• What Is The Best Plo Starting Hand

The worst hand to make in any form of poker is the 2nd best hand, especially in a game such as PLO8 where finding out you are behind can be very expensive indeed. Hands with A-2 and 2 medium cards can be considered marginal, you are unlikely to make a high and are in danger of being quartered when you make the nut low. Pot-Limit Omaha Starting Hands Chart by OmahaPlanet.com. Starting hands in Pot-Limit Omaha are grouped by structure. With so many possible 4-card combinations it is actually the suits, closeness of the cards and pairs as well as the high card strength that makes the difference between a strong starting hand and a weak one.

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Learn How To Play 5-Card PLO In 5 Minutes

After Texas Holdem, Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) is perhaps the most played poker game in the world. Since its introduction in the online poker room, the standard 4-Card PLO has been such a huge success that people have come up with different iterations of online Omaha poker games. Enter 5-Card PLO

Like 4-Card PLO, 5-Card PLO is played with Pot-Limit rules: this means that the maximum bet amount permitted is the total size of the pot. The rules of Five-Card PLO is also the same as 4-Card Omaha games with the only exception of an extra hole card dealt to each player at the table. So, in 5-Card PLO, players receive 5 hole cards and must make the best hand possible using 2 hole cards and 3 community cards.

Pot-Limit Omaha has always been a game of nuts. Pocket Aces or Kings rarely win any hand, but, 5-Card PLO is even harder since even straights and flushes are fairly commonplace. The ranges played by a player should be tighter since all players have 5 cards and chasing straights and flushes should always to the nuts (even this doesn’t guarantee a winning hand).

Even though bluffing in PLO is comparatively lesser than Texas Holdem, there is even less bluffing taking place in 5-Card PLO. Also, bankroll management is of crucial importance in 5-Card PLO since the variance is greater than its standard counterpart and much, much higher than Texas Holdem poker.

PRO TIP: Always Draw To The Nuts!

How to Play 5-Card Pot-Limit Omaha

The rules are the same as 4-Card PLO – every player is dealt five cards face down with five community cards being placed on the table (whose value is shown as the round progresses). Each player has to make the best five-card combination from among the board and personal cards and bet on the same. But, unlike Texas Holdem Poker, in 5 Card PLO, players can’t use all five cards, and each player has to choose exactly two of the five-hole cards along with three of the community cards to make the best possible five-card hand.

• • The Opening Deal
    • The dealer deals five cards (hole cards) facedown to every player on the table, starting from his/her left.
  • 1st Round of Betting
    • The player to the left of the Big Blind starts the betting, putting money in the pot. All players are given the opportunity to call the bet, raise or fold. In PLO games, there is a set limit to the betting structure and the maximum players can bet is the total size of the pot.
  • The Flop
    • The dealer deals three community cards face-up on the table
  • 2nd Round of Betting
    • Every player has the option to check, raise or fold. If a raise is made, other players need to call the bet or fold (or raise). If a raise is made, the betting continues. Again, the maximum bet allowed is the total size of the pot.
  • Turn
    • The dealer deals one more community card (the fourth card) on the table.
  • 3rd Round of Betting
    • Once again, every player has the option to check, raise or fold. If a raise is made, other players need to call the bet or fold (or raise). If a raise is made, the betting continues.
  • River
    • The dealer deals the fifth & final community card on the table
  • Final Round of Betting
    • Once again, every player has the option to check, raise or fold. If a raise is made, other players need to call the bet or fold (or raise). If a raise is made, the betting continues.
  • Showdown
    • The players who haven’t folded open their hole cards in turn clockwise around the table. The player with the highest hand wins the pot.

Remember: Unlike NLHE games, you cannot bet any amount you want in PLO. In pot-limit games, the maximum amount that a player can bet in PLO games is the total size of the pot. The same rule applies for Five-Card Pot-Limit Omaha games. The maximum amount you can bet is easily calculated:

[amount required to call big blind/last bet] + [amount in pot after calling big blind/last bet]

5-Card Pot-Limit Omaha – Hand Rankings

The hand rankings in Pot-Limit Omaha poker games is the same as Texas Holdem poker – Pair beats High Card, Two Pairs beat a Pair, Three of a Kind beat Two Pairs, Straight beats Three of a Kind, Flush beats a Straight, Full House beats Flush, Four of a Kind beats Full House, Straight Flush beats Four of a Kind & Royal Flush beats them all!

So, the hand ranking in 5 Card PLO is the same as 4-Card PLO. Just in case, here’s a quick recap of the different hand rankings:

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In this lesson we’re going to take a look at three groups of Omaha/8 starting hands and assess what represent real powerhouse starting hands. We’ll also examine some good Omaha/8 starting hands along with hands that are playable but where some degree of caution should be exercised. Unfortunately, one cannot expect to be dealt a powerhouse hand on every deal.

Powerhouse Omaha/8 Starting Hands

This is my favourite starting hand in Omaha/8 since it gives top pair, two nut flush draws and a great draw to the nut low including counterfeit protection. Counterfeit protection means that if an ace, deuce or trey hits the board you still have the two best low cards to put with it. As an example, if the final board was K-2-5-Q-4, your deuce would have been counterfeited but you would still have the nut low (using one of your aces and the trey) as well as a straight. If three of the cards were either clubs or spades, you would have the nut flush for high with a wheel (five-high straight) for low. This would be a very good holding hoping to scoop the entire pot. If another player held the nut low as well but your high hand was the winner, you would win three quarters of the pot made up of the high half and half of the low half.

While this Omaha/8 hand offers no low possibility, since you must use two cards from your hand, it does offer two nut flushes, straight possibilities with two different high pairs which could make sets and then, if the board pairs, very good full houses. This is the type of hand where you hope that no one qualifies for low and you can scoop the pot with just a winning high hand. However, there’s a danger in flopping a set with your pair of aces, or with any pair that’s eight or lower. The danger is that you’ve already put one low card on the board, and you may be vying for only half the pot instead of all of it.

This is an excellent Omaha/8 starting hand because you have four low cards offering double counterfeit protection coupled with straight draws and the nut flush draw. Having the three and four suited does not add value as a four high flush with three of that suit on the board is really a liability and not an asset.

Good Omaha/8 Starting Hands

This hand provides no possibility of a low hand so you would definitely like to see all high cards on the flop including a ten. There are also two flush draws, one to the nut and the other to the second nut. This is the kind of hand that, if no or only one low card flops you need to raise and re-raise to make it very expensive for low hands to chase in order to qualify. The object here is to scoop a one way pot for high. In fact, if you’re in late position and a number of players have already entered the pot, you should raise. Most of your opponents will play low hands, and a large number of opponents points to a deck that is presumptively rich in high cards, which favor your hand. So go ahead and get more money in the pot. If the flop contains big cards, you are likely to scoop. If it contains all low cards, you can easily release your hand.

This Omaha/8 hand offers the opportunity of a nut flush, nut low and straight draws. With a pair you can also flop a set or even quads. Counterfeit protection is part of its upside as well. This is a good hand that is not quite a powerhouse.

While you usually want an ace in your hand this Omaha/8 hand represents very good counterfeit protection. Obviously, you would like to see an ace and two small cards hit the flop which would give you a nut low. The straight draws enhance the value of this starting hand. You’ll notice this isn’t double suited since getting a four or five high flush is really of no value. This hand’s value is in straights and lows with counterfeit protection.

Playable with Some Caution, Starting Hands

This is an example of a playable Omaha/8 hand where caution should be exercised. While there are two flush draws and a myriad of straight draws they are all somewhat problematic. In an action game like Omaha/8, where there is frequent raising, it can be very expensive to wind up with a second best hand for high or low. With a hand like this, if you make a low hand, it is unlikely to be the best low, and even a straight may not be the nut straight. Moreover, any flush you make may not be the best flush either.

This hand is a far cry from the two pair hand of A-A-K-K which was highlighted in the powerhouse section. While it looks good, including the straight possibilities and jack-high flush draw, caution is recommended anytime you’re not drawing to the nuts. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t play them, but it does mean you should be a bit cautious when you do.

Here is another hand that on the surface looks pretty good with draws to both a king- and queen-high flush, straight draws, and two good low cards. While the winning hand can certainly be made with this start, the hand can also lead to trouble with a capital “T”. This hand exemplifies just how important an ace in your starting hand really is. You cannot make a nut flush or a nut straight or a nut low unless an ace comes on the board.

I’ve offered up three examples in each of the three categories to highlight what I believe represent the powerhouses, just good, as cautiously playable starting hands. Obviously this is not meant to be a complete listing but to give you a sense of the upsides and downsides of Omaha/8 starting hands. As with all forms of poker, your starting hand values need to be viewed in concert with your position, the texture of the game, your opponents’ playing styles, as well as your own style and the degree of risk you enjoy.

By Tom 'TIME' Leonard

Tom has been writing about poker since 1994 and has played across the USA for over 40 years, playing every game in almost every card room in Atlantic City, California and Las Vegas.

What Is The Best Plo Starting Hand