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The poker world is always looking for new ways to add more spice and gamble to gameplay, particularly in cash games where sessions can run long, for as long as players are willing. 

The seven-deuce game was all the rage for a while, thrust into poker’s collective consciousness thanks largely to the legendary TV show High Stakes Poker and players like Tom Dwan and Phil Hellmuth, who would often risk huge sums to win a relatively small prize from their opponents. (In that extension of no limit hold’em, if a player is dealt seven-deuce and manages to win the pot, they also collect a predetermined amount from each player at the table).

The stand-up game is another one you’ll often see on the biggest cash game streams. That’s where all players at the table agree to stand up as they play, and they can only sit down once they’ve won a pot. The last player standing has to pay a penalty to each player. 

These twists on tradition generate plenty of action and create huge pots, perhaps none more so than Bomb Pots, the popularity of which has swept cardrooms around the world in recent years.

Bomb Pots – or Double Board Bomb Pots, to be accurate – made their debut on the European Poker Tour (EPT) tournament schedule in Cyprus with a $1,100 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha Double Board Bomb Pot event.

But what is a Bomb Pot in poker? Moreover, what is a Double Board Bomb Pot?

WHAT IS A BOMB POT?

A Bomb Pot is a twist on a regular hand of poker as all players are required to contribute chips to the pot in the form of an ante, and there’s no small or big blind. This builds a significantly larger pot than when traditional blinds are posted.

There’s also no pre-flop betting in Bomb Pots. The hand begins when the flop is dealt and proceeds like a regular hand thereafter, with the player left to the dealer acting first.

As community cards are out there from the get-go, there’s a far greater chance that players will collide as even terrible starting hands get to see a free flop. Collisions are even more likely in PLO as players are dealt four hole cards instead of the two you get in no limit hold’em.

The winner of the pot is the player with the best five-card hand at showdown, or if all opponents fold.

You can only use two hole cards on each board

DOUBLE BOARD BOMB POTS

The brand new addition to the EPT Cyprus schedule is a Double Board Bomb Pot, Pot Limit Omaha (PLO) tournament. The buy-in is $1,100 and here’s how it works.

The tournament is ante only, meaning there’s no small blind or big blind. All players pay the ante before a hand begins and the ante increases incrementally as the tournament progresses, just like regular blind levels. 

All players are dealt four hole cards and the dealer immediately burns one card and then deals two three-card flops – there’s no pre-flop betting round. Once the two flops are out, a betting round begins with the player left of the dealer button.

The dealer then burns one card and deals two turn cards – one for each board. There’s another betting round before the dealer burns one card and completes each board with a river card. A final betting round wraps the hand up.

As this is PLO, players can only use two of their four hole cards to make the best five card hand on each board. But they don’t need to separate their cards into two hands, all cards can be paired up with each other to make the best possible hand.

You hope to scoop the entire pot, but chops are common

HERE’S AN EXAMPLE:

Let’s say you’re dealt A♠ 5♠ Q♣ K♣ .

The two boards read:

6♠ 7♠ J♠ / K♥ / 2♦
Q♥ 5♦ 3♠ / 9♣ / 4♥

On the first board, you’ve got the nut flush with the A♠ 5♠ , while on the second board, your best hand is two pair (queens and fives) using your Q♣ 5♠ .

In this example, you have the nuts on the first board, so you’re guaranteed at least half of the pot. But if an opponent holds a better hand on the second board – a straight, for example – they would take the other half. 

If one player has the best five-card hand on both boards, they scoop the lot.

Fancy playing a PLO Double Board Bomb Pot tournament? Keep an eye on upcoming EPT schedules as they could become a regular fixture.

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