quick with the math on the pots and re-pots.
I liked it, so did the same at my game. It took a bit to get used to for the players not familiar with Omaha, but in a way it forced them to learn the game. I pointed out that it was "just one hand" at the very beginning, and then slowly incorporated over time PLO hi-lo to the mix and eventually PLO double-board bomb pots once the player pool was comfortable with the game.
I like PLO, along with a handful of my regs who play it at our local casinos, but we never had enough people to do just a PLO game at my place. But now, we have plenty. Just ensure you have folks at the table who are quick with the math on the pots and re-pots.
I introduced pineapple and Greek first. There are a few variations. But it’s 3 cards so it’s not full blown Omaha.
Kain8
Flush
Given how most NLH players disdain any other game, drastic measures usually need to be implemented to get results:
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Sisu41
Pair
Yeah you're probably right
buzzmonkey
Flush
For us, adding games was fairly easy because we grew up playing a few different variants (7 card stud, 5 card stud, Chicago, 5 card draw). When we started watching the WSOP on ESPN, we picked up NLH, probably a couple years before the Moneymaker year. Then we somehow heard about PLO, possibly from the '04 WSOP?
For a new group that only knows NLH, you want to try to introduce it in a way that will be fun and exciting. Bomb pots could work. I would probably try putting it into rotation and playing a few hands at the beginning of the night for free so folks will feel a bit more comfortable with it. Omaha is likely to get people interested early.
For a new group that only knows NLH, you want to try to introduce it in a way that will be fun and exciting. Bomb pots could work. I would probably try putting it into rotation and playing a few hands at the beginning of the night for free so folks will feel a bit more comfortable with it. Omaha is likely to get people interested early.
Just give them each a lighter and have them set fire to a stack of their money. That would be a lot quicker.
Being a reformed NLH guy, I think NLH gets boring after a while (almost mechanical). I still like playing, but not exclusively.
After years of playing NLH, many find PLO (or other Omaha variants Hi-Low, etc) a refreshing change of pace. Strategy shifts significantly, so it can be fun for a lot of players.
Agree with @Goldfish above. Introduce slowly and mix in for an orbit or two, see if it sticks.
But agree, a hard core NLH player/purist is a hard convert.
PLO, the next great adventure……
Jimulacrum
Full House
This is how I feel about poker variants in general (some more than others). I don't really want to play the same game every time I play, hand after hand after hand. A bit of variety keeps things interesting. Keeps me thinking and learning.
Hold'em purists, in my experience, want the opposite because they're more rote learners than explorers. They've already learned how to play Hold'em "correctly," and they don't want to stray out of their comfort zone. Unsurprisingly, these are often the same folks who (in my experience) will let a cash game die because they don't want to play short-handed, even temporarily.
NotRealNameNoSir
4 of a Kind
Very nice! I agree, I like this, but I have to find a good way to make sure my apes know which game is being played. They barely remember to post blinds, most of our circus games are 4 or 5 cards, easy to differentiate. I want to try this though!
Pineapple is a good gateway drug to move players from NLHE to Omaha.
Early and often.
"Gentlemen, this is PLO. You may commence the groveling."
I'd buy a big rubber fish from amazon, when they walk in the door, I would Scream at them, THIS IS MY SMACKEREL, then you smack them in the face and yell, PLO BITCHES!
Then 2 hours later when they start bitching about having 8 outs and missing, or floping the nuts and getting rivered, you remind them, its not as bad as the Smackerel.
The other less popular option is you deal everyone 5 cards to start, then you make them throw 1 away before the flop, after the flop and after the turn. Its holdem rules, but it gets them use to multiple cards. We call this game Thermo-nuclear Armageddon Pineapple. After an orbit of that, you play God's Game, which is double board Omaha. Everyone is going to feel a little overwhelmed. Then you say, okay we can dumb it down a little, and deal 4 card PLO, no one will complain because its an 'easy game'
Next time I'm going to have to charge for this kind of quality info...
Then 2 hours later when they start bitching about having 8 outs and missing, or floping the nuts and getting rivered, you remind them, its not as bad as the Smackerel.
The other less popular option is you deal everyone 5 cards to start, then you make them throw 1 away before the flop, after the flop and after the turn. Its holdem rules, but it gets them use to multiple cards. We call this game Thermo-nuclear Armageddon Pineapple. After an orbit of that, you play God's Game, which is double board Omaha. Everyone is going to feel a little overwhelmed. Then you say, okay we can dumb it down a little, and deal 4 card PLO, no one will complain because its an 'easy game'
Next time I'm going to have to charge for this kind of quality info...
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Sisu41
Pair
I think Thermo-nuclear Armageddon Pineapple sounds fun
grebe
Full House
Pineapple sucks. Just dive in and have a PLO night. Reduce the stakes but keep the buy ins the same. If you are playing .25/.50, then make the blinds .25/.25.
Then.... After they have fun with that for a bit, introduce hi/lo.
Then.... After they have fun with that for a bit, introduce hi/lo.
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