Written by Lee Davy
Introduction
Pot-Limit Omaha, or PLO for short, is the second most
common form of poker behind No-Limit Hold’em💶 (NLHE). The game has existed in brick and
mortar cardrooms and casinos for decades but rose in popularity through the💶 increase
and exposure of high stakes cash game battles across Full Tilt Poker in the mid-2000s
featuring the likes of💶 Tom Dwan, Viktor Blom, Patrik Antonius, Phil Ivey, and Phil
Galfond.
Variants
In it’s rawest form, Omaha is a game played with💶 four hole cards,
although versions with five and six cards have also caught on. In this guide, we will
focus💶 on the four-hole card version.
There are also different forms of Omaha.
Variants
include No-Limit Omaha, and also Hi/Lo versions. Omaha is💶 also a mainstay in any Mixed
Game, and mixed No-Limit Hold’em/Omaha games have become increasingly popular over the
years. For💶 this guide, we will focus on Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO).
Finally, Omaha is a game
that transfers well to both cash games💶 and tournaments. While it’s more prevalent in
cash games, all of the major live and online operators have Omaha games💶 in their
schedules, including The Triton Poker Series.
Define ‘Pot-Limit’?
The term “Pot-Limit”
restricts betting to the size of the pot, so💶 you can’t overbet the pot, or move
‘All-In’ as you can in No-Limit games. The “Pot-Limit’ restriction is typically added
💶 to games to lower the variance of bankroll swings where you are more likely to flop
strong made hands or💶 draws, such as Omaha.
Calculating Pot Size
The game isR$1/$2 PLO,
meaning the Small Blind (SB) has placedR$1 into the pot, andR$2💶 for the Big Blind (BB).
The next player to act calls forR$2, and you want to raise the maximum.
What would💶 be
the size of your raise?
We calculate the size of the pot as thus:R$1 from the SB,R$2
for the BB,💶 andR$2 for the caller =R$5. You can also call, forR$2, making the potR$7,
so theoretically you can raise an additionalR$7💶 – so your maximum bet in this spot
isR$9 ($2 for the call, andR$7 for the raise).
The Rules
The DNA of💶 the game plays
similar to No-Limit Hold’em, with some notable exceptions.
The dealer hands each player
four hole cards, and you💶 can use any two to make the best five card hand using three
community cards. The community cards arrive in💶 the same was as NLHE with a pre-betting
round, a flop, a turn, and a river with more betting rounds💶 available after dealing
each street.
An Example Hand:
The Board: AdQdTh5c3d
Hero: 7s6c4d2d
Villain: AhAcKdKh
In
this hand, the Hero wins with an ace high💶 flush, using the {4d} and {2d} in their hand,
and the {Ad} {Qd] [3d] from the board. The Villain’s best💶 hand is Trip Aces using {Ah}
{Ac} in their hand, and {Ad} {Qd} {Th} from the board.
Now let’s look at💶 a common
mistake:
The Board: AdQdTd5c3d
Hero: 7s6c4d2d
Villain: AhAcKdKh
In this hand, the Hero
wins with the ace high flush, using the {4d}💶 and {2d} in their hand, and the {Ad} {Qd]
[Td] from the board. The Villain’s best hand is still Trip💶 Aces using {Ah} {Ac} in
their hand, and {Ad} {Qd} {Td} from the board, but you may erroneously think the
💶 Villain also has a flush, as there are four diamonds on the board, and one in the
Villains hand, but💶 remember, you have to use two of your hole cards to make a five-card
hand.
NLHE to PLO: The Transition
PLO is💶 popular because it provides the player with
more opportunity to play given you have more hole-cards leading to more starting💶 hand
computations – and this leads to the most common mistake shifting from NLHE to PLO –
playing too many💶 hands.
Developing a strong starting hand strategy is crucial when
starting in the PLO games because you are going to be💶 up against the nuts or hands that
draw to the nuts more commonly than in NHLE. With this in mind,💶 a key focus for you
when learning PLO is to start with hands that can flop the nuts or draws💶 to the
nuts.
Starting Hands
When choosing starting hands in PLO, one factor you should look
out for is to have double-suited💶 hands whenever possible as this increases the variety
of ways you can win the hand.
Here are the Top 30 starting💶 hands in PLO
(double-suited).
1. A-A-K-K 11. K-Q-J-T 21. Q-Q-A-K 2. A-A-J-T 12. K-K-T-T 22. Q-Q-A-J
3. A-A-Q-Q 13. K-K-A-Q 23.💶 Q-Q-A-T 4. A-A-J-J 14. K-K-A-J 24. Q-Q-K-J 5. A-A-T-T 15.
K-K-A-T 25. Q-Q-K-T 6. A-A-9-9 16. K-K-Q-J 26. Q-Q-J-T 7.💶 A-A-x-x 17. K-K-Q-T 27.
Q-Q-J-9 8. J-T-9-8 18. K-K-J-T 28. Q-Q-9-9 9. K-K-Q-Q 19. Q-Q-J-J 29. J-J-T-T 10.
K-K-J-J 20.💶 Q-Q-T-T 30. J-J-T-9
As you can see, it’s still precious to hold big pairs,
as in NLHE, with the exception that💶 as you have four hole-cards, redraw possibilities
are also extremely important. It’s for this reason that AAJT (double-suited) ranks as
💶 the #2 best starting hand as you have the power of a pair of aces versus Broadway
straight and nut💶 flush potential.
