PLO at the World Series of Poker 2024
This year’s World Series of Poker (WSOP) offered 99 events, which consisted of a plethora of poker variants. Although all forms of poker are fun in their own way, for me there is one variant of the game that trumps all others. Let’s talk Pot-Limit Omaha!
PLO Bracelets Up for Grabs
There were 11 gold bracelets up for grabs in the Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) streets during the seven week-long series, with buy-ins ranging from the $600 Pot Limit-Omaha Deepstack to the $50,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha. The former of these events attracted a field of 2,402 players and despite being the lowest PLO buy-in that the series had to offer it boasted a prize pool of $1,225,020. Long time Chilean pro Alex Manzano took this one down, banking a cool $161,846 along with his first WSOP bracelet.
Returning Champions
For other victors, it was not their first time winning a gold bracelet, as can be seen in the first two PLO events of the series. Bryce Yockey took home his second piece of WSOP hardware by defeating a field of 733 players in the $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event at the very start of the series. Earning his career-best score of $606,654 (until three weeks later when he would finish second in one of the series’ most prestigious events: the $50,000 Poker Players Championship for $768,467), he took home the lion’s share of the $3,371,800 prize pool.
The next PLO event of the series saw PLO specialist Dylan Weisman also win his second WSOP bracelet. He was the last man standing in the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha (8 handed) event which resulted in a $294,311 pay day. Additionally, experienced mixed game player Christopher Vitch earned his third WSOP bracelet by winning the $1,000 Pot Limit Omaha (8 handed) event for $262,734.
A New Addition: Mixed NLH/PLO Double Board Bomb Pot
The next PLO event was one that has never before been on the schedule: the $1,500 Mixed NLH/PLO Double Board Bomb Pot. Each orbit the game alternated between No-Limit Holdem and Pot-Limit Omaha, with one hand an orbit highlighted by a double-board bomb pot.
Double board bomb pots have become a more regular feature in PLO cash games, and are often played once at the end of each dealer change or sometimes once every hour in private games. I can personally attest to this event being a lot of fun and I think most players were in the same boat of possessing some experience in PLO double-board bomb pots but not in the NLH double-board bomb pots.
One cool aspect (at least for the time being) is that the double-bomb pot is a game to which most players have not dedicated much time studying. It is not a “solved” game and, consequently, unseen situations are constantly arising and players are encountering spots the likes of which they haven’t had to deal with before. In time, it will be interesting to see how this game develops as it is only increasing in popularity. Xixiang Luo of China prevailed in this inaugural event, taking home $270,820 from a field of 1,312 players.
The $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship
For many PLO players the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship is considered to be the “Main Event” of the WSOP. There are no re-buys in this event and it is a great structure with hour-long levels. The event attracted a record-setting field for the second year running, with 811 entries. It seems that over the past few years PLO tournaments have only grown in popularity and I hope this trend continues. Elie Nakache earned $1,320,945 for first place while Joshua Adkins, who had never cashed a WSOP event before, banked $880,621 for his runner up performance.
Clever Scheduling by WSOP
The three largest PLO events were cleverly scheduled by the WSOP. With the $10,000 PLO on June 26th, the $25,000 PLO on June 29th and the $50,000 PLO on July 2nd they all took place within a week of one another. A number of foreign players who travel a long way specifically for these high roller PLO events had the option to come for only one week and still manage to play all the events they wished to play.
Almost all recreational players and many professional players are unable or unwilling to spend the full seven weeks of the series in Las Vegas and I know a number of players who flew in solely for these three events, made possible by good scheduling. During this stretch, Aria Resort and Casino offered multiple $10,000 PLO events in the PokerGo studio for those players who did not run deep in the aforementioned WSOP PLO events. These fields naturally comprised many of the same faces.
High Roller PLO Events
The $25,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha lasted for four days and boasted a field of 476 players, again exceeding last year’s 449. David Eldridge emerged victorious, defeating poker Hall-of-Famer Brian Rast heads-up to claim his second WSOP bracelet and $2,246,728, almost doubling his live tournament earnings. The $50,000 Pot-Limit Omaha was won by Germany’s Daniel Perkusic, who triumphed over a 187 man field to take home the first place prize of $2,100,325. Amazingly, this was the first-ever live WSOP event he had cashed in and was the biggest score of the Omaha specialist’s career.
The $1,000 Mystery Bounty Pot-Limit Omaha
There were a staggering 4,280 entries in the $1,000 Mystery Bounty Pot-Limit Omaha; an extremely popular event. This was a great event for those who enjoy gambling and, with players permitted three bullets per flight (A and B), chips were flying. With bounties beginning on Day 2 players were aware that building a stack on Day 1 was key and in the endeavour to do so the action was fast and loose.
In order to win a bounty prize, a player must eliminate another player. Therefore, covering other players in chips is paramount to be in what a chance of claiming one of the hefty bounty prizes, which provide a real incentive to gamble in spots that would usually be very close. Sascha Wilhelm was the winner, taking home $282,290.
Personal Experience and the Final PLO Event
The 1,500 Pot-limit Omaha (6 handed) event was one in which I myself made a deep run but ultimately busted in 13th place (a painful place to finish!). Joseph Sanders defeated a field of 1,304 players on his way to winning his first bracelet and $269,530. The final PLO event of the series, the $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha, was won by my good friend Alex Livingston. Upon defeating Uruguay’s Francisco Benitez in a lengthy heads-up battle, he secured his second bracelet along with $390,621 in prize money - what a way to close out his series!
The Future of PLO
With multiple record-setting fields and successful inaugural events the future of PLO looks bright. It seems undeniable that more and more people are developing a love for the game and I have no doubt that next year’s WSOP will deliver even more excitement on the PLO front.
