PLO is played with four hole cards and five community cards. Every player must use exactly two hole cards with three board cards to make the best five-card hand.
The pot-limit structure restricts raises to the size of the current pot—encouraging nuanced, mathematical betting rather than the all-in dynamics of No-Limit Hold’em.
Many of the basic principles covered in our Hold’em Beginner’s Guide will apply to Omaha. Beyond the basics, Omaha required a very different strategy. We have a dedicated Beginner’s Omaha guide, for players just about to make the adjustment from Hold’em to Omaha. Here I will go over some Omaha fundamentals.
The golden rule: in PLO, if you’re not drawing to the nuts, you’re drawing dead. Multiway pots and deeper equities make weaker flushes and straights dangerous.
Hero’s best five cards (must use exactly two hole cards): K♦ Q♦ + 9♦ 5♦ 2♦ → King-high flush (using two hole diamonds).
Hold’em vs. Omaha thinking: In Texas Hold’em if Villain bets on the river, holding the 2nd nut flush you would have a decision. In Omaha, this is an insta-fold. Even with all of the combinations of full houses and quads beating your hand, the odds that you are facing the nut flush is vastly increased.
Hands that “work together” — like A♠ K♠ Q♥ J♥ or T♠ 9♠ 8♥ 7♥ — create multiple nut draws. Danglers (cards that don’t connect, e.g. A♠ K♣ 9♥ 3♦) reduce flexibility.
The flop came 4♠ 5♣ 2♥. Antonius led out for $90,000, but Blom raised to $435,000. Antonius responded by going all-in, which Blom called, committing the remaining $163,000 of his stack.
The turn brought the 5♥ and the river the 9♣. At showdown, Blom revealed 9♠ 8♥ 7♦ 6♦ – and open-ended straight draw and a pair of 9s – but Antonius’s wheel with A♥ K♥ K♠ 3♠ scooped the pot worth $1,356,947.
PLO punishes out-of-position play harder than Hold’em. Acting last lets you define pot size and apply pressure with your entire range.
Position is everything in Pot Limit Omaha — even more so than in Texas Hold’em. Hands that play well in position often become clear folds when out of position. Before deciding to play a hand in PLO, always consider if you’ll have position. If not, look for ways to gain it, such as raising or three-betting to force players behind you to fold. Controlling position gives you invaluable information and control over the pot size, two crucial advantages in PLO’s complex post-flop play.
In Pot Limit Omaha, controlling the pot size with medium-strength hands is critical. On dynamic boards—especially those with two suits or connected cards—avoid inflating the pot with holdings like top two pair or non-nut flushes.
By keeping the pot manageable through smaller bets, checks, or pot-sized raises, you limit your risk while maintaining flexibility. This approach protects your stack from costly situations and lets you gather more information on your opponents’ holdings before committing more chips.
Pot control with these hands isn’t passive play—it’s disciplined risk management essential for consistent long-term success in PLO’s volatile environment.
Early-position play demands discipline: low visibility and more multiway pots punish speculative hands. From BTN and CO, loosen to exploit position.
Preflop Example Table (100bb stacks):
| Position | Premium Range | Speculative Range | Fold |
| UTG | AAxx (double suited), A-K-Q-Jds | 9-8-7-6ds | Low pairs + offsuit gaps |
| CO | Double-suited broadways, A-K-T-9ds | J-T-9-8ds | Disconnected offsuit |
| BTN | All double-suited rundowns | One-gap suited rundowns | Random single-suited trash |
Adapting your play to opponent tendencies is crucial in Pot Limit Omaha. Against loose players who call wide and play many hands, increase your bet sizing to extract maximum value from your strong holdings.
Conversely, facing tight, nitty opponents means you can capitalize on their tendency to fold more often. Smaller bets appear less threatening and can coax folds from hands that would otherwise call bigger bets.
Balancing bet size by opponent style keeps you unpredictable and maximizes profit. Large value bets versus loose callers, small targeted bluffs against tight folders — applying these nuanced adjustments is key to mastering PLO profitability.
To play PL Omaha poker online for real money, here we list the highest value rakeback deals to maximize your profits here:
My own experience with Omaha had a rocky beginning. At the cash game section of the Barcelona EPT in 2020, the waiting list for Texas Hold’em was too long, so I opted to join the 5/10 Omaha list. It was a steep learning curve! I knew the basics of Omaha, and had played small stakes online. But at highest stakes, I was out of my depth.
Realising I was playing with seasoned Omaha cash game players, I stuck to one simple rule: ONLY play for the nuts. Thanks to hitting top full houses in key spots, I walked away about even for the night. What I learned though, is that a seasoned Hold’em player can’t waltz into a Omaha game with anything like the same mindset.
Lyle Berman, a top pot-limit Omaha player and key figure behind the World Poker Tour’s rise, delivers invaluable insights into this thrilling high-stakes game.
Berman focuses on high-stakes PLO, often in mixed-game settings and tournaments. He stresses the importance of game caps, player tendencies, and adopting adaptable strategies.
With four hole cards versus two, Omaha demands specialized tactics around hand construction, bluffing, and drawing. The nuts are critical and change dynamically.
Raising varies by street but always considers pot size and opponent behavior. Thoughtful aggression balances value extraction and information gathering.
For a deeper dive into these concepts, read our advanced pot-limit Omaha strategy page.
Pot Limit Omaha is a nuanced game demanding respect for its complexity. Success hinges on disciplined play, mastering nut holdings, and exploiting position and opponents. Avoid common pitfalls like overvaluing second nuts or chasing weak draws. Focus on hand coordination, pot control, and adaptive strategies to navigate the volatility and multiway dynamics unique to PLO. With patience and practice, PLO offers rich strategic depth and big-profit potential for grinders willing to commit.
