Imagine being at the table, and the river hits; somebody bangs the table; three players jump up; and the poor guy sitting in seat four is simply staring at the ceiling. Most likely, this was a double board bombpot poker hand. I am sure nothing in poker creates the same level of excitement.
But what even is double board bombpot poker? More importantly — can you develop skill at this game, or is it purely luck-based?
A bombpot works like so: everybody at the table contributes an equal amount to the pot prior to the hand. And nobody can call, raise, fold, etc., preflop. Everybody sees the flop. It makes for some crazy stuff. Seven, eight players are all taking a gander at two different boards, with live hands to boot!
And double that mayhem. Seriously.
In double board bombpot poker, the dealer lays out two separate boards: two flops, two turns, two rivers. The money is split evenly between the best hand on each board. You are competing with the same hole cards in two simultaneous hands. And yes… your head will hurt after the first couple of rounds. After a few rounds, you should start to get accustomed to it.
Most of the time, these are ran at PLO tables — 4 or 5 card Omaha — although some folks have started running them on hold’em games too.
Why the Hype Is Real
Poker has gotten tough in recent years. Solvers. Huds. GTO charts posted on monitors. The weekend warrior walks into a casino cash game, and is slowly milked by 3 quiet regulars sporting hoodies. He leaves. Not a fun experience.
Double board bombpot poker solves this issue with a wrecking ball.
Noone has an edge before the flop. There is no 3-betting squeezing, no cold four-betting ranges, no “optimal open-raise sizing from the lojack.” Everyone puts in chips and hopes. All of a sudden, the casual weekend warrior has the same odds of hitting a flop winner as the guy that has spent 6 hours studying ranges. Thats how this format keeps popping up everywhere.
The format also produces ginormous pots. When 8 players put in chips 2x or 3x bb and hit a multiway flop with two boards in play, you can expect to see pots that exceed what a standard Omaha orbit could produce. Its not uncommon for a small 2/5 game to produce bombpot hands worth thousands of dollars.
How Much Humbling Variance Will Do to You
Variance is another word for disaster. But if you ever Play Double Board bombpot poker, variance is the game.
We know Omaha already has more variance than holdem. Everyone agrees to that. You have four cards to the table, equities are closer together, and the nuts can swing around three times between the flop and river.
Bombpots take this variance up a notch because you cant narrow anybody’s pre-flop range. Every junk hand is live. Who would have folded 9-6-3-2 rainbow? He is still in. And he just flopped two pairs on you.
Add another board to that mix.
Double board bombpot poker takes all that variance and essentially doubles it. You can have the nuts on one board and be drawing dead on the other — in the exact same hand, using the exact same hole cards. You can win one board and be quartered off on the other. You can flop a set on both boards and still lose the whole pot. Its that type of game where you’ll see a player win a $3000 pot, and then lose a $4000 pot within 15 minutes. Then he’ll be silently staring at the felt, wondering where his money went.
If you dont have enough bankroll and stomach for swings, this format will quickly show you that.
Differences Between Double Board Bombpot Poker vs Regular Omaha vs Single Board Bombpots
Its worth laying out the differences pretty clearly here, since double board bombpot poker isn’t simply “crazier” versions of Omaha.
Standard PLO
In regular Omaha, you can control the pot size preflop. You can create isolation. You can fold speculative hands oop. None of those options exist in this format. Every pot is multiway, and positional advantage is significantly lessened (although not non-existent), since you still have positional advantage postflop — a lot.
Single-Board Bombpots
On one board, its fairly simple. Try to make the best possible hand. Simple enough. However, on two boards, your hand selection thinking becomes entirely different. Hands that perform well across several different board textures become way more important than hands that simply blow one specific type of flop away.
Standard Double Board PLO
In standard double board games with regular preflop action, you have still narrowed the field to some degree. You may be facing 3 or 4 other opponents preflop. In a bombpot, everybody is in. That difference is huge.
