PLO

had some time on my hands so i thought i would write a little something on my favourite game, PLO.

Simple Introduction To The Game Of PLO
In PLO u are dealt 4 hole cards and like in holdem there are 5 community cards dealt out onto the board but in PLO u can only use 2 out of ur 4 hole cards and 3 out of the 5 community cards on the board and obviously the best 5 card hand wins.

Some differences between HE and PLO
Now there are big differences between Holdem and Pot Limit Omaha.

1) The strength of big pocket pairs. AA in holdem is the strongest starting hand in the game and even if ur unimproved after the 5 community cards, there is still a a good/great chance that u have the best hand. in PLO AAxx is a good starting hand but if unimproved after the flop/turn/river, it is very unlikely that ur still holding the best hand.

2)combinations. In PLO combination hands can be golden. a lot of players in holdem would overlook the capabilities of big combination hands like 10-9s but for example: 4-5-6-7 double suited has 49.3% to win against A-A-9-2 {4 suited} if the money is put in preflop. Also in PLO out of ur 4 hole cards, u have 6 possible 2 card hands.The more of these 2-card combinations that you have working for you – particularly with the potential to hit the nuts – the better your hand

3)another difference in PLO and holdem is the fact that ur never going to be an overwhelming favourite preflop in plo, while in holdem u can be a huge favourite..A made hand in holdem on the flop is usually a huge favourite against most draws but in PLO it is possible and occurs quite often that the draw is the favourite against a made hand, even if ur up against a set. for example : ur opponent has AAxx 4 suits, u have 9-10-J-Q double suited, the flop comes:A-7-8 with 2 hearts. what do u think the percentages are? in this situation, ur hand{monster draw} is a 55% favourite compared to the villains set which is only a 45% favourite.

PREFLOP PLO PLAY

1)starting hand selection
The key to good Omaha High starting hand selection is to play cards that work together for the maximum chance of hitting the flop. Suited cards and connected cards are both desirable, combinations of high pairs with other cards working with them are also strong.While Aces are the strongest hand before the flop in Omaha these are rarely more than a 3-2 favorite over small connected cards. Hands such as 7-8-9-10 (particularly when double suited) are known as ‘rundown hands’. The strength of these hands lies in their drawing capabilities.One of the peculiarities of Pot-Limit Omaha is that, no matter what you hold, preflop, your opponent's hand will almost always have a decent chance of beating your hand.

2)betting consideration
The nature of pot-limit betting is that the bets are very small before the flop compared to the size of the pot by the end of the hand. This means that the implied odds in PLO are huge.Now again, ur never really going to be a big favourite in any hand preflop thus u dont want to be committing too much chips into the pot preflop.

3)Balancing ur raises
now u dont want to be at a table where everyone else knows what u are doing. u dont want to be too limpy as you will always giving ur opponents the oppertunity to see cheap flops. this is the reason that a balanced raising strategy is need.A way to balance ur raises is to raise when u feel u have the best hand. simple, yes.Basically, u cant just be raising when u got big pairs in the whole, u need to also raise with big combo draws (eg-J-J-10-9 {double suited}), this helps to ensure that ur opponents will be guessing as to what hand combination u actually have.

4)position. most of ur profits in PLO come from when u are in late position/last to act post flop. because of this u should try and avoid making raises preflop from early positions and from the blinds. acting first is a huge disadvantage as again, there are no real favourites preflop.When first to act, especially against several opponents, you could spend many chips to get the information that your hand is beaten. Last to act you may see a pot sized bet and a re-raise ahead of you, your decision is now easy – either you commit to the hand or exit cheaply.

5)last thing to touch on about preflop play is the image of the players on the table, applies to PLO and NLHE, if u are raised by some who is nitty and extremely tight, hesitate before going into the pot with some sub-par holding, fold hands that u may have otherwise called with, the opposite can be done for loose/ maniac players. u must also be aware of raises and reraises infront of you, u dont want to get too attached to a hand preflop and u dont want to put too much money in preflop.

