I'm trying to set up a cash game. We normally play $.25/.50 NLHE with BI between $30-$50. Now I wanted to play it mixed, and allow dealer to choose between NLHE or $.25/.25. PLO. Will they play similar, or should I consider making PLO $.10/.25? I'd rather not add an additional chip denomination of $.10.

They will of course play similarly and there is absolutely no point in going .1/.25. Just makes it more of a hassle. .25/.25 is perfect.

Wrong.

PLO plays bigger than NLHE---I'd probably go with 0.1/0.1 or even 0.05/0.05. Whether you need to do this or not, depends more upon how well your players understand PLO and how they are going to feel about losing a couple three buy-ins. If some folks won't come back and it matters to you, then play low. My experience is that HE players think they know how to play PLO, but really do not---how many drawing hands with 20+ outs are there in HE? Because of the size of the draws, the variance in PLO is also bigger---you're quite likely to get it all in holding the nuts and get drawn out on. Obv this also happens in HE, but nowhere near as often.

GL

How willing are people to rebuy?

PLO will play significantly bigger than NLHE. You might even consider playing .25/0 PLO. That is, one small blind of .25 and that's it.

That'll make it more reasonable, and you don't have to introduce another chip into play. Some casinos spread PLO this way.

People might not like it or get confused by it... in that case go for .25/.25 PLO and advise people to bring more money.

If your players are mainly hold em players and didnt request/vote this game in, chances are the PLO is going to be very weak play. Of course youll get people in on the flop, but thats all the play youll get. People dont want to win a couple bets in holdem to loose it on the flop in PLO.

When its dealers choice where I go. I usually choose 5 card draw. Its easy to deal and not crazy math complicated..not to mention I picked up 5 card when I was about 10 years old (Thanks Ma) so I enjoy it.

After I picked 5 card as my dealers choice, I found that other players would choose it as well; where as PLO, one guy would choose it and then youd here the sighs.

PLO ( or any Omaha game) has its advocates of course. I place them into two categories, the few who actully understand how to play and make money and the majority who will lose their ass much quicker than other poker games because of the variance! It could certainly work out well for your group, but it could also be a homegame breaker if you push it without considering the money angle. GL

ps Have you considered Pineapple, Crazy Pine Apple , Blood on the River, or other variants of NLH also for variety??

If you have many weak players with deep pockets, count on them losing all their money and possibly not playing again for a long time, if you're suddenly dropping them into PLO mix with NLHE. I mean, they can't even get a groove with PLO and realize what it takes to win, they'll just view it as Hold'em with a bonus, damn, he his a boat again, but I had a straight!

I had a few players frequently nag me about PLO cash games. I indulged them twice. And twice we had some of the biggest loses and rawest emotions in the history of the game. Heck, even when I had a PLO table at the Battle of the Bay last year, with 2+2 POKER NERDS, they went through a rebuy every few hands, and the game broke up very quickly. The 3/6 mixed game, however, lasted twelve hours, and only ended because the last train of the night was leaving town.

Think about who wants to play PLO: poker wonks, people who have studied the game. This is EXACTLY why it's a BAD idea to play with casual players.

If you really want to play PLO, make it a fixed buy-in tournament, and play ONLY PLO. Make it cheap, a turbo S&G. Encourage the top few to chop, and play a few of them in one night.

We were trying to set up a fixed rotation as opposed to dealers choice. We've tried to mix in PLO occasionally, but never had it as a fixed game. I think the crowd typically comes prepared to rebuy up to 2 times, nothing more than that. We def have emotional players (losers), so I may try pfap's quick touranment x 3 games first, and see how the crowd likes it.

The big issue with PLO (and especially the hi/lo varieties) is the 'frog in hot water' scenario. Players not used to the game will get themselves in too deep far quicker in PLO due to the pot size betting. Pre-flop, you're rarely going to have someone shove for any large amount of money. Even the first bet on the flop isn't likely to seem large compared to a hold 'em All-in bet. It's the subsequent streets or the cry of 're-pot' behind a caller that will eat up their stack.

A lot of the games around here have gone to a button blind for PLO/PLO8/BigO where the button puts out an amount in a set range (often $1-3 for the games I play), which limits the size of the pots pre-flop.

As has been noted repeatedly already, Omaha just plays bigger than hold 'em, and the variance is murder.

As a suggestion, perhaps try O/8 instead of PLO if you want to limit the variance for your players. Let them cut their teeth playing it limit and then see if any of them suggest pushing it to Pot Limit instead once they have a better feel for the game.

Maybe try half pot limit, spread limit (w/ a fairly low spread), or cap game (w/ a fairly low cap). You could even play limit with increases on every street instead of just the turn (example .25/.50 pre, 1.00 flop, 2.00 turn, 4.00 river). Obviously they aren't the same as traditional plo but there are options. One thing I would suggest is doing it by rotation instead of dealer's choice if you're going to significantly change the structure between the two games. For instance if you changed to the one blind suggestion some people might feel cheated they have to pay a big blind if the guy two to their right picks nlhe where as people who get a guy choosing plo don't.

Just for reference, we do a regular $1/$1 NLHE game that most folks buy in for around $150 and bring 2-4 rebuys.

When we do a $0.25/$0.50 ROE it plays almost this big with most buying on for $100 to start and bringing 4-6 buy ins.

Depending on your players and how much action they generate your $0.25/$0.25 PLO will most likely play closer to at $0.50/$1 NLHE game and you will need buy ins/rebuys to accommodate that.

If your players are like most of the ones I play with then its "OMG. I have 4 cards and can make all sorts of hands so I have to see every flop and for a sure turn if I have any draw because, "How can I not make a hand with 4 cards"

I currently play in a weekly 25c/50c home game, with NL and PLO rotating every 20 mins. We also play w/the button anteing either 50c or 75c, depending on how many are playing.

Max buy-in is $100, with more than half buying in for the max; most others are in the $60-80 range. As started earlier in this thread, the mixed format works well, provided everyone knows how to play PLO. I'm of mind to not allow players to play if they don't know the basic rules of the game.

PLO, by nature of the betting structure, certainly runs bigger than NL, no matter the stakes. I see no problem with keeping the game 25c/50c regardless of the game being played. Just make sure players understand the variance and ridiculous swings that often accompany a game such as Omaha.