Pot Limit Omaha Poker

1. Pot Limit Omaha Poker Rooms
2. Pot Limit Omaha Poker
3. Pot Limit Omaha Poker Jeff Hwang
4. Pot-limit Omaha Poker The Big Play Strategy Pdf
5. Pot Limit Omaha Poker Videos
6. Omaha Poker Play Free Pot Limit Games

1. Pot-Limit Omaha vs. Texas Hold'em More players will consistently see the flop in Omaha. The gap in strength between starting hands is shallow in Omaha, meaning your hand is almost never at a huge disadvantage before the flop. For this reason, almost all Omaha flops are seen by multiple players.
2. Pot Limit Omaha Best Starting Hands Chart – Ranked from #1 to #30 All hands in the above top 30 list must be double-suited, which means that two cards must belong to one suit and the other two cards to another suit. Double-suited hands are always the best. More differences from Texas Hold'em.

Where to play pot limit 5-card Omaha You can play PLO5 at virtually all mainstream online poker rooms. For example, Poker Stars, 888Poker, PartyPoker, and WilliamHill poker are some of the leading poker rooms that offer 5-card Omaha. Pot Limit Omaha Starting Hands. Pot Limit Omaha Starting Hands. In PLO there are a total of 16,432 different starting hands, made up of all the possibilities that result from the 270,725 stochastically possible combinations.

Are you new at poker and want to learn how to play Pot Limit Omaha (PLO)? Or is Texas Holdem your typical game and you want to add to your repretoire? If you are among the latter folks, pay special attention to the tips below because Omaha players are on the lookout for common Texas mistakes.

Below we introduce PLO strategies for starting hand selection and assessment, bankroll management, equity, backdoor outs and kill cards, and hand reading.

Basic PLO Strategy & Tips

Many players give PLO a try as a refreshing change from Texas Holdem. With 4 hole cards and betting limits fixed by the size of the pot, there are new strategy considerations to keep your mind fresh. This article covers some of the key strategy tips you’ll need to keep in mind when your first move over. Remember that experienced PLO players are on the lookout for people making ‘Holdem Player Mistakes’ and are ready to take advantage.

There are 3 main areas covered in this article. First the setup of starting hands and the importance of betting with combinations of cards that work together. Next you’ll find tips covering the relative strengths of hands at showdown. After that some advice on how to avoid giving away the content of your Omaha hand too early.

Pot Limit Omaha Strategy Tips – Starting Hand Selection

In PLO poker, a showdown has very specific rules. You can use 2 and only 2 cards from you own 4 hole-cards, and 3 and only 3 cards from the 5 community cards. Reading the board comes easily with practice, though the effect on starting hand selection is more subtle.

The best Omaha hands are those which have the largest possible number of 2-card combinations which work together – in addition to some high card strength. The best hands are A-A-J-10 with 2 ace high suited pairs, and A-A-K-K also double-suited. Both of these can make top set, straights and nut flushes. Other super-strong hands in PLO are called ‘Rundowns’ and include hands like 9-10-J-Q double suited. Here you have 6 combinations of hands working for you and you can flop draws with up to 21 outs – making you a favorite over a set.

Even one unconnected card halves the number of combinations you have working for you. The really dangerous Omaha starting hands contain small to medium pairs. Sure, you can flop a set now and again, but when the betting gets extra heavy in this game – middle or bottom set is a trap hand. If you are not already beaten by a higher set then you could be facing one or more massive draws which are favorite to beat you.

Pot Limit Omaha Strategy Tips- Relative Hand Strength At Showdown

Hands shown down in PLO are much stronger than you will be used to in Texas Holdem. If you think that each player starts with up to 6 potential 2-card combinations, then it makes sense that hands shown down will be close to the nuts. Just imagine betting into 3 players in Texas Holdem holding 18 hands – one of them must have hit the flop.

If you can get your aces all-in pre-flop then you should do that, however unimproved over-pairs are very unlikely to win the pot when there has been significant action.

