Pot Limit Omaha (PLO) is a poker variant that can offer a more action-packed experience when compared with Texas Hold’em. Whether you’re playing legal online poker or poker in person, PLO offers players the opportunity to regularly make much higher-value hands compared to other poker variants.

Find out more about what PLO is and the mistakes you should avoid below.

What is Pot Limit Omaha?

Pot Limit Omaha is an exciting poker variant that offers its own unique experience that makes it stand out from other poker variants like Texas Hold’em or Seven Card Stud. Pot Limit Omaha rules are very similar to Texas Hold’em, but in this poker variant, there are three key differences. 

Firstly, a player’s hand consists of four cards instead of the two hole cards in Texas Hold’em. This means that it’s much easier for players to make higher-ranked hands compared to Texas Hold’em. 

Secondly, postflop, a player must use exactly two of their hole cards and three community cards to make a hand. 

Thirdly, players can only make a wager that’s equivalent to or less than the size of the pot. Pot limit means that the size of the pot is the maximum amount allowed for any bet.

Apart from these differences, Omaha poker plays very much like a standard game of Texas Hold’em. However, there are specific PLO mistakes that you should be aware of.

Pot Limit Omaha Mistakes To Avoid

Below are the top eight PLO mistakes you should learn to avoid to improve your wins. Avoiding these situations will improve the level of enjoyment and positively influence your PLO bankroll management. 

1. Playing Weak Starting Hands

It’s important to remember that in PLO, the ability to hit high-ranking poker hands is much greater than in Texas Hold’em because every player starts with four cards. This is why you should avoid taking chances with weak PLO starting hands. Aim to play hands with high-value pairs, at least two of the same suit, or a high-value rundown (four consecutive cards, or three consecutive cards with a fourth card one card off the rest). Alternatively, stay away from low-value cards, rainbow cards, and disconnected cards with fewer flush and straight possibilities, all of which are among the worst starting hands in Omaha.

2. Playing Weak Pairs

Weak pairs are another example of a starting hand you should just avoid. Again, many players come over from Texas Hold’em and see weak or average pairs and think they could make it work by maybe hitting three or four of a kind since it’s easier to make high-value hands. 

However, it’s important to remember that it’s much easier for a player to hit the nuts in PLO, which includes your opponents, making weak pairs a bad option when it comes to PLO hand selection preflop. 

3. Playing Weak Rundowns

Just like weak pairs, weak rundowns are another trap. Yes, you might have some luck and beat out other players occasionally, but again, the chances of other players hitting high-ranking hands are far greater in PLO than in other community-card variants like Texas Hold’em. Remember, other players are far more likely to be in every hand because they believe they have the nuts, not because they’re bluffing. PLO draws are generally worth less than in Hold’em.

4. Playing Rundown Hands with Two-Card Gaps

A rundown with no gap or one gap is generally considered playable in PLO, depending on the value of the cards. However, a rundown with a two-card gap means you’re far less likely to hit that straight or straight flush. For this reason, think twice about playing any rundown hands with a two-card gap. 

5. Placing too much Emphasis on Strong Pairs

In PLO, strong pairs have a short shelf life because once the flop hits the table, pairs rapidly start to decrease in value. And by the river, even the best of strong pairs are likely to face stiff competition from flushes and straights. Most lists and guides of Omaha poker tips advise caution with pairs.

6. Slow Playing

In Texas Hold’em, it’s common for players with a strong hand to play slow to maximize the pot and take home a big win. However, in PLO, slow playing a strong hand simply increases your chances of losing since each community card increases your chances of facing a stronger hand from one of your opponents. Each new community card could be an out that one of your opponents is waiting for.

7. Not Identifying Danglers

A dangler is an unconnected card in your hand. For example, if you have a king, queen, jack, and a seven, the seven is a dangler because it’s too far removed from the other cards. This makes it incredibly weak to play. Another example of what might seem like a dangler would be if the cards were a king, queen, jack, and a nine. However, this is still playable and would be considered a one-gap rundown.

8. Forgetting the Need to Use Two Hole Cards

If you play a lot of Texas Hold’em, you might want to combine the community cards in PLO with one card from your hand. However, it’s important to remember that you need to use exactly two cards from your hand when playing PLO. 

Integrate This Advice Into Your Pot Limit Omaha Strategy

Taking advantage of this advice and avoiding the mistakes discussed above will play an important role in enhancing your Pot Limit Omaha strategy. Put these tips into practice at your favorite offline or online poker room and see how much they raise your PLO game.

Further, after implementing this advice, you can take your game to an even higher level by examining the importance of PLO position strategy and PLO pot odds, postflop strategy, and even three-bet pots in Pot Limit Omaha. The game provides a great deal of strategic complexity to provide the challenge that poker players often crave.

Play PLO and Other Exciting Poker Variants at BetMGM

Online poker players who are looking for a great poker site can enjoy Pot Limit Omaha at BetMGM’s legal online poker site. BetMGM offers exciting cash games and daily poker tournaments in multiple variants, including PLO, Six-Card Omaha, and Omaha Hi-Lo. Whether you’re a more casual player or someone who takes poker seriously and likes to experiment with different poker types, BetMGM is the place for you.

Play real-money online poker at BetMGM and register with the online poker welcome offer.