Double-suited high pairs are the best hands in PLO. For example, AAKK, AAQQ, AATT, and AAJJ (all double suits) are strong hands. Ace is very valuable in PLO, so wait for a hand with at least one Ace, with double-suited cards.
Omaha Hold’em, or simply Omaha, is quite different from Texas Hold’em. The Texas version is no-limit Hold’em, meaning there is no cap on how much a player can bet or raise in a hand. As long as there are sufficient chips, players are free to bet any amount they wish.
Omaha is different from Texas Hold’em in two distinct ways. First, players are dealt four hole cards (private cards facing down) instead of two in the case of Texas. Second, Omaha games are usually pot-limit. That’s why this game is popularly called pot-limit Omaha, or PLO poker for short.
Omaha poker has slightly different rules. Even though players are dealt four cards, they can only use two, along with three of the community cards, to make a five-card poker hand.
Here’s an example:
Even though it looks like a flush (any five cards of the same suit), it doesn’t count because you have to use two hole cards. It’s not even a straight (five sequence cards of any suit). At best, you have an 8 pair with an Ace kicker.
The extra two cards may sometimes create confusion, but it quickly becomes second nature once you start playing more and more PLO.
Also, the extra cards give everyone at the table more ways to make the best hand. Because of this, strategy plays a bigger role in this game of poker. Moreover, pot-limit betting also changes the pace as players need to control bet sizes.
Below, we tell you how to master the pot limit Omaha strategy and balance aggression with caution.
The game starts with a pre-flop, where the hole cards are dealt. The blinds are obliged to place a bet, and other players can decide whether to call, fold, or raise.
After the initial bets have been placed, the dealer deals the first three community cards face up on the board. In the next betting round, the “turn”, or the fourth community card, is laid on the table. This is followed by the “river” card in the next round. This is the last betting round. In each round, players decide whether to continue by raising or giving up by folding their cards.
These are the standard rules for any poker game, including Omaha. However, the pot-limit and the extra cards make the game of Omaha slightly difficult. Here are the fundamentals of how the PLO game works:
In Omaha games, you can bet up to the pot or raise the pot.
Let’s say there is £20 in the pot and the previous bet was £5. Your maximum bet becomes £20. But if you want to raise, you have to follow a rule: first call the previous bet (£5) and then raise.
So, you called £5 and the pot increases to 20+5=£25. Now you can raise £25. This makes your total bet £30 (£5 to call and £25 to raise).
One more example: You are Under the Gun. The small blind put £1 and the big blind put £2. If you want to raise, you first need to call the previous bet (£2). The pot now becomes £5, and you can raise £5. So, your total bet becomes £7.
Pot limit games can get pricier with each raise. As the size of the pot grows, the size of the bets also increases. Let’s say you were in an early position and raised to £7 in the first round. By the time the round ended, the pot grew to £50, and the last bet was £15. If you want to raise in the next round, you will have to bet £95 (15×2+50=80, so you bet £80+£15). See how quickly it got expensive!
That’s why you need to be careful with your hand selection in pot-limit games. Choose only the best hands that can guarantee the nuts post-flop.
In PLO, players are dealt four hole cards instead of two. However, they can’t use all four. Players must build their best five-card hand by using exactly two hole cards along with three community cards from the board.
This rule often trips up new players who try to use more or fewer cards. For example, you have A♠Q♣10♦4♦ and the board has 9♠7♠8♣K♠Q♠. It looks like you have the nuts (the strongest hand) with a spade flush. Wrong!
In PLO, you cannot make a hand using only one hole card (A♠) and four community cards (the four spades on the board). Players need to use two hole cards. So, your best hand is a pair of Queens.
Now, let’s talk about the betting structure.
In a £1/£2 PLO poker game, the small blind is £1 and the big blind is £2. Next comes the UTG or Under the Gun. Since this position is next to the big blind, they can either match the big blind (£2) or raise. Here, the previous bet was £2, and the pot size is £3. So, you need to call £2, and the pot size becomes £5. Now you can raise £5, and your total bet becomes £7.