Coordinated flops mean you need to make a decision on whether to continue immediately. The betting gets exponentially bigger on each round with pot-limit rules and ‘just calling to see what happens’ can lead you to hit a low straight, non-nut flush or two pair – which will cost you money more often than they make you any.

A good rule of thumb for new players is to only draw to nut hands. The highest straights, nut flushes and the best full-house should all be included. Once you get used to how different opponents are betting in different situations you can add in some non-nut draws like the underfull or King-high flushes.

Pot-Limit Omaha Strategy Tips – Don’t Give Away That Hand Too Early

A common mistake new Omaha players make is to limp or call pre-flop with a wide range of speculative hands – and then suddenly raise with a pair of aces or kings. This is so well known among regular players that many specifically watch for these raises. What you will find is that you instantly end up with 5 callers, and are quickly checked to on the flop.

If you did not improve on the flop you need to be wary, your opponents will know what you have (well, half of your hand at least) and will be ready to build a big pot if they have you beaten. Once you gain some PLO experience of your own you can join in the profitable pastime of watching for aces-only raisers.

Even players who raise a wider range of coordinated hands can fall into this trap sometimes. This happens when only aces are used to re-raise. If you are going to give away your hand in this way you need to make sure that you have no more than one pot-sized bet left after the flop – otherwise it is easily exploitable by observant opponents.

Omaha is a fantastic game and has developed a loyal following online. These tips should keep you from losing too many easy chips while you learn to beat the game.

Advanced PLO Strategy

Once you have learned the basics of starting hand selection, drawing to the nuts and pot-limit betting – you are ready to add some advanced strategies to your PLO armory. This article covers a range of tactics that will help you increase your win-rate in lower buy-in Omaha hi games online.

First you’ll find out how to spot situations where a combination of your current equity and ‘backdoor outs’ make it profitable to call when you are not favorite to win the hand. Next some notes on reading your opponent’s hands. After this I have covered how to distinguish hands which do better heads up from hands which perform well multi-way. Finally some notes on good bankroll management, which is a key skill in the high-variance game of pot-limit Omaha.

Equity, Backdoor Outs and Kill Cards

In Pot-Limit Omaha there are many situations where the pot has gotten so large that you have an easy call with a hand which is likely behind. This is not just for the mega-draws like wrap + flush draw hands, it can be for a simple flush with the pot offering you compelling odds.

What many new players miss is that there is often extra equity from backdoor draws. For example with a flush draw + top-pair hand, you will have chances of trips or even a runner-runner full-house, you may also have straight possibilities. These extras can often add the few percentage points to your equity, which make a fold into a call.

Conversely, there are often cards in the deck which are not clean outs. For example in a classic flush draw against set all-in on the flop, the set has outs to make a full house (7 on the turn and 10 on the river) which effectively kill your flush. Being outdrawn by a flush when you hold the nut straight has the additional risk of higher straight cards appearing as well as the board pairing.

You’ll need to spend some time with an Omaha poker calculator to get used to these kind of match-ups.

Hand Reading in PLO

In my article on Basic PLO Strategy Tips, I outlined how people who raise (or 3-bet) only with hands containing aces will find themselves in trouble in PLO games. There are several more ways you can learn to read the hands of your opponents in Omaha.

Key here is to start with the shape and strength of your opponents hands. You can often find bet sizing tells will give you a clue starting before the flop. For example, some players will only ever re-raise premium hands and will be more likely to raise pair or high card hands and instead call with their rundown hands.

After the flop some players will bet out every time they have a draw, while others will check and call with non-nut (though still strong) draws. With careful observation you can easily pick up patterns. If you are not used to this I recommend you start by focusing on how different opponent play their Aces hands – followed by double suited run-downs. Once you figure whether someone is drawing or ‘protecting’ a made hand from the bet sizing, your decision making process becomes significantly easier.

Multi-Way and Heads-Up Hands

Some Omaha hands perform better in multi-way pots, while others are at their strongest when heads-up. Examples of multi-way hands include the higher rundown hands, preferably double suited. If you hold a high pair with little in the way of coordinated backup then you will ideally find yourself heads-up and with the initiative in the betting. If you miss the flop and face resistance, then high pair hands should usually be ditched.