POST FLOP PLO PLAY {flop/turn/river}
for this we will look at 3 things
1) the texture of the flop
2)ur opponents
3)assesment of outs

1)texture of the flop
lets compare 2 flops, ur hand is AAxx 4 suited
flop a- 9-10-J 2 suits-----in the unlikely event that none of your opponents already have a straight then there are likely to be many combination draws against you. In fact with 2 or more opponents you might as well fold those bare aces right now. Here almost every card in the deck has the opportunity to make a nut hand against you
flop b-3-8-K rainbow---- rag flop,no flush or straight possibilities for the turn, the most likely circumstances that ur up against is a set or 2 pair. it is even unlikely that someone has a set of 3's or 8's if it was raised preflop. it is MUCH safer for u,holding AAxx, to bet out at this flop.
Of course, most flops will be in between these extremes. The general point is that some flops will help the likely holdings of opponents more than others. The betting before the flop can often give you information about the kind of hands you are up against.
fopr example, if there is a lot of action preflop, this indicates that ur opponents are most likely holding big pairs or big ppicture card combinations, so if there is a low flop on the board it is very unlikely that they hit anything. Also in multiway pot after the flop, almost every flop that has straight and flush possiblities is a dangerous flop. Another thing to focus on is when there are pairs on the board, when there is a pair on the board, there is a high chance that someone has a full house and trips. u dont want to be chasing flushes and straights when there is a pair on board, the reason for this is that ur mostly only going to be called if ur beat and get no action if ur ahead of ur opponent.

2) ur opponent/villain
There are multiple factors to consider when looking at the role that your opponents play in PLO post flop play.

a)how much players have seen the flop, OK 1 PLO starting hand has 6 possible holdem hands(2 card hands), now say that 4 ppl have seen the flop, that means that ur potentially facing 24!! 2 card combination, this is 1 of the reasons why u should always only draw to the nutz in PLO.

b)tendencies, obviously when u sit at a table there are going to be some maniacs and some nits. Watching your opponents is key in PLO and will help you make good decisions. For example if you face a raise from a tight player you may fold a hand that would have made a good re-raising candidate against a wild and loose opponent.Your chances of being paid-off should you make a nut hand also need to be factored in. If you see a player calling a very large bet with a questionable holding then make a note – this could be a source of profit at some point in the future. u must also look at the player who took the lead preflop, this person is the most likely candidate to raise post flop.

c)position.Where you sit in the betting order after the flop will have a big impact on how you play a hand. The dealer button is the best position as you will see the actions of all your opponents before you need to make a decision

3) assesment of outs
this is extremely crucial in PLO.In Omaha it is common for a strong draw with many outs to straights and flushes to be a favorite over an already made hand. It is therefore important to quickly assess the ‘outs’ you have using the 2 from your hand / 3 from the board combinations. A good practice is to divide the cards that might come on the turn or river into categories

a) nut outs, these are the cards/outs that will make u a nut hand (ie nut straight, nut flush, etc)

b)outs, these are the cards/outs that will not give u the nutz but they will make u a very strong hand

c)helping cards,cards which might come on the turn which give you a number of further outs on the river
When facing big bets after the flop it is important that you assess your likelihood of winning the hand if you do make the draw you are chasing. Drawing to a non-nut hand is one of the most expensive errors in PLO, and should only be considered against a single opponent who is known to be aggressive. Betting your draw may in fact be a better option – this gives you extra chances to win the pot if your opponent should fold.

what do u think? If u would like to add anything to this go ahead
feel free to dicuss and disagree with what i just wrote

cliff notes?

thanks, I need this next time I venture into FT

very nice pantin, it may already be there but i didnt see it, about playing hands with 'danglers' in, such as t,t,j,2. The first 3 cards have the making of a vey playable omaha hand, but that 2 means that you have to muck it, since you are limiting yourself to playing for a set or outside shot at straight. If you hand is t,t,j,q however it is very playable. People need to learn to fold those hands with 'dangler' cards