Pot Limit Omaha (PLO) is an action-packed game of draws, re-draws, and big pots. To succeed, you must master the fundamentals of pre-flop hand selection and understand the critical role of robust equity in post-flop play. Moving beyond simply playing “good-looking” cards is the first step toward becoming a winning player.
This guide will walk you through the winning strategies for both pre-flop and post-flop play, giving you the tools to navigate the complexities of PLO and come out on top.
Mastering Pre-Flop PLO Strategy
A frequent mistake for players new to Pot Limit Omaha is overvaluing hands that seem strong but are actually “trashy in practice”. A winning pre-flop strategy is built on understanding how to stack equity by evaluating your starting hand based on four key characteristics. The more of these components your hand has, the greater its equity will likely be against an opponent’s range.
The Four Keys to a Strong PLO Hand
- Nuttiness: This refers to your hand’s potential to make the absolute best possible hand (the nuts) by the river.
- Connectedness: This measures how well your cards “talk to each other”. For example, a 7 and a Jack can work together to make a straight, while a 6 and a Jack cannot.
- Suitedness: A hand’s strength increases if it has one or two suits, giving it flush potential.
- High Pair Power: The value of holding high cards and pairs.
A premium hand like a double-suited Ace-7-8-9 possesses all four of these powerful characteristics.
How Hand Value Changes with Context
The importance of these four components shifts depending on the game you’re in.
- Short Stacked (e.g., 20 Big Blinds): High cards and high pairs are the most valuable assets.
- 100 Big Blinds Online: In this environment, players prioritize the connectedness and nuttiness of a hand, as they are more likely to see a river.
- Uber Deep Stacked Live Games: Nuttiness becomes the single most crucial factor, as flops are often multi-way. You want hands with ace-high suits that can flop the nuts.
How to Play Based on Your Position
While PLO pre-flop ranges are often learned by hand class due to the sheer number of starting combinations, your position at the table remains a critical factor.
- Early Position (UTG): From early position, your rundowns (connected cards) must be “smooth,” meaning they have no gaps. This helps ensure your straight draws are to the nuts and that a flopped two-pair also includes a straight draw. The worst hands you should consider raising from UTG include a single-suited King-King-5-4 or a double-suited, gapless 3-4-5-6.
- Later Position (Button): Your opening range can expand significantly, from around 18% to 45% VPIP (Voluntarily Put In Pot). Your hands don’t need to be as powerful because you’re less likely to face multiple opponents. The focus shifts to hands that can handle aggression and block your opponent’s 3-betting range. Examples include an Ace-8-5-2 with the nut suit or a rainbow King-Jack-10-6.
Dominating Post-Flop Play in PLO
Your work isn’t done after the flop. Winning post-flop play revolves around a single, powerful concept: robust equity.
The Most Important PLO Concept: Robust Equity
Coined by Chris Weimer,
robust equity is central to PLO post-flop success. A robust hand is one that is most likely to still be the best hand by the river. Because the board texture changes so often in PLO, a strong hand needs more than just its current value; it needs backup. For example, holding top set is good, but holding top set with a flush draw is a robust hand.
One of the biggest leaks for new players is using aggression to “protect the equity” of their hand. You cannot reliably protect your equity in PLO because the board is almost guaranteed to change.
Five Essential Post-Flop Tips to Win More Pots
- Let Robustness Dictate Aggression Your level of aggression should be determined by how robust your hand’s equity is.
- Highly Robust Hands: Bet aggressively with hands that have extensive connectivity, such as a straight draw plus a flush draw, or a made straight with redraws to an even better one.
- Nuts with No Redraws: If you have the pure nuts but no backup draws, you can mix in checks or play more passively, reserving aggression for check-raises on later streets.
- Play Vulnerable Hands Passively With medium-strength, vulnerable hands, you should opt for passive play like checking back. This applies to holdings like bottom sets, middle sets, low straights, or pocket Aces on connected boards. This passive approach allows you to find value with a “delay C-bet” on a later street if the board doesn’t change for the worse.
- Size Your C-Bets Based on Your Range Your continuation bet (C-bet) size should be based on what your entire range wants to do on a given board, not just your specific hand.
- Dynamic Unpaired Boards (e.g., Queen-10-7 with a flush draw): Use a larger size of about two-thirds of the pot.
- “Locked Down” Boards (Paired or Flush Boards): Use a smaller size, typically 33% of the pot.
- Straight Boards: Generally bet half the pot or check back.
- Check Your Range When Out of Position (OOP) When you are the pre-flop raiser but are out of position, the simplest and most effective strategy is to check your entire range on any board that is not Ace-high. Equities run very close on non-Ace high boards, making position a huge advantage. The exception is Ace-high boards, which favor the initial raiser. When you check your full range, you can then check-raise with your most robust hands, like nut flush draws, top sets, and top two-pair combinations.
- Master Multi-Way Pots In pots with three or more players, your strategy must adapt.
- Use Small Sizings: Since the burden of defense is split among opponents, use smaller bet sizes between 25% and 50% of the pot.
- Check OOP: If you are out of position in a multi-way pot, you should check often, unless you were the pre-flop raiser on an Ace-high board.