Simply deciding whether your hand would prefer to be heads-up or multi-way can help you choose a good pre-flop betting strategy. Make sure that you mix things up sometimes though – or observant opponents will know what type of hand you are holding from your betting style.

PLO Bankroll Management

PLO is a high-variance game. You can play great and find yourself missing big draws, having your big sets cracked and find your bankroll going down fast. Of course, this will be balanced by times when you run great too!

In Texas Holdem, the agreed safe bankroll level is 20x your buy-in, so you only have 5% of your bankroll in any one game. In PLO I recommend that you play a little more conservatively with your bankroll, instead opting for 3% on any single table or 30 buy-ins minimum. This will mean you can ride the variance which is natural in this game without having to worry about your entire bankroll disappearing.

Table Of Contents

For many poker players who start out learning how to play Texas hold'em, Omaha poker is often the next game to discover.

If you are thinking to explore this poker variant and you would like to learn how to play Omaha poker, this beginner's guide to the game gives you everything you need.

Continue reading to find:

1. What is Omaha Poker?

The more you play poker, the more you keep hearing how Omaha poker is the game to play to get the best action and challenge the best players.

In the past 10 years or so, Omaha poker became one of the most popular poker variants. Some go as far as to say that Omaha poker (PLO, specifically) it's on a trajectory to surpass Texas hold'em and become the most played game in the world.

Part of the game's success has to do with its rules. Like most poker games, the basics of Omaha poker are the same as those in Texas hold'em - meaning that if you know how to play one, you are in a good spot to play the other.

When it comes to Omaha poker, there are different sub-variants out there, each with its specificities and dedicated players base.

The two most popular types of Omaha poker (i.e. those you'll find at every major poker site) are:

• pot-limit Omaha (PLO)
• Omaha hi-lo

This guide on how to play Omaha poker focuses on pot-limit Omaha (PLO) poker, one of the most played games of the year and probably the easiest version of the game to learn as a beginner.

If that's not what you are looking for or if you are already fluent in PLO poker, you can read about Omaha hi-lo poker rules here.

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2. How To Play Omaha Poker

To play a game of Omaha poker you'll need a 52-card deck of French cards. Also, unless you are in for an old-fashioned game with beans, buttons, and pennies, you'll need also some poker chips, a dealer button, and two blinds buttons.

A game of Omaha poker needs two to ten players to begin.

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Like in other poker games, the action of a hand of Omaha poker includes several betting rounds and a combination of private ('hole') and community cards ('the board).

The first thing you want to remember when it comes to learning how to play Omaha poker is the name of the different phases that compose a hand.

• The pre-flop: The initial betting round. Some players (the 'Blinds') are obliged to place a bet while the others can decide wether to call, fold, or raise.
• The flop: The second betting round. The players still in the hand decide how to act once the dealer places the first three community cards on the board, face up.
• The turn: The third betting round. The players still in the hand decide how to act once the dealer places the one more community card on the board, face up.
• The river:The last betting round. The players still in the hand decide how to act once the dealer places the last the five community cards on the board, face up.
• The showdown: The players still in the hand reveal their cards.

Preflop Action

The Big Blind (BB) and the Small Blind (SB) place their bets on the table so the action can start.

The dealer distributes four cards to each player, all face down. As we will see later, this is one of the key differences between Omaha and Texas Hold'em poker.

As soon as all the cards reached the respective players, the first betting round begins. The first player to act is the one at the left of the Big Blind (table position: 'Under the Gun' or UTG).

The action continues clockwise until it reaches the Big Blind.

All players have the following options:

• Call: They place a bet equal to the size of the Big Blind (or to the highest bet that was placed before them, in case someone in the hand decided to raise).
• Raise: They increase the bet making it more expensive for other players to stay in the hand.
• Fold: They give back the card and leave the hand.

