Why PLO Heads-up?

Hey People,

Is there any reason that a lot of the big time pros these days like to play PLO HU online? Is it just because they're bored of NLHE? Or are there other reasons, like... Does PLO offer less variance heads-up game since one player will have something more often whereas in NLHE HU a player will rarely have anything? (I'm aware that PLO FR/SH is a pretty high variance game, but I'm thinking PLO HU might actually offer less variance?) I'm thinking about getting into heads-up, not sure if I should dive straight into PLO though... Would like to know what people think about this...

Mostly I think it's because they think they have a bigger edge in PLO and they stand a chance of convincing people whose main game is NLHE to play.

There are a lot of very good HU NLHE players around these days. A lot of those players are willing to play PLO because it's not that different from their main game, but they're nowhere near as good at it. Isildur1 was probably a good example: seeminly strong NLHE game, weaker in PLO. I think there were even some high stakes regs (Antonius maybe?) that refused to play him in anything other than PLO so they could keep their perceived edge.

Another reason is probably that PLO tends to play higher than NLHE, as in at the same blind levels PLO will often generate bigger average pots.

And to round it off, quite a few European players probably grew up with PLO as their main game so it seems natural they'll keep playing it.

I find that PLO is much more of an 'action' game than NLHE. There are far more opportunities to get in with draws, so you may have 4 players all drawing to what they perceive to be the nuts.
With the HU its a similar story - lots more action but higher variance. Not so much of a grind though.
If I was a Full Tilt Red Pro on 100% rakeback, I'd be slamming the PLO too.

kevkojak said:

I find that PLO is much more of an 'action' game than NLHE. There are far more opportunities to get in with draws, so you may have 4 players all drawing to what they perceive to be the nuts.
With the HU its a similar story - lots more action but higher variance. Not so much of a grind though.
If I was a Full Tilt Red Pro on 100% rakeback, I'd be slamming the PLO too.

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This post sums it up for me really

Omahaha like others have said gets freaking crazy. Loads of action and huge variance. It can be more attractive to people in the nosebleeds because of the smaller edges they have on eachother so they get to ride the more exciting variance rollercoaster that is PLO.

i've heard it has to do with their bankroll!? and that nlh is a much more dangerous for your bankroll?

learn2playmyson said:

i've heard it has to do with their bankroll!? and that nlh is a much more dangerous for your bankroll?

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Nah PLO is likely to do way more damage to your bankroll due to the variance