12 Common Mistakes in 5-Card PLO

The leaks that cost transitioning players the most

Almost every expensive mistake in 5-card PLO has the same root: overvaluing a hand — before the flop, after it, or on the river. Here are the twelve leaks we see most often, roughly in order of how much they cost.

Preflop

1. Playing far too many hands

"Equities run close" is used to justify defending 80% of big blinds and calling raises with anything double-suited. Solver-based opening and defense frequencies are close to 4-card PLO. If your overall preflop numbers are much higher than you would play in 4-card PLO, you are paying for it. See Opening Ranges and Defending the Blinds.

2. Treating kings like they are still kings

Double-suited KKxxx without an ace or strong connectivity is often a call or a fold, not a 3-bet. Aces are common, and the king-high suit is frequently dominated. See Kings, Queens, Jacks and Tens.

Hand

3. Playing every AAxxx the same way

Triple-suited, disconnected aces with low cards are far weaker than double-suited aces with broadway side cards. They call more, 4-bet less and even fold in multiway pots. See Playing Pocket Aces.

Hand

4. Ignoring triple and quad suits

A third or fourth card of the same suit costs a lot of value. Many hands that "look" double-suited are double-triple and should be played more passively. See Suits, Gaps and Danglers.

5. Overvaluing middle rundowns and double pairs

Nine-high and lower rundowns, and double-paired hands like JJ88x, are often dominated. 3-betting them is rarely right; many are folds outside the late positions and the big blind.

6. Over-folding to 3-bets

The opposite error. With five cards you have more equity against 3-betting ranges than in 4-card PLO; early position openers should fold only about one hand in ten. Fold mainly triple- or quad-suited hands and hands with an unsuited ace. See Facing a 3-Bet.

Postflop

7. Stacking off with non-nut draws and bare made hands

King-high flush draws, bottom-end wraps, bare top two pair, overpairs with weak backdoors: in 4-card PLO many of these are stack-offs at low SPR, in PLO5 they are often check-calls or folds. See 3-Bet Pots and Stack-Off Thresholds.

8. Betting medium hands "for protection"

Betting hands that are neither value nor bluff builds pots against the part of the range that beats you. See The Problem With Protection Betting.

9. Never leading out of position

Checking 100% to the raiser loses value with strong hands that block his betting range. Develop a leading range. See Leading the Flop.

10. Ignoring multiway dynamics

A hand that is fine heads-up can be nearly dead three-way. In multiway pots, only nut hands and nut draws should build the pot. See Playing Multiway Flops.

River

11. Hero calling too often

Most players under-bluff the river in PLO5. Large river bets from unknown opponents are value-heavy, and calls with marginal bluff-catchers lose money. See Bluff-Catching on the River.

12. Missing cheap river opportunities

On the other side, many pots are won with small river bets after passive lines — block bets with medium hands and small bluffs with good blockers against capped ranges. See River Block Bets.