The Flop

The dealer places three cards on the board, all face up. These are the first of a series of five that the players need to use to build their final poker hand.

As soon as the three cards are on the table, a new betting round begins.

The Flop betting round is identical to the previous one.

The Turn

The dealer places one more card on the board, again face up. All the players still in the hand enter a new betting round that develops exactly as the previous one.

The River

The dealer places the last community card on the table, face up, and a new betting round follows.

If there are still two or more players in the hand, the action continues to the final chapter (the 'Showdown). It most player fold, the hand goes to the last-one standing.

The Showdown

The players in the hand turn at least two of their private cards and use them in combination with any of the five on the board to build a five-card poker hand.

The player with the highest poker hand is the one who wins the hand and takes down the pot.

And here's where most beginners get in trouble.

Players that are just starting to learn how to play this game and are not too familiar with the Omaha poker rules tend to make a lot of mistakes when it comes to building five-card hands.

The most common PLO poker mistake people make when they learn how to play Omaha poker is to forget they need to use at least two of the four hole cards to build their final hand.

Let's look at one example.

A player holding A♥Q♣7♦6♦ looks at a board of 9♥4♥2♣J♥Q♥ thinking he has made the nuts with an ace-high flush.

That's a mistake.

The Omaha poker rules do not allow you to make a hand using only one hole card (A♥) in combination with four community cards (the four hearts on the board).

In fact, this player only has a pair of queens, not a flush.

How to Bet in Omaha Poker

Another factor to consider when it comes to Omaha rules is how betting works. And that's because there are some key differences between Omaha poker and Hold'em — and not being aware of them could cost you a lot of precious chips.

Like in hold'em, the minimum bet allowed in Omaha is always the equivalent of the big blind.

In a $1/$2 PLO poker game, the minimum a player can bet is $2.

However, while in no-limit hold'em player can always bet all their chips at any point, the maximum bet allowed in PLO is the size of the pot.

Calculating what exactly is a 'pot-sized' bet can be trickier and it often needs the help of the dealer.

If the pot is $10 and a player is the first to act, the calculation is easy: the maximum possible bet is $10.

However, poker is never that easy. You need to be prepared for different types of situations and calculations if you don't want the other players to take advantage of your lack of experience.

Let's use an example to understand how betting works in PLO poker.

In this fictional PLO poker hand, there are $10 in the pot when a player bets $5. The next player, however, decide to up their game and announce the intention to 'raise pot'.

How much is that?

Based on the previous bets, the most that player can bet is $25.

This number is calculated by adding the $5 to call plus the $20 that would be in the pot after the call ($5 + $20 = $25).

When you play Omaha at a casino, the dealer will take care of the math for you should you announce you wish to bet the pot.

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Things get even easier when you play online because the calculations appear right on the screen, automatically.

3. The Hands in Omaha Poker

Pot-limit Omaha (or 'Omaha high') is known as an 'action game' which is one reason why it is popular among high-stakes players.

Since players start with four hole cards in Omaha instead of two, they can make a much wider range of hands.

For that reason, hand values tend to be higher in Omaha than in hold'em, with players making 'the nuts' or the highest possible hand much more frequently.

If you think about it, in PLO players aren't dealt just a single two-card combination (as in hold'em), but six different two-card combinations (among the four hole cards) from which to choose the best hand.

Pot Limit Omaha Poker

It isn't surprising, then, that players tend to make much better hands at showdown in Omaha poker.

In Texas hold'em making two pair or three-of-a-kind can be a very strong hand, but in Omaha there will often be better hands out there to beat those holdings.

Let's look at two more examples.

Example 1.

Yu have been dealt 10♠9♠8♥7♥ and by the river the board is 7♠9♥K♥J♣2♦.

Using the ten and eight in your hand along with three community cards, you have a jack-high straight.

The problem is that any opponent holding Qx10xXxXx would complete a higher, king-high straight and defeat you.

If the betting gets heavy on the river, that's probably exactly what is happening.

Example 2.

