Know How To Play Pot Limit Omaha With This Beginners Guide

Beginner's Guide - How To Play Pot Limit Omaha

After Texas Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha is probably the world's second most popular poker game. It makes an ideal choice for players looking for a Texas Hold’em alternative. Also known as Plo poker, it is similar to Texas Hold’em in many aspects. However, the former has been gaining more and more attention in recent years. This is because it was getting difficult to get an edge in hold’em.

Pot Limit Omaha is a fun game that requires both skill and luck. With the right strategy in place, you can quickly turn the game in your favour. If you are wondering how to play pot limit Omaha and need a helping hand, you are in the right place as this guide may come in handy. This article will cover everything a beginner should know about Plo poker.

Pot Limit Omaha Rules

Before starting with the game, you need to be familiar with the rules. Since this game is similar to Texas hold 'em, it has a few rules in common. So if you have played hold’em before, you don’t have to earn Plo Poker from scratch.

We have broken down the rules for easy understanding, especially for beginners.

• The game is played with not two, but four-hole cards.
• The game follows the pot-limit form referring to the bet size being determined by the size of the pot.
• A hand is formed with two hold cards.
• The poker hand rankings are the same as No-Limit Texas Hold’em.

Basics of the game:

• It is a type of community card game with the turn, river, and flop.
• It is played with the big and small blind.
• The player with the best hand wins at the showdown.
• In case there's a tie, the pot is divided equally among the players.

The game starts with players placing their blinds. The preflop action starts after the cards are distributed among players.

The action starts with the first still-active player on the left or small blind. It’s the same as in Texas Hold’em.

Specific rules to remember:

• Instead of four cards, you will use only two cards from your hand.
• You can use a single card to make a straight or flush.

Now let us elaborate on these rules for better understanding:

In Texas Hold’em, any Ten would give you a straight and any heart would make a flush. However, things are different in PLO. Let’s say, you got a hand like 10h 10d 6s 7d. You cannot get straight using a single card. So even if you have a “10” it won’t be of any help. You will need another picture card, an A, or a 9 to go with your 10.

A single card can’t give you a flush, which means having a 10h is useless unless you have another heart in your hand. Many new players get confused with this rule. They think that it’s the same as hold’em. But you will slowly get used to it, once you start playing the game regularly.

It is important to understand all the rules before you start playing the game. If you find this difficult, then you should play free poker games online. This way you can practice without spending real money.

Why Should You Play Pot Limit Omaha Poker?

Pot Limit Omaha is one of the most popular poker variations out there. It might be similar to Texas Hold’em, but it is more challenging. It includes a learning curve, so you need to be patient while learning the game.

If you are done playing Texas Hold’em and want to transition to something better, then you should try Pot Limit Omaha. Other reasons to play this game could be:

• It prepares you for other variants of poker games

If you want to become a master of poker games, you should play Plo Poker. It gives you good training for other variants of poker games and thus, turns you into a versatile player.

By playing PLO, you can improve your tilt control and handling skills, so you can apply them in other poker games as well. Once you learn how to handle the PLO’s downswings and upswings, handling the same in other poker games will become much easier.

• Lots of PLO tournaments and cash games

Plo poker has become extremely popular in recent years. From seasoned players to beginners, it attracts all levels of players.

Players are getting interested in this game because it offers them a complete poker experience. It helps them to learn the opening hands, patterns, community and hole cards, and more. Along with that they also learn the basic strategies of the game.

This game is perfect for players looking for something more challenging to play. Nowadays, you will find plenty of PLO cash games and tournaments. By participating in these competitions, you can earn a good amount of money. But before that, you need to improve your skills and become the best PLO player.

• Hub for poker lovers

Plo poker is probably the best place to look for poker lovers. This game is played by all types of players, including amateurs. You might think that you would find more novices in Texas Hold’em. But in reality, everyone is drawn to Plo Poker.

Instead of just two cards, PLO involves four cards, which completely changes the dynamics of the game. You need to have a solid PLO strategy to turn the game in your favour.

Don’t get demotivated after losing a few times. Plo Poker is more challenging than Texas Hold’em. So you will need more practice to get the hang of the game.

• More challenging and fun than Texas Hold’em

Plo Poker is any day a better alternative than Texas Hold’em. If you are looking for something more fun and challenging, then you should try out PLO.

The fresh challenges involved in PLO are what makes it better than Texas Hold’em which tends to get boring after a certain time. If you play PLO, your skills to play other poker games automatically gets better. When playing PLO, you learn to assess your opponent’s ranges, calculate pot odds, and count outs.

Tips To Play Pot Limit Omaha

Since you are just a beginner, you might find these tips helpful. This should help you improve your odds of winning.

• Don’t apply Texas Hold’em concepts in Plo Poker

As a beginner, you might think that both games are the same, but it is not. The biggest mistake you can make is to apply the concepts of hold’em in PLO.

Even though the games are similar, they are both entirely different games. If a certain strategy worked well in hold’em doesn’t mean it will work in PLO.

• Learn the best hands in PLO

Before getting into the game, you should learn the best Omaha hands for your benefit. This is the first step to becoming a good player.

We would suggest you learn the top 20 or 30 hands by heart. This will help you stay ahead of other players in the game. If needed, you should take the help of experienced players.

• Don’t get involved with weak hands

When just starting to play the game, you might feel tempted to play too many hands. But you should completely avoid doing that in PLO. Getting involved with too many weak hands can make you lose the game.

Hands containing disconnected, low cards are useless in PLO. This is because they have very little potential to flop big. Even if you end up making a flop, your hand will be vulnerable to all sorts of rivers and turns. This is why it is important to start strong. The best way to play PLO is to develop a solid strategy.

On the whole, Pot Limit Omaha is a better and more popular variant of poker. If you love playing poker, especially Texas Hold’em, you should give this game a try. It will bring you new challenges that will help you become the best poker player. To enhance your chances of winning, download the Rummy Bo app powered by Paytm to enjoy practice games that will allow you to curate the best Plo strategy you can.