Seven Names Deep for a Game That Doesn't Exist

The deepest waitlist in Minnesota right now isn't for hold'em.

It's for a $5/$100 spread-limit Omaha Hi/Lo eight-handed game at Running Aces in Columbus, where seven names are stacked on the list and zero tables are running. A 14-to-1 waitlist-to-table ratio — for a variant most rooms don't even bother to spread.

A Phantom Table in the North

Spread-limit Omaha Hi/Lo is an endangered species on American Bravo boards. Most card rooms that still list split-pot games cap out at limit or pot-limit structures. A spread-limit format — where players can bet anywhere from $5 to $100 on any street — lives in a narrow band between the two, attracting a specific kind of action player who wants sizing flexibility without full PLO swings.

Seven names are stacked on the list and zero tables are running — a 14-to-1 waitlist-to-table ratio for a variant most rooms don't even bother to spread.

Running Aces' median waitlist across all games sits at 0.5 players. That means on a typical check, most of its games have either nobody waiting or a single name on the board. Seven deep for a single table is 14 times that median — and the table hasn't even opened.

What the Waitlist Actually Tells You

A seven-name phantom waitlist can mean a few things. Sometimes it's a group text that fired — seven regulars all adding their names within minutes, hoping the floor sees critical mass and opens a table. Sometimes it's aspirational: the names go up in the morning and linger, waiting for that eighth player who never materializes.

Either way, the signal is demand without supply. Seven players want this game badly enough to put their names down knowing there's no guarantee it runs.

For context, Running Aces is a 600-seat card room and horse track about 30 miles north of Minneapolis. It runs a full daily tournament schedule and cash games across hold'em and mixed formats. But $5/$100 spread-limit Omaha Hi/Lo eight-handed isn't a game you'll find on the daily board at the Bellagio, the Wynn, or most rooms anywhere in the country.

The Rarest Board in America

The combination of variant (Omaha Hi/Lo), structure (spread-limit), and format (eight-max) makes this one of the most unusual active waitlists on any Bravo screen in the country as of this morning. Whether the table actually opens is another question — but seven players in Columbus, Minnesota are betting it will.

If you're within driving distance of Running Aces and you play split-pot games, today might be the day that eighth name gets the table off the ground.