How to Play PLO - A Beginner's Guide to Pot-Limit Omaha
February 11, 2024 Matthew Pitt
Senior Editor
Omaha hold'em, often called simply Omaha, is an exciting poker game that
is strikingly similar to Texas hold'em, although it does have a number of differences
to set it apart.
Unlike Texas hold'em, a game in which the preferred betting structure
is no-limit, the most popular betting structure of Omaha games is pot-limit.
Games of
this type are referred to as pot-limit Omaha, abbreviated as PLO poker.
The first major
difference you'll instantly be aware of when playing PLO poker instead of hold'em is
that each player is dealt exactly four hole cards instead of two.
However, players
don't use all four hole cards to make a hand because they can only use two of them.
In
fact, players must use exactly two of their hole cards along with three of the
community cards to make a five-card poker hand.
Let's see an example:
A player holds A
♥ K ♣ Q ♠ J ♣ — a strong starting hand in pot-limit Omaha.
— a strong starting hand in
pot-limit Omaha. The five community cards read K♥10♥6♠3♥2♥
In a pot limit Omaha game,
the player does not hold a flush despite holding the A♥.
Neither does the player have a
Broadway straight.
The player actually only has a pair of kings with an
ace-kicker.
This may seem a little confusing when you first sit in a PLO game, but it
quickly becomes second nature. You just need to play enough Omaha hands to get used to
this and to learn how to read the board correctly.
SEE ALSO: Learn Omaha Poker at
GGPoker with Daniel Negreanu
Top Online Poker Sites Of 2024 Play online poker games on
the top online poker sites of 2024 and join thousands of other players in exciting
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What is Pot-Limit Omaha?
To know
more about the basics of the game, you can visit these pages:
Main Differences Between
Omaha Poker and Texas Hold'em
Besides starting with four hole cards rather than two,
there are a few more differences between Texas hold'em and Omaha games.
The Action
Preflop
One such difference is that preflop hands in pot-limit Omaha run much closer in
terms of poker equity than they do in hold'em.
In Texas hold'em , a hand such as A ♥ A
♠ is an 82.36% favourite over K ♥ K ♠ before the flop hits the board.
, a hand such as
is an 82.36% favourite over before the flop hits the board. In Omaha poker a hand such
as A♠A♥7♦6♦ will only beat K♥K♠Q♥J♠ 59.84% of the time.
This closeness in preflop hand
strength is one factor leading to players playing more hands, seeing more flops, and
PLO being more of a drawing game than hold'em is.
This creates larger pots with the
majority of the chips often going into the pot after the flop is dealt.
Hands
Strenght
Another key difference is the fact you generally need a stronger hand at
showdown to win at pot-limit Omaha than you would in a Texas hold'em game.
In hold'em,
it is not uncommon to win a hand with two pair or even a single pair. In Omaha poker,
these hands are rarely the best by the river.
The Betting Structure
The other
significant difference between pot-limit Omaha and no-limit Texas hold'em is the
betting structure.
In no-limit hold'em, players can bet any amount they wish, up to the
size of their stack.
Omaha poker, however, is "pot-limit," meaning players can only bet
the total size of the pot including their call.
Need help to understand the concept of
pot-limit games? Let's look at another example.
Imagine a PLO poker hand that is
contested between two players.
The pot hasR$100 in it, which means the maximum the
first player can bet isR$100.
When it is the second player's turn to act, that player
can only bet a maximum ofR$400.
This is worked out by adding the initial size of the
pot ($100), plus the size of the opponent's bet ($100), plus the second player's call
of the first bet ($100).
This equalsR$300, which when added to theR$100 call makes the
maximum betR$400.
Betting is easier when you play online
While this can be confusing
until you are used to playing the game regularly, betting in pot limit Omaha poker is a
lot easier if you play online.
When playing Omaha games online you can simply click the
"pot" button and the software figures out the correct amount for you.
SEE ALSO: Want to
Play Omaha Games Online? Check Out 888Poker!
