Best 5 Card Plo Starting Hand
Like in Texas Hold'em Poker, and many new PLO players already know NLHE so this is going to bean obvious concept to you if you already play some online poker, mastering starting hands is the first step for mastering the game.
5: Dux or Phalanx: 6: 1: 6: Deck Size. Miscellaneous Cards. 5 +-You have a 100% chance to open this hand. Created by Rustywolf.
In fact in Pot Limit Omaha, it is even more important to play the correct starting hands than it isin Texas Hold'em, for a number of reasons:
- Omaha Hi Lo Starting Hands Best Starting Hands in Omaha Hi Lo. Omaha and Omaha Hi Lo is a much more complicated game then Hold’em simply because you have a wider range of starting hands seen.
- Starting a new thread for anyone who wants to participate in a little project for figuring out good hand ranges to be all in with preflop in Big O (PLO hi/lo 5 card). I'd really like to hear from anyone who has some interesting thoughts to contribute here, or even any questions.
- More flops seen: as PLO is looser than NLHE, it is easy to get sloppy and to playthe wrong hands as many players do,
- PLO is not yet well documented: unlike Texas Holdem poker where the concept ofstarting hands is explained in great details in many books starting with the ones by David Sklansky,Omaha starting hand requirements are not well understood,
- Understanding PLO: the subtleties of Pot-Limit Omaha are best understood with starting hands; this is a game of draws and this begins pre flop.
There are four kinds of starting hands in PLO, drawing hands, pairs and mixed hands. The last kindis weak hands and garbage hands, to be avoided.
Drawing starting hands in pot limit omaha
You will make more money in PLO by starting with well-coordinated hands. For instance JT98 double suitedis considered one of the best if not the best starting hand. Here double suited means that you have two cardsin one suit, and the two other cards in another suit.
The double-suited feature is highly important in PLO and adds strength to any hand. One specific difference between PLO and Texas Holdem is that you must use two of your four hole cards, plus three cards from the board.Hence you must have at least two cards of a suit in order to make a flush. If 4 diamonds are on the board and youhave only one diamond, then you do not have a flush.
Conversely if you had 3 diamonds within your hole cards, one of them would be wasted as far as drawing to the flush isconcerned. Any such hand with dead wood is bad. So the double suited hand is the best possibledistribution of the suits that you can have in PLO, as it gives you two flush draws. Such hands are always premium hands compared to the same cards but not double suited.
The second category of powerful drawing hands that you can get are hands with straight potential, such asT987. These hole cards are very powerful and show how the ability to pick 2 cards among 4 gives so much more strength to your hole cards than the basic Texas Holdem situation.
With T987 you can get a straight draw by the flop if QJ, KJ, JT, J9, T8 and so many other combinations show up.Here lies the beauty of these straight type hole cards where plenty of flops can give them a straight draw. The next best choicein this theme are hands with one gaper like JT87, which have plenty of potential, just a bit less.
Combining the straight and flush potential produces the hold cards with the most drawing power such as QJT9 doublesuited, one of the best hand you can possibly have. By the way on a side note, pokerstars is where you will find the most action in PLO, use a pokerstars marketing code when you sign up at stars.
Pairs and mixed hands
The other kind of strong starting hands is double pairs, such as AAKK, the strongest of them all. Owing a pair amidyour hole cards is having an already made hand, plus drawing to stronger hands such as sets of boats. It is usually believed that the two strongest hands in PLO are AAKK and QJT9 double suited, illustrating that made hands battle on an equal footing with drawing hands.
Obviously the higher the rank of the cards, the stronger the hands, and small pairs are particularly vulnerablein PLO. 6655 is a nice hand, but it must be played with caution.
Note that single pairs with no coordination such as QQ94 rainbow are weak hands, as this is like having a pair ofqueens with some dead wood. Similarly a hand like QQQ3 is very weak, because one queen is useless given that youmust use two hole cards and it also reduces your outs to just one, for the fourth queen.
