AAxx equity in PLO4, PLO5 and PLO6 - why aces are worth less with more cards
PLO · Equity

AAxx equity in PLO4, PLO5 and PLO6

In Hold'em a pair of aces races ahead. In Omaha the story changes — and it changes again with every extra card the variant adds. Here is the head-to-head, computed with the PLO.Academy engine.

Rankings computed by our PLO engine — including the PLO6 data. See how we calculated our PLO6 ranking →

The same hand, three variants

A double-suited pair of aces with broadway, extended card by card. Watch its equity against a random hand fall as PLO grows:

VariantExample handEquity vs random
PLO4A♠A♥K♠Q♥68.92%
PLO5A♠A♥K♠Q♥T♦63.81%
PLO6A♠A♥K♠Q♥T♦9♣62.10%
From PLO4 to PLO6, the raw edge of AA shrinks 6.8 points of equity (68.92% → 62.10%). The more cards each player holds, the easier it is for the opponent to make strong hands — and the more dangerous the field around the aces.

Why PLAYABILITY can make up for it

The pair of aces is the same — what changes is the structure around it. Even inside one variant, aces with connected, suited cards are worth far more than “naked” aces with low, disconnected cards:

In PLO4

HandStructureEquity vs random
A♠A♥K♠Q♥double-suited, connected broadway68.92%
A♠A♥2♣7♦low, disconnected side cards61.12%

Gap: 7.8 points — same pair of aces.

In PLO6

HandStructureEquity vs random
A♠A♥K♠Q♥T♦9♣double-suited, connected broadway62.10%
A♠A♥2♣3♦7♥8♠low, disconnected side cards56.53%

Gap: 5.6 points. In PLO6, isolated AA is a trap; the value comes from structure.

source: engine C (equity vs random), 100,000 sims, seed 12345, offline via py -3.11 · reproducible

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