Need help? Ask the Dealer to count the
chips for you
In a live pot limit Omaha game, if you announce "pot" before betting the
size of the pot, the dealer will assist with the calculations.
Basic Pot-Limit Omaha
Strategy
Pot-limit Omaha poker is a complex game, which makes it difficult to come up
with the perfect strategy for playing it.
There are a number of pointers that you can
remember that can form the basis for a solid pot limit Omaha strategy:
Be patient with
your starting hand selection. Don't fall into the trap of thinking that any four cards
are worth playing.
Don't fall into the trap of thinking that four cards are worth
playing. A bare pair of aces isn't as good as in hold'em. Two aces can help form a
strong preflop hand in PLO poker, but unless they improve on the flop you're unlikely
to win the pot, especially in a multi-way contested pot.
Two aces can help form a
strong preflop hand in PLO poker, but unless they improve on the flop you're unlikely
to win the pot, especially in a multi-way contested pot. There is less bluffing in PLO
poker. While bluffing does occur, it's less prevalent in most players' PLO strategy
than happens in hold'em; a show of strength in PLO is likely to be a strong hand.
While
bluffing does occur, it's less prevalent in most players' PLO strategy than happens in
hold'em; a show of strength in PLO is likely to be a strong hand. Draw to the nuts.
Although there are times when you can play a weaker draw aggressively, drawing to the
nuts is the best idea.
Although there are times when you can play a weaker draw
aggressively, drawing to the nuts is the best idea. Stop thinking like a hold'em poker
player. Many Omaha poker players come from a no-limit hold'em background and play the
game as such. They'll overvalue one-pair and two-pair hands, as well as open-ended
straight draws (with eight outs). The latter is particularly problematic since in PLO
poker it is possible to have "wrap" draws with up to 20 outs with the perfect hole card
and community card combination!
SEE ALSO: Dealing With Variance in Pot-Limit Omaha
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Online Poker Sites Of 2024 Play online poker games on the top online poker sites of
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Quick Strategy Tips to Be a Good Omaha Player
While Omaha might not
be as "straightforward" as Texas hold'em, these are some simple strategy tips that will
help you get better results at the table — faster.
Go through this list of essential
Omaha poker tips, memorise them, and you'll know what to do to become a better player
right.
Know what hands to play / fold. The nature of PLO requires you to be smart and
take a holistic approach to the cards that compose your starting hand.
Avoid the
danglers, for example.
Whenever you decide to play a hand with a 'dangler' (a card that
doesn't connect to any of the other cards in your four-card starting hand), you force
yourself to play with three cards.
Why is this bad, you ask?
You might think this isn't
too bad, especially if the other three cards that compose your hand seem
promising.
Think about your opponents, for a moment.
If they go for a 'more
conservative' pot limit Omaha poker strategy, they stay in the hand only if they can
still play with all four cards, not just three.
By entering the hand with three cards,
you are giving others an advantage they shouldn't have.
READ ALSO: You Play Too Loose
in These 3 Preflop PLO Situations
Don't play too many hands. Note: this is not only the
most important Omaha poker tip you can ever learn — it is a lesson that you should keep
for all the poker games you'll ever play in your life.
Once you realize that Omaha
poker games have good hands (a few) and bad hands (a lot more), you need to accept the
consequences of that.
Select the hands you play and go only for the premium
hands.
Omaha, like hold'em, is a game where you need to know when it's time to play and
when it's best to fold your cards.
Be patient. Wait until your starting hand fits the
range you should play, use the information you have to read your opponents and decide
whether you should continue or not.
Know how to read the board and assess the other
players' hand strength. Unless you are so good at detecting poker tells that the police
use you as a real-life lie detector…be careful.
Omaha poker can become a very expensive
game and one where the players don't bluff as much as in hold'em.
If a large bet comes
on the board, you better save your hero call for another poker game and fold. Most
Omaha players use big bets to protect their hand. Calling their alleged bluffs can be
very, very costly.
Understand How Odds and Outs Work. The concepts of odds, outs, and
equity are important in all poker games, including pot-limit Omaha.
