Best Starting Hands Plo
The very best PLO8 and O8 starting hands are known as ‘suited babies’, that is to say small suited cards with an ace suited with at least one other card. These hands have the very best chance of scooping both sides of the pot.
- Double-suited AAKK is the absolute best starting hand. AAJT is right behind it and has a higher straight potential than AAQQ, the third highest-rated starting hand. The majority of the 30 highest-ranked PLO hands feature at least a single strong pair. They include either AA, KK, QQ, or JJ.
- Any hands featuring any pair of Aces with two broadway cards (Ten to King), are the best hands in PLO. You should raise and reraise with these hands and, if it is possible, go all-in before the flop. These types of hands don’t need too much help to win and have good chances against a.
Plo Hand Ranges
If you're a regular pot-limit Omaha player — especially if you play poker online — you're probably familiar with the five-card variant of the game in which players are dealt five cards instead of four.
That game otherwise plays just like regular PLO, with players using two of their hole cards along with three community cards to construct five-card poker hands.
Five-card pot-limit Omaha was one of the other versions of the game PLO expert and 888pokerAmbassdor Vivian Saliba discussed in her article 'Action Seekers: Try These Pot-Limit Omaha Variants'. One point she made there was to note how that fifth card significantly affected equities when comparing preflop starting hands, making them even closer, generally speaking, than is the case in regular four-card PLO.
Recently Saliba had a chance to experience another version of PLO popular in English casinos, six-card pot-limit Omaha. While at the 2018 888poker LIVE Festival London, the Brazilian poker pro played six-card PLO in a dealer's choice cash game. She spoke a bit about it with PokerNews'Sarah Herring.
'The equities preflop are so close, that you don't have much of an edge,' Saliba explains, noting that when that is the case your starting hand selection and how you proceed has a lot to do with the playing styles of your opponents.
When hold'em players try pot-limit Omaha for the first time, they often play too many hands, failing to realize the need for the four cards to work together in order to create a strong starting hand.
Tommy Angelo addressed the topic of starting hand selection in pot-limit Omaha in his multi-part article 'Waiting for Straighters' that focuses on preflop strategy in both no-limit hold'em and pot-Limit Omaha. See especially both 'Pot-Limit Omaha' (Episode 3) and 'Strategy Merits in PLO' (Episode 4).
When PLO players try five-card PLO for the first time, the same principle often holds as players play more hands than they should. Add one more card to that starting hand and you can imagine how that can have the tendency to make the game even looser, especially among those unfamiliar with the variant.
As Saliba explains, in her game it was indeed the case that 'players were playing actually loose preflop,' which made it prudent to 'play very tight, play with high cards [and] the nut draws.' Take a look:
Primarily an online player, 888poker Ambassador Vivian 'Vivi' Saliba has recently collected numerous live cashes including making the money in both the 2017 WSOP Main Event and 2017 WSOP Europe Main Event. Pot-limit Omaha is her favorite variant, and among her many PLO scores is an 11th place in the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed Championship at the 2017 WSOP.
Tags
cash game strategypot-limit Omaha5-card PLO6-card PLOstarting hand selectionVivian Saliba888pokerRelated Room
888pokerRelated Tournaments
888PokerRelated Players
Vivian Saliba
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 by players due to the additional cards and combinations players can make. If you’ve never played Omaha and not quite sure what we’re referring to you can read our “How to Play Omaha Guide” which will help you with the basics of the game including format.
Since Omaha and Omaha Hi Lo use four hole cards, it’s absolutely critical that you understand the starting hand requirements in both versions. Making poor decisions on which hands to play and which hands to fold will ultimately cost you your bankroll. Although you’ll find plenty of beginners do end up falling for some of the more common omaha myths when choosing their starting hands.
Below you will find general outline to the starting hand requirements in Omaha Hi Lo. Omaha Hi Lo allows you to play for both the hi and low pot and because of this the starting hand requirements in Omaha 8 vary significantly from Omaha Hi since the goal is to be able to play for and win both pots. The starting hands below are dependent on situation, although you may not be able to bluff your way through this game, you can pick up a few additional big blinds through position and restricting your starting hands. Remember two things – the game is made up by strong hands and you need to play for both pots if you plan on coming out ahead.
Premium Starting Hands in Omaha High-Lo
The best starting hands in Omaha Hi Lo include:
1. A-A-2-x
2. A-A-3-x
3. A-2-3-x
4. A-2-4-x
5. A-2-x-x
6. A-3-4-x
7. A-A-x-x
While the chart above gives you a general outline of the best starting hands in Omaha Hi Lo, you do need to realize that it is still quite broad as the ‘x’ represents nearly any other card. A suited hand is significantly stronger than a non-suited hand even if they both fall in the same category. Suppose you have the option to play A-A-Q-K rainbow or A-A-2-K suited. The obvious choice of hand would be the later since your able to play for high and low, while giving you a chance at a flush, full house, or straight for hi hands. A tip to keep in mind when determining your hand strength in Omaha Hi Lo using the chart above is that the majority of cards 5 – 9 are essentially worthless. They can be used to pick up a few blinds when in position or playing against a loose table.
Ten of the Best Starting Hands in Omaha High-Low
These hands are considered the top hands in Omaha Hi Lo:
1. A-A-2-3 Double-suited
2. A-A-2-4 Double-suited
3. A-A-2-3 Suited
4. A-A-2-5 Double-suited
5. A-A-2-4 Suited
6. A-A-3-4 Double-suited
7. A-A-2-3 Non-suited
8. A-A-2-2 Double-suited
9. A-A-3-5 Double-suited
10. A-A-2-6 Double-suited
Playable Starting Hands in Omaha High-Low
Best Starting Hands For Plo
Below is a summary of hands that are playable starting hands in Omaha Hi Lo
Best Starting Hands Plo
A-A-2-x
A-A-3-x
A-A-4-5
A-2-3-x
A-2-K-K
A-2-Q-Q
A-2-J-J
A-3-4-5
A-A-x-x
A-2-K-Q
A-2-K-J
A-2-x-x (suited Ace)
A-3-K-K
A-3-4-x
2-3-4-5 (This hand is dependent on the Ace hitting the flop. If the flop doesn’t show an Ace you should fold)
J-Q-K-A
T-J-Q-K
K-K-Q-J
Q-J-T-9
2-3-4-x (Another hand that depends on the Ace. If no Ace hits the flop, fold the hand on first bet).