5-Card PLO Equity Calculator
Free 5-card PLO (PLO5) equity calculator · 2–6 players · exactly two hole cards and three board cards enforced · high hand only
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Set 5 cards for each player and click Calculate
20,000-trial Monte Carlo · up to 6 players
5-card PLO equity: what changes with a fifth card
5-card PLO (PLO5) deals five hole cards instead of four. The rule that decides every hand is unchanged: your final five-card hand must use exactly two of your hole cards and exactly three board cards. You can never play the board and you can never use three hole cards.
What changes is how many hands you are choosing between. Five cards contain C(5,2) = 10 two-card holdings against six in 4-card PLO, so the evaluator checks 10 × 10 = 100 possible five-card hands per player per runout, and there are C(52,5) = 2,598,960 distinct starting hands rather than 270,725. More combinations means everyone connects with the board more often, and equities run closer together.
Computed examples
Each line is 200,000simulated runouts from preflop with this calculator's engine (about ±0.2 percentage points).
The best 4-card core still wins, but by less than in 4-card PLO: the fifth card gives the underdog more ways to connect.
Aces with disconnected side cards are an underdog to a double-suited rundown: the rundown makes far more straights and flushes.
Two pairs with little connection are behind a suited broadway wrap, which makes more straights and has a flush draw.
The same aces-and-kings core that is worth 69.1% against kings-and-queens in 4-card PLO (an exact enumeration of all 1,086,008 boards) is worth 67.1% here. Nothing is a big favourite in this game, which is why stack-off decisions are tighter than the hand strength alone suggests.
5-card PLO is not Big O
Both games deal five cards, but 5-card PLO is high-only: the best high hand takes the whole pot. Big O is the five-card hi-lo split game, where a qualifying 8-or-better low takes half. That difference changes hand values completely — A-2-3 becomes premium — so use the Big O calculator for split-pot games. Rules, hand selection and the common mistakes are in the 5-card PLO strategy guide.
Related calculators
4-card PLO · 6-card PLO · Big O and Omaha Hi-Lo · Hold'em and Pineapple
Frequently asked questions
Is 5-card PLO the same as Big O?›
No. Both deal five hole cards, but 5-card PLO is high-only — the best high hand wins the whole pot. Big O is the five-card hi-lo split version, where a qualifying 8-or-better low takes half the pot. Use the Big O calculator for split-pot games.
Do you still have to use exactly two hole cards in 5-card PLO?›
Yes. Every Omaha variant requires exactly two hole cards and exactly three board cards at showdown. Five hole cards simply give you ten two-card holdings to choose from instead of six.
How many 5-card PLO starting hands are there?›
C(52,5) = 2,598,960 distinct five-card starting hands, against 270,725 in four-card PLO. The evaluator checks 100 possible five-card hands per player on every runout (ten two-card holdings times ten three-card board combinations).
How accurate is this 5-card PLO calculator?›
It runs a 20,000-trial Monte Carlo per calculation, which puts results within roughly 0.6 to 0.9 percentage points of exact equity. The engine was validated against exact enumeration in four-card PLO, where it matched a full 1,086,008-board count to within 0.1 points.
Are equities closer in 5-card PLO than in 4-card PLO?›
Yes. With ten two-card holdings each, both players connect with the board more often. Aces and kings double-suited beat kings and queens double-suited 69.1% of the time in four-card PLO and about 67% in five-card, and weak aces are an underdog to a good rundown in both.
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