Interesting in giving pot-limit Omaha (PLO) a try? This is one of the most popular variants of poker, and it seems to only get more popular by the day! PLO is somewhat similar to no-limit hold’em. There are five community cards in the middle. The key difference is that players are dealt four cards instead of two. And you must use two and exactly two of your cards in coordination with three and exactly three of the “communal” cards to make the best five card poker hand.
Get Started
First, try sitting in a play money game so you can grow accustomed to how the game is played. It would be disaster to sit down in a real-money game while still not yet understanding that you only get to play two cards from your hand.
Basic Strategy
In PLO, you want hands with four cards that work well together. Being double-suited is valuable since it gives you two different ways to make a flush. Having four consecutive cards (ie: 9876) is also very strong since it gives you multiple was to make a straight.
PLO is a Turn and River Game
No-limit hold’em is all about flopping strong hands. PLO is about flopping strong draws. Often when you flop a hand like two pair, you can actually be behind another player due to the strength of their draw. With that in mind, don’t over commit yourself on the flop with a hand like two pair, or even bottom set, since often times you’re an underdog to dodge all of the outs that improve your opponent(s) hand.
Play Big Draws Fast
When you flop a monster draw (ie: a straight draw and a flush draw, or a set with a flush draw), don’t be afraid to play the flop very aggressively. You might not technically have anything yet, but you have so many outs that you’re often a favorite versus a “made” hand like two pair. Conversely, if you have a made hand like two pair, consider trying to keep things cheap on the flop and waiting to see a safe turn card before building the pot.
Be Aware of the Nuts
In PLO, you should always be able to identify the “nuts” (that is, the best possible hand). This is a game where often a person betting large sums will be holding the best possible hand. Don’t treat a non ace-high flush with as much confidence in hold’em as you do in Omaha. That’s a recipe for losing money hand over fist.
Aces Are Not the Nuts
The biggest mistake new Omaha players make is playing Aces too fast. They see a hand like Ace-Ace-Seven-Six and immediately they want to re-raise preflop. If you can get most of your chips into the pot with Aces in Omaha, by all means, go for it. However, the pot-limit style betting usually means you can’t get the majority of your stack into the pot preflop unless there are a couple raises and calls.
So with that in mind, you want to play Aces for their set value, or for their bluff-catcher value (in a two way pot). Just call raises preflop with Aces. If a player behind re-raises and a couple players call, then you’ll probably be able to re-raise all-in for most of your chips.