You hold J♠J♣9♠9♥ on a board of 9♦K♠Q♥5♦3♦.

You have a set of nines, which would be a nice holding in Texas hold'em. But Omaha poker is a different game and there are several hands that could beat yours.

Anyone with KxKxXxXx or QxQxXxXx would have a higher set, and an opponent with Jx10xXxXx would have a straight.

There is also a flush possibility, meaning anyone with X♦X♦XxXx (two diamonds) would make a flush.

Due to the nature of so many better hands, an opponent may just be calling your bets with a set of kings or queens as they may fear a straight or flush, so even if you are not facing any immediate aggression, you could still be beaten so proceed with caution.

4. Differences Between Omaha and Texas Hold'em?

Like hold'em, Omaha is a 'flop' game that uses community cards.

Just like in hold'em, players are dealt their own hands face down — their 'hole cards' — and use those cards in combination with the five community cards (the flop, turn, and river) to make five-card poker hands.

However, there is one big difference between Omaha and hold'em.

Whereas in hold'em all the players receive two hole cards each, in Omaha they get four hole cards.

Of those four hole cards, players must choose two to be used in combination with three of the five community cards to build their five-card poker hands.

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Yes. In a game of Omaha poker, each player must use two of their hole cards and three of the community cards to build a poker hand.

That's different from hold'em where players can use:

• both of their hole cards (and three community cards),
• just one hole card (and four community cards),
• or no hole cards (and all five community cards, which is called 'playing the board').

In pot-limit Omaha, the poker hand rankings are just the same as in Texas hold'em.

Like hold'em, pot-limit Omaha or 'PLO' poker is played as a 'high-hand' game, which means the hands go (from best to worst):

• royal flush
• straight flush
• four-of-a-kind
• full house
• flush
• straight
• three-of-a-kind
• two pair
• one pair
• high-card.

Other Omaha Poker Tips

The Importance of 'Position'

Just like in hold'em, poker positioning is an important element in Omaha.

Many consider this aspect of the game to be even more important in Omaha poker. That's due to the the pot-limit betting format and all the combinations a player can make with an Omaha hand.

When you have 'position' on your opponents, you can follow their actions and base your decisions on the information you received.

When you are out of position, it becomes much harder to make the correct decisions. The lack of information can lead to wrongful assumptions and push you to take risks that are not justified by the value of the cards you hold.

Another benefit of being in position is that you have a better chance of controlling the size of the pot, which is often based on the strength of your hand and your overall goal in the pot.

Being out of position to one or more opponents gives them the ability to control the pot size and also capitalize on the added information of knowing your actions first.

Bluffing in Omaha Poker

Because Omaha is so focused on the nuts, it might seem like bluffing plays an important role in the game.

A player can represent a wider range of hands in Omaha, and also open up with a bit more with so many more semi-bluffs available.

In fact, experienced Omaha players will often bet big draws heavily on the flop, since in some cases those draws are actually mathematical favorites versus made hands.

All of which is to say players do bluff in pot-limit Omaha, but with so many possible hands out there you have to be judicious when deciding when it is best to bluff.

The more you learn about the game, the easier it will become to pick up on these spots and determine how to proceed against various opponents.

Be Wary of the Blockers

Relatedly, blockers also become much more prevalent in Omaha than in Texas hold'em.

Blockers are those cards you hold in your hand that prevent an opponent from making a specific hand.

For example, if a board reads K♠10♠5♥2♠4♦ and you hold the A♠ in your hand but no other spades, you may not have a flush, but you know your opponent cannot make the nut flush.

This gives you added power in the hand being able to push your opponent off certain hands as your opponent is guaranteed to not contain the nuts.

5. Where to Play Omaha Poker Games Online

Like you would expect for a popular game like Omaha poker, you'll find PLO games at all the major poker sites online.

All the 'must-have' poker rooms listed below offer a very good selection of PLO games, with plenty of beginner-friendly free games.

Pick one of them, register a free account, and use the PokerNews-exclusive welcome bonus to pay for your first real money games of Omaha poker online.

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