Mixed hands are strong starting hands that mix the advantage of the pairs with that of the drawing hands in a well-coordinated manner, such as KKQJ double suited, a very strong hand with plenty of potential.
The Omaha starting hands discussed so far are all strong hands and they should be raised most of the time preflop. Medium strength hands are the one just below, with some of the features of strong hands but with a ligher dose.For instance QQ77 is rather strong, but far weaker than KKQQ. Or T976 single suited is rather good, but notas good as the top drawing hands.
Remember the concepts in this article: drawing hands, pairs, mixed hands, coordination and dead wood.Fold any hand that does not look good from this standpoint, and you will be set for success. Remember pot-limit omaha games at low and mid stakes are loose. Play a little bit tighter and you will put all chances to increase your bankroll on your side.
For starting hands requirements in Omaha Hi/Lo, check the article aboutstarting hands in Omaha High Low.
If you are looking for the best online rooms for PLO, only a few really have action in these games, as mostrooms cater to Texas Holdem. So for the best pot limit omaha games on the Internet, therecommended rooms are Full Tiltand PokerStars.
Most Commonly Asked Poker Questions
Not sure what beats a full house or what a straight can beat? Here are the answers to the most commonly-asked poker questions this side of the Strip.
Does a flush beat a full house?
No. A full house beats a flush in the standard poker hand rankings. The odds against making a full house in a game of Texas Hold’em are about 36-to-1, while the odds against making a flush are 32-to-1. The full house is a more rare hand and beats a flush.
Does a flush beat a straight?
Yes. Using the standard poker hand rankings, a flush beats a straight, regardless of the strength of the straight. The odds against making a straight in Texas Hold’em are about 21-to-1, making it a more common hand than a flush (32-to-1 odds against).
Does a straight beat a full house?
No. The odds against making a full house in Texas Hold’em are about 36-to-1, while the odds against making a straight are about 21-to-1. Both are strong five-card hands, but a full house occurs less often than a straight. A full house beats a straight in the poker hand rankings.
Does three of a kind beat two pair?
Yes. Both three of a kind and two pair can make a lot of money in poker, but three of a kind is the best hand when it goes head to head with two pair. The odds against making three of a kind in Texas Hold’em is about 20-to-1, while the odds against making two pair is about 3-to-1.
Does three of a kind beat a straight?
No. The odds of making both of these hands are very close in a game of Texas Hold’em. The odds against making a straight are 20.6-to-1, while the odds against making three of a kind are 19.7-to-1. The straight comes about slightly less often, making it the winner against three of a kind in the poker hand rankings.
Does a flush beat three of a kind?
Yes. The battle of strong hands between a flush and three of a kind sees the flush as the stronger hand. The odds against making a flush in Texas Hold’em are about 32-to-1, with odds against making three of a kind at around 20-to-1.
Does a straight beat two pair?
Yes. The poker hand rankings dictate that a straight is a stronger hand than two pair. The straight occurs with about 21-to-1 odds against in Texas Hold’em, while the odds against making two pair stand at about 3-to-1.
Does four of a kind beat a full house?
Yes. Both four of a kind and a full house are among the strongest poker hands, but four of a kind is a much rarer holding. Texas Hold’em odds against making four of a kind are 594-to-1, while you have about 36-to-1 odds against making a full house.
Does three of a kind beat a flush?
No. When the flush and three of a kind go head to head, the flush comes out as the best according to the poker hand rankings. The odds against making three of a kind sit around 20-to-1, with the odds against hitting a flush at 32-to-1.
Does a full house beat a straight in poker?
Yes. The full house comes in less often than a straight. In Texas Hold’em, the odds against drawing a full house are around 36-to-1, while the odds against making a straight are around 21-to-1.
Best 5 Card Plo Starting Handicap
Does a straight flush beat four of a kind?
Best 5 Card Plo Starting Hands
Yes. Four of a kind is an exceedingly rare hand in poker, but the straight flush is an even more elusive five-card hand. The odds against making a straight flush in Texas Hold’em is about 3,590-to-1, much rarer than four of a kind (594-to-1 odds against)