So larger pots; more difficult decisions; and a smaller percentage of advantage for any given player against the rest of the field means less of an opportunity for anyone player to gain an upperhand — which is exactly what this format is all about.
Strategies Used by Top Players
There aren’t any solver databases containing information about double board bombpot poker. High-stakes professionals crushing this format use strategy rather than memorized charts. Here’s generally what sharp minds at the table believe:
Play Hands That Work Well Across Multiple Board Types
Hand strength increases when hands contain connections, suits, and/or double-suits. A hand such as A-K-Q-J double-suited will possess equity in straight boards, flush boards, and paired boards across both runouts. Hands that require one extremely specific flop (e.g., low-pair w/o connectivity) will be considered sub-optimal.
Show Greater Respect for Position Than Many Players Do
Although there are no preflop actions taken during a bombpot, many players consider each seat equally due to lack of preflop action opportunities. Great players do not treat each seat equally. Being able to act last on two boards provides nearly twice as much informational benefit acting last does on one board. Your decision-making process improves dramatically when you have seen everyone else act — twice!
Identify Which Board You Should Focus on Early
This is potentially the largest leak most intermediate players exhibit. While they attempt to win both boards, they ultimately end up losing both boards. Better players determine early on which board is favorable to their hand(s) and focus efforts accordingly, while limiting damage from the other board.
Bet Sizing Relative to Both Boards
Bet sizing in double board bombpot poker is complex because the pot is split between two boards. If you go all-in on the flop, you increase cost per chip of both boards. Top players bet-downwardly compared to single-board play, maintaining relatively manageable pot sizes until they determine their equity positions based upon reads developed throughout hand progression.
Do Not Bluff Into Five Players on Two Boards; Trust Me
Bluffing into five players on two boards just does not work mathematically. Somebody will have something on at least one of the boards almost every single time you play it out to the river with five players left in the hand! Save your fancy line-work for heads-up or three-player competitions.
Playing It on NLH Tables
Although most double board bombpot poker action occurs on PLO tables, you can certainly run it on no-limit hold’em tables as well. Truthfully? For a number of dying nlh cash games, this has provided new life into the format.
Hold’em has become boring in recent years (for many). Regs fold all hands except premium hands; fish get bored & leave; table breaks by 10 pm; been there right? Adding double board bombpots to your nlh table rotation — or even adding it every other dealer change — or even adding it every 30-minutes adds energy back into your table instantly.
You receive large swings and large pots without giving up all control over your fate — there are plenty of opportunities to outplay People after the flop!
If your home game is dying or your regular online table has become a chore, try mixing in double board bombpot poker hands periodically; see how it affects the atmosphere.
Where to Find Live Double Board Bombpot Poker Games Online
As mentioned earlier, finding live double board bombpot poker games primarily depends on your local area — although many home game/private clubs are starting to incorporate them into their rotation as well. But if you are looking for constant access to double board bombpot poker games, your best option is through online poker applications (apps).
PokerBros, ClubGG, and PPPoker all provide private club environments through which users can participate in double board bombpot poker through their respective platforms. You find a club running bombpots; sit down; software manages dual board layout/dealing & splits pots automatically — which is helpful — try running a double board bombpot with a nervous amateur dealer in your home game; i’m sure you will understand why automation helps.
On those there are even some double board bombpot Hi/Lo tables. Don’t hurry to thank us for the heads up, the game is pure lottery. However experienced players manage to gain an edge, by combining their knowledge of each format.
These apps have become hubs for running double board bombpot poker due to providing users community environments to customize game formats in ways that typical online poker sites wouldn’t ever allow.
People generally always want to play it after they play it for the first time. It does not matter if you are an Omaha grinder or a straight forward Hold’em player — after being involved in hands that resulted in one big win while losing big on the other, regular poker will feel pretty dull. By the way — your bankroll graph is probably going to resemble a heart monitor
