Best Starting Hands Plo
Starting hands
In Hold'em the No. 1 starting hand (A♥ A♠) holds 83% preflop equity over the second-best starting hand (K♥ K♠). In Omaha the best starting hand (A♥ A♠ K♥ K♠) is only 33% to win (41% to tie) against the second-best starting hand (A♦ A♣ T♦ J♣). So, for a PLO hand to be classified as a premium, it first needs to be double-suited, i.e. Have the potential to make two flushes. So, all hands listed below should be double-suited: Aces with other big pairs (down to pocket 9s) A-A-J-T (mathematically the second best starting hand after A-A-K-K) Double suited Aces with any two cards; 8-9-10-J. Pot Limit Omaha Starting Hands. Pot Limit Omaha Starting Hands. In PLO there are a total of 16,432 different starting hands, made up of all the possibilities that result from the 270,725 stochastically possible combinations. So how do you decide what starting hands to play and what not to play.
Let’s begin with the starting hands:
A♦A♥K♦K♥, A♠A♦J♠10♦ and similar:
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 hand with multiple opponents.
K♣K♥Q♣J♠, J♥J♣Q♦K♣ and similar:
High pairs (TT-KK) with consecutive cards are also really strong and they do well in heads-up. When we play these kinds of hands against several opponents we should open raise from any position. However, since it is fairly common to find at least one player with Aces in PLO, we shouldn’t push these hands too aggressively before the flop.
8♥8♦7♦6♥, 7♣7♠8♣9♥ and similar:
Middle pairs with consecutive cards are especially strong in multiway pots, as they get their value from coordinated draws or made hands on the flop. They are speculative hands, but when you hit your set and straight draw you may have some clients to earn some money. You should limp in with these hands. Calling a raise can also be right, mainly with other potential callers behind.
A♥K♥Q♣J♠, K♥Q♥J♠10♣ and similar:
These hands are strong, but they are easily dominated before the flop, especially by high pairs. In early position you should play these hands carefully. In late position you can call a raise or even raise the pot.
7♥8♥9♣10♠, 7♣9♥10♣J♥ and similar:
Medium and consecutive cards are quite strong and they are playable from any position. You should play them as draws most of the times. However, sometimes it is good to play these hands like Aces and raise, in order to be more difficult to read.
4♣5♦5♣6♠, 3♣3♦4♥5♠ and similar:
Low pairs with consecutive cards work well from late positions. These hands are profitable quite often, mainly when we hit a low straight (A-2-3-4-5).
3♥4♣5♣6♥, 4♥5♠7♣8♥ and similar:
Low consecutive cards should be treated like medium cards. But, considering many of your potential hands are the lowest possible straight, you must fold these hand in early position and not too optimistically in late position.
A♥K♠10♣4♥, K♣Q♥J♣6♦ and similar:
In these hands one of the cards doesn’t match with the others (this card is known as a “dangler”). This kind of hand should be played only in small pots and late position. Folding this type of hand is not a mistake. Why would you play with only three coordinated cards against players who have four? That is an unnecessary disadvantage we can easily avoid.
A♥A♠7♦3♣, Q♥Q♦9♣2♥ and similar:
These hands justify their value if we hit the top set, but we should be careful about these hands before the flop. We need to look at the Aces in a much different way than we do in Texas Hold’em: in Omaha, while Aces may be a favorite against any individual hand pre-flop, it is unlikely that you can win a large pot without improving those Aces to a set or a full house. These hands can become the biggest danger hands for beginning players and should be treated with caution.
Q♥Q♦Q♣3♥, A♥10♥7♥2♥ and similar:
Having trips in our starting hand is a huge disadvantage since we are forced to play with exactly 2 hole cards and here the third card is a vital out to our potential set. The cards listed in no particular order are not too useful either. The hand will be even worth less if is single suited, as we are losing two important outs for a flush. Fold these hands without a second thought.
10♠10♥10♦10♣:
Having quads is extremely rare and even if it looks good, these hands have zero value to make a hand. We could hope that the board revolves around our quads (here, around the ten: 8-9-J-Q-K) letting us to make a bluff. No one can have another ten. Yet, staying in the hand for so long costs us money and if we get called, we will lose even more chips.
The double suited hands are better in Omaha. Therefore,A♠A♦7♦8♠ is substantially better than A♣A♥7♠8♦. In a battle between those hands, the second one would have no chance of winning. Additionally, the first hand will make a flush in 14% of cases. In the rest of the cases they will split the pot.
Also,J♥10♣9♥8♣ is favored against A♠A♦5♥6♣, since it is double suited. Hands with two suited cards are better than rainbow hands.
Three suited cards decrease value to the hand (eg. A♥10♥8♥3♥), since we can use only two of them at the showdown.
Omaha Strategy Starting Hands
In summary, we must keep in mind that a good starting hand selection in Omaha is more important than in Texas Hold’em. This is