If you struggle to
do the math and understand how everything works, you better rely on the usual
beginner's formula.
Start with a free odds calculator and continue using the tool until
you learn how to do the calculations in your head.
Three Things NOT to Do in Pot Limit
Omaha Poker
While in Sochi, Russia, for an 888poker Live event, PokerNews'own Tiffany
Michelle approached 888poker ambassador Vivian Saliba to talk about Pot-Limit
Omaha.
With more thanR$100,000 in PLO tournament winnings and an 11th-place finish in a
PLO event at the World Series of Poker, Saliba is known (and respected) to be a good
Omaha poker player — perhaps even the best one in the 888poker team.
In her
conversation with Michelle, Saliba touched on the three most common mistakes she sees
poker players make at the table when they play Omaha poker.
Don't Freak Out When Short
Stacked
"When you have seven or 10 big blinds (BB) you are not that short. You still
have a lot of room to pick your spot and to pick your right hand," Saliba
explains.
Confirming one of the Omaha tips we shared earlier, patience is the key. "You
need to be very patient. I see too many people just going crazy [because] they think
they are super-short."
"Poker is about survival," Saliba continues. "Tournaments are
about survival. PLO is like that, too — just perhaps at another level. You need to
learn to manage risks all the time.."
Don't Play a Lot of Hands
If you thought our list
of Omaha strategy tips was the only one mentioning the sheer volume of hands beginners
play — think again.
"You have four cards," Saliba explains. "I know they look pretty —
but this is the same for your opponent."
If you plan on staying in the hand and invest
your stack, "you really need to have strong high cards, high pairs, drawing for the
nuts."
"You shouldn't be playing multi-way pots with weak draws or [small] pairs. You
have to select the hands you play."
Don't Assume It's Just Like No Limit Hold'Em
It's
no secret that the majority of players that get into Pot Limit Omaha poker come from
Texas hold'em.
According to Saliba, many of them make one common mistake: "they think
Omaha poker is simply hold'em with four cards.
"There are a lot of differences between
the two games in terms of hands, of strength, theory, approaches, and more."
"There are
so many things that before you start playing PLO you should stop and study the game.
Omaha is not as simple as people think."
Best Starting Hands in Pot-Limit Omaha
Poker
Like other variants of poker, pot limit Omaha success begins with solid starting
hand selection.
The very best Omaha poker players in the world play a wide range of
poker hands, but those new to the game should stick to hands that are stronger and
therefore easier to play.
The best PLO poker starting hands are those that have a big
pair in them and some connectedness that allows them to improve post-flop.
Ideally,
your hands will be what is known as "double-suited," meaning you have the chance to
flop two different flush draws.
E.g., A♠A♦7♠6♦ is a nice double-suited starting hand
with a big pair.
Computer simulations show that AxAxKxKx double-suited is the best
pot-limit Omaha starting hand.
Flopping a set with this hand means you'll always have
top set, while any flush draw will be to the nuts.
Other strong hands containing a pair
of aces include AxAxJx10x and AxAxQxQx, while double-suited run-down holdings such as
J♠10♦9♠8♦ are also very playable.
SEE ALSO: You Can't Play Them All: Evaluating
Starting Hands in Pot-Limit Omaha
Final Considerations
As you have probably gathered,
pot-limit Omaha poker is an exciting game that creates big pots, and sees players make
big hands regularly.
As great as this is, the big thing you need to consider is playing
Omaha poker requires a larger bankroll than hold'em variants mostly because of the
closeness in the strength of hands both preflop and postflop.
It's common to not have
more than 60% equity on the flop against a single opponent, which can and does lead to
some crazy swings!
When you run good at pot limit Omaha, you usually run very good, but
the flipside is also true. Remember it when you play!
Top Omaha Poker Sites
This
article was originally published on March 1, 2024. The last update includes new info,
including a list of practical Omaha strategy tips and Vivian Saliba's insights on the
most common mistakes beginners make when they play Omaha poker.
Sharelines Introducing
pot-limit Omaha, the action-filled poker variant that's become a favored game for
many.
