By Pot Limit Omaha Strategies, on January 4th, 2011

Omaha is also played at set limit or pot limit (raises can be up to the current size of the pot). Though it is occasionally available, no-limit Omaha is rarely played. In this article, limit Omaha will be discussed unless it is stated otherwise. Some variations of Omaha poker include pot-limit Omaha, whereby a player can bet whatever is in the pot and no-limit Omaha where a player can go all-in if they desire. There’s also a fixed limit Omaha where a betting limit is applied in each round of betting, and Omaha hi-lo, where players can make both high and low hands with the pot split. In Omaha/8 you can use any two of your cards for the low and any two for the high-hand. The can be used for the nut high hand (flush) and can be used for the nut low (A-2-3-7-8). This is a prime candidate for scooping the pot. If you’re unsure how to work out low hands, which can be. Here are the ways in which PLO (or Pot Limit Omaha) differs from NLHE: In Pot Limit Omaha rules you are dealt 4 cards instead of 2. Here is an example hand: Like in Hold ’em the object is to make the best 5 card hand but unlike in NLHE you must use exactly 2 cards from your hand and 3 from the board (the community cards). This is different. 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.

Learn how to play Pot Limit Omaha with this quick and easy guide to learning the Omaha Rules

If you already know how to play No Limit Hold Em then picking up the Omaha Rules should be a cakewalk (if you haven’t then familiarise yourself with them now before you continue). Although the differences in strategy between the two games are immense the rules are actually very similar. Here are the ways in which PLO (or Pot Limit Omaha) differs from NLHE:

In Pot Limit Omaha rules you are dealt 4 cards instead of 2. Here is an example hand:

Limit

Like in Hold ’em the object is to make the best 5 card hand but unlike in NLHE you must use exactly 2 cards from your hand and 3 from the board (the community cards). This is different from No Limit Hold ‘Em where you can play any 5 cards out of the 5 on board and the 2 in your hand. To illustrate how this difference matters let’s take a look at a sample board that might fall in PLO or NLHE:

Take the example hand I gave you above: at first glance it might look like you have an ace high flush but you actually don’t as you can only play three of the diamonds from the board. This means that in Omaha Rules you cannot ever make a flush unless you have at least 2 of a suit in your hand. On this board your actual hand is two pair, tens and fours with a Q kicker. Because of this neccessity to play 2 cards from your hand and 3 from the board the value of having a coordinated 4card hand is vastly increased. Hands that are “double-suited” are considered higher in value because they have more chances of making a flush.

Here are a few more hands with possible boards for you to look at:

Your HandThe Board

Hand #1 You have trips with an Ace and a seven as kickers. In Hold ‘Em having an ace when quads fall on the board gives you the nuts. In this situation however you’re losing to anybody with a pair in their hand or a higher kicker to go with their ace. Omaha Rules dictate you can only play three cards from the board.

Hand #2 Again you have trips, this time with a Q kicker. In Hold ‘Em having a 9 on this board would give you a fullhouse, but as you can only use three cards from the board in Omaha Rules your final holding is instead Q♠9♠9♣9♦5♥and you would be losing to somebody holding, say 5♣3♦2♠4♥ as they would have a full house.

Hand #3 In the final hand I’m sure you’re beginning to see the pattern. Rather than the 7♥ in our hand making us a straight we actually just have a single pair of aces. If we changed the K♠ to either a 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or an 8 our hand strength would then improve to a straight which should give you some idea of how dangerous a board like this is with such a vulnerable hand as just one pair.

Betting

The only other thing you need to know regarding Omaha Rules before you start playing is that in PLO you can’t always just shove “all in”. The “Pot” in “Pot Limit Omaha” refers to the maximum bet or raise you can make when the action is on you. This means it’s rare to see all the money go in pre-flop, rather the game lends itself to more complex and skillful multi-street decisions. If you’ve ever played Pot Limit Hold ‘Em you’ll be familiar with the way betting pot is calculated, it’s really very simple but can sometimes throw people off when they’re raising somebody.

How Do You Play Pot Limit Omaha

Imagine there is $10 in the pot, your opponent bets $10 and you would like to raise the maximum you are allowed. Your pot raise is not $20 but rather whatever the pot would have been after your call. So here if you called the pot would be $30 so raising the pot is to call and then raise $30. So when the bet is to you, raising “for pot” would be a raise to $40 ($30 for your opponent to call).

Of course if you’re playing online it doesn’t matter much because you can just click the pot button, but it’s nice to know for those times you get your friends round for a home game and people aren’t so familiar with the Omaha Rules.

Where to play Pot Limit Omaha?

Now that you know the Omaha rules you’ll want to make sure you’re playing at the site which hosts the best games. Whereas almost all of the big name websites host hundreds of NLHE tables simultaneously, the differences between them when it comes to their Pot Limit Omaha action is substantial.

You’ll want to consider several factors when choosing which sites you’re going to do the majority of your playing at. These include the number of games running at any one time, the quality of the software and, perhaps most importantly of all, how fishy their players are.

With that in mind I took it upon myself to sign up at all the cardrooms that offer Pot Limit Omaha as a game, play a few thousand hands at each of them, find out which ones are best and then share that information with you. You can read my full conclusions at my “Where to play PLO” guide. Once you’ve signed up (and make sure you take maximum advantage of the sign up bonuses they offer) at your chosen site(s) it’ll then be time to start working on your strategy. Thankfully you’re already at the right website for that!

We have 5 Fingers, 5 Toes, 5 Senses, 5 Appendages & 5 Major Systems of the Body.
So, Here’s Introducing Five-Card Pot-Limit Omaha! Learn It In 5 Minutes! Go-

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.

How Do You Play Pot Limit Omaha Steaks

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!

You

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]

How To Play Omaha

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:

You are now ready to play 5-Card Pot-Limit Omaha Poker! Check out the online poker tables @ Pocket52
Get, Set, GO!

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