Poker Decadence Conference

Playing Pot Limit Omaha (PLO) can take some adjustment for the Texas Holdem Player. What constitutes a good starting hand in Holdem is not necessarily what you look for in PLO. Most new players of PLO are surprised to learn that being dealt AAAA is not the best hand going. What you must remember is you can only use TWO of your hole cards.

You want starting hands that hold straight, flush and set potential, two pair is just not going to cut it in PLO.

The top 10 starting hands are below.

1 AKsAKs
2 AJsATs
3 AQsAQs
4 AJsAJs
5 ATsATs
6 A9sA9s
7 AxsAxs
8 JTs98s
9 KQsKQs
10 KJsKJS

Although even in the very best heads up hand in the game, AKsAKs, is only 65% favourite against a random 4 card hand. There are some quidelines to playing a starting hand. All four cards need to work together in some way. AKsAKs can lead to a straight, two nut flushes and two different sets.

It is better to learn to look for features in your hand that could lead to the nuts than learning by rote all the PLO starting hands. Look for cards that run together, high pairs and flush cards. I would favour a card with straight or flush potential over any set. Unless you are very lucky trips are vulnerable to straights and flushes.

The truth is PLO is a post flop game. The most important decision you make is whether to play on the flop. Looking for info on Omaha players? The biggest name is Sam Farha!