Note that some casinos may have different rules for calculating the pot limit. If in doubt, ask the dealer to help you with the math. If you are playing online, the calculations appear on the screen automatically.
Once the UTG raises the pot, the action continues clockwise to middle and late positions until it reaches the big blind, and the next round starts. The dealer then reveals the “turn,” or the fourth community card, and the same betting pattern follows. The “river” card is revealed in the next betting round, and finally, the game ends in “showdown” when the remaining players still in hand reveal their cards.
Apart from the number of cards and betting limits, there are several differences between the two games. The biggest difference is how players make their hands in both games.
Strategically, it is easier to make better hands in PLO, since players hold more cards. Also, more hole cards mean more blockers (meaning other opponents may not be able to make their best hand because you hold those cards).
But that is also the drawback of Omaha. Players tend to get more attached to their hole cards and may not want to fold. For example, AA is the best hand in Hold’em, but, let’s say, A♠A♣J♦9♥, while strong, is still not the best hand in Omaha. The aces don’t interact with the other two cards because they are of different suits. Pocket aces and ace kickers rarely work at showdown. Since everyone gets four hole cards, there are higher chances of seeing straights and flushes that will outrank pocket aces.
Then there is the complexity that makes both games different. There’s no doubt that a pot-limit game is more intricate than no-limit Hold’em. Omaha is also more complex than Texas No-Limit, especially for new players. When you have only two cards, it’s relatively simple to see how they interact with each other. However, making the best combination becomes a little difficult with four cards. Omaha players need to keep track of multiple draws at once.
However, once you get past the common confusions of creating hands in Omaha, it can be a better choice than Texas Hold’em. Simply because the Texas version is very competitive. You’ll encounter players with deep stacks and deep knowledge in Texas No Limit games. In comparison, Omaha is less competitive, and you are less likely to play in an all-pros table. So, if you are comfortable with small wins, consider playing Omaha. However, it’s good to be able to play both variants to switch up your games when needed.
With more cards, there’s a higher chance that your opponents have pairs or combo draws. So, you should only play hands with maximum equity and don’t rely on luck to improve your hand.
These are considered the top 30 Omaha starting hands. Note that these hands count only if they are 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 |
Draws are more likely in PLO because of the two extra cards that each player receives. A “draw” is an incomplete hand, which needs further cards to become valuable. With an incomplete hand, you need to extract more information before deciding which way to bet. This becomes easier when you are in a late position, as it gives you more information on what your opponents are doing.
Moreover, position gives you the chance to control the pot size. You can check from early positions to view the next card for free.
5-card PLO rules are the same: players need to use two hole cards along with three community cards to make their hand. The only difference is the extra hole card. However, this extra card makes a huge difference. PLO5 has around 2.6 million possible starting hand combinations compared to 270,000 in PLO4.
So, what does this mean for poker betting? Firstly, you’ll see more calls in PLO5 as the extra card gives higher equity and a better incentive to enter the flop. So, be prepared for a higher VPIP (voluntary put in pot). Players tend to play way too many hands in PLO5. This means you should tighten your game and wait for a hand that can dominate against multiple players.
Next, the quality of the hand really matters in PLO5. You’ll often find double-suited hands in PLO5. However, resist the temptation to enter the pot with a double-suited junk hand. Wait for nuts like Ace-high suits.
Moreover, a lot of players tend to overvalue their hand strength pre- and post-flop. This means they’ll be playing too loose. That’s when you should slow down your game and avoid bluffing. Instead, focus on getting better at pre-flop.
If your pre-flop play is poor, it will be hard to save your chips on the turn and river. So, keep these three components in mind: suits, connectors, and nuts.
The nuttiness potential of your hand matters a lot preflop in Omaha. In Texas Hold’em, players have room to improve their hand post-flop. But that is not the case in Omaha, since it is compulsory to use two hole cards. So, let’s say you are dealt low cards. This puts you at risk of being dominated. Moreover, if you don’t have nutted cards, it is quite likely that your opponent does. It’s best to muck low cards.
However, you should hold on to your cards if they are connected. For example, T934K has double connectors and a high card. This gives room for making a straight post-flop. If you have suited connectors, that’s even better. Since there are four suits, and you are dealt five cards, it’s a given that you will have at least one double suit.
First of all, you should know that there’s no shame in folding post-flop. It is better to cut your losses than drag out a weak draw. Always be selective with your hand selection.
The wildly aggressive players leave themselves open to traps set by observant opponents. Be aggressive, but be selective. Don’t get frustrated even if you have to fold 5-7 games in a row. This makes you vulnerable to traps set by observant opponents. Let’s say you call on the button with K3Q9. The flop is 6Q7. The small blind bets, you call, and the cutoff raises. You only have a pair till the flop. It’s better to fold here than get entangled out of frustration.
Next, your focus should be on stack protection.
Let’s say you are the big blind with the starting hand of K♦6♥7♠Q♦8♠, and the flop is A♥J♣T♣. You have flopped the nuts (TJQKA). However, since this is PLO5, you should consider your hand only marginally better than your opponents. Currently, you have a straight. Several hands outrank this, such as a flush, a full house, or a straight flush. Don’t risk your chips on medium draws.
Finally, play premium hands like AJ and pairs (99 and higher). Avoid smaller pairs like 88 and lower. You’ll need to play at least 10+ games to gather a sample size and determine what hands you’re winning with post-flop.
Omaha Hi-Lo is also known as O8 or Omaha 8-or-Better. This is an aggressive game with five or more players that stay for post-flop action.
This game differs from regular Omaha games as it splits the pot between two or more players. The pot is often split 50/50 between the winning best hand and the best qualifying low hand. If the same player has both the high and low hands, they win the entire pot. This is called “scooping”. If there are no qualifying low hands, the player with the high hand wins the entire pot.
There are some rules for determining the lowest hand. The player with the lowest card wins the lowest hand. For example, A2345 is counted lower than 23456. Any hand with a card higher than 8 usually does not qualify as a low hand. Suits also don’t count as low.
Here’s an example of how the pot gets split:
Board: 5♣Q♠4♥A♥7♠
Player 1: 2♠K♥A♣K♠
Player 2: A♠Q♦3♠Q♥
Player 2 wins the high hand with three-of-a-kind queens. Player 1 wins the low hand using the A-2 from his hand.
Now let’s see how you can win the scoop:
Board:K♥3♦4♠8♦2♦
Player 1: A♥Q♦K♠2♠
Player 2:J♥10♦7♥6♥
Player 2 wins the high hand with a flush (J-T-4-3-2). Player 2 also wins the low hand with 7-6-3-4-2. Player 1’s lowest hand is 8-4-3-2-A, which is higher than Player 1’s because of the 8.
Just like PLO, O8 is also a nut game. So, if you don’t have the nuts pre-flop, it is better to fold. While scooping is theoretically possible, you will rarely make both the high and the low hand together. So, the best strategy is to play for the high, so you’re guaranteed half the pot. If you hold a nut low, you may win half or a quarter of the pot, depending on how many ways it gets split.
Next, don’t be quick to raise before the flop and be ready to fold on the flop frequently. As a rule, stick to playing approximately 30% of your hands. This means you should not rush with the worst hands and should wait for strong hands like A-2 or A-3, as A can be counted both in high and low draws. A good high hand should have all four cards that are 9+. Medium cards with 6-7-8 should be folded.
Let’s say you have an A-2 in your hand. Don’t raise yet if you are in an early position. Other players might fold, and you’ll be left with a small pot. Limp along to see the next card cheaply. But if you are in a late position, you should definitely raise to build the pot. You can wait till the flop to see if your hand reaches nut potential. You can still afford to bluff on the river (second community card), occasionally, if a couple of other hands have folded.
Finally, you shouldn’t call a low draw when the flop has high cards. Similarly, don’t call a high draw when the flop has low cards.
This is a trademarked strategy developed by poker player Jeff Hwang. In his book with the same title, Hwang proposes a simple strategy geared towards low-stakes PLO games.
According to this strategy, PLO is a game of straights. This means that the winning hand at the river will often be a straight. However, how you play at the flop determines your nut potential. In his words, “there are a variety of common big-pot situations… Our goal is to be the one on the dominant end when the big pots get played. This involves first recognizing what those big-pot situations are, and then identifying the hands that have the potential to put us in the position to get the edge in those spots.”
So, to dominate the big pots, players need to wait for a nut straight freeroll, which means a straight that can re-draw as a flush, full house, or higher. Hwang advises giving up non-nut high hands, even though they may be playable post-flop. It is better to consider the expected value (EV) of each hand before deciding your post-flop game.
In the early stages of the tournament, blinds are small relative to stack sizes. This is the time to be selective and avoid losing chips. Keep your game tight and wait for only five-card hands (where Ace can be counted in both high and low pairs).
When the tournament reaches the mid-stage, stacking chips becomes more important. Players need a big stack in the bubble, so this is the time to start collecting chips. Blinds become bigger at this stage, so you’ll need to open up your game with a loose-aggressive style. Raise hands from late positions to increase the pot size.
At the late stages, survival is critical to enter the bubble. Now you must tighten your game again and fold all ace-less hands.
The fundamentals of PLO remain the same in both physical and online games. However, both settings have different paces. Physical games move slowly, which means you play fewer hands per hour. You need more patience here as you wait for the strongest hand. Moreover, you’ll encounter several casual or recreational players in casinos, so it becomes slightly easier to read their “tells”, which can help identify bluffs or weak hands.
Online games, on the other hand, are much faster. You’ll be playing more hands, which means investing more chips. Chip protection is much more important in online games as the pots can quickly grow in size. Also, bluffing becomes harder to detect in online games. If you are serious about building your stack in online games, you’ll need to track your opponents’ betting patterns by viewing their hand histories.
In Omaha poker, your game often gets decided preflop. Enter only if you have the nuts or a nut draw. So, always use a sharp preflop strategy and don’t be afraid to muck multiple hands. Bluffing won’t do you any good in PLO. So, wait for the best hand, and value bet when you get there.
In short, PLO is about patience. Some players tend to get bored by mucking too many hands and end up playing marginal hands. Don’t make that mistake. Only play the nuts and nothing else.
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Double-suited high pairs are the best hands in PLO. For example, AAKK, AAQQ, AATT, and AAJJ (all double suits) are strong hands. Ace is very valuable in PLO, so wait for a hand with at least one Ace, with double-suited cards.
Poker requires both skill and luck. You can’t control the cards you are dealt. However, you can control what to do with them. Don’t be tempted to play all the hands you’re dealt. Wait for the cards that can help you make the nuts (the strongest hand) and muck all other hands.
In PLO, players start with four hole cards instead of two. This means there is a stronger incentive for players to call or raise preflop, as they may have multiple ways to make a hand. So for this reason, you’ll often see bigger pots in PLO. The strategy for both games is also different. PLO revolves around nut draws, while the best hands in Hold’em are often top pairs like AA and KK.
Bluffing is risky in Omaha poker. This is because every player holds four cards, and already has a lot of information on the other players. Moreover, four cards give a better chance of making a variety of top hands, so your opponents may not fold easily when faced with a bluff.
It is easy to understand the basics of PLO by referring to a chart of best and worst starting hands. However, the difficulty lies in executing your best hand, especially postflop. You need to decide whether to play aggressive or tight based on your position. You can practice pre- and post-flop simulations using online tools like PLO mastermind.
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