How to Play Big O Poker
What is Big O
Big O is a form of Omaha poker where instead of
four 🌞 cards, players receive five cards. The format is also played Hi-Lo split with half
the pot being awarded to the 🌞 high hand, and the other half to the low hand - providing
there is a low hand that qualifies under 🌞 the 8 or Better rule.
Here we go over the
poker rules for Big O.
How to Play Poker for Beginners Check 🌞 out the rules and basic
strategy to all the popular poker formats Click Here
Why Is It Called Big O?
There are
🌞 a number of reasons why this format has been come to be known as Big O.
Firstly, the
full name of 🌞 5 Card Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better can be a bit of a mouthful, with
Big O much easier 🌞 to say.
Alternatively, the addition of an extra card to a player's
hand makes this automatically bigger than most Omaha poker 🌞 formats, where players
receive just four cards.
How to Play Big O
In order to be able to play Big O, you 🌞 must
first understand the rules of Omaha Hi-Lo, the game Big O is based on.
As always with
split pot games, 🌞 it is important to play starting hands that have the ability to
qualify to win both the high and the 🌞 low pots. With the additional card, the potential
two-card combinations a player may have within their hole cards increases from 🌞 6 to 10,
meaning that stronger hands will be required to win either pot.
Related: Bluffing in
'Big O' and Other 🌞 Split-Pot Games
That means hands like two-pair and three-of-a-kind
will hardly ever turn up as a winner at showdown in Big 🌞 O. Straights and flushes and
stronger hands in general will be more likely to be the winner more consistently.
Big O
🌞 at the World Series of Poker (WSOP)
Big O has featured at the World Series of Poker
(WSOP) since 2024 when 🌞 it was included in the Dealer's Choice mix for the first time.
In 2024, a new Omaha Mix event was 🌞 introduced where players play three different Hi-Lo
Omaha variants: Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better, Omaha Hi Lo 8 or 🌞 Better and 'Big
O'
Related: John Beauprez Offers Big O Advice With WSOP Tournament Looming
The format
features in the Big Bet 🌞 Mix event which was introduced to the WSOP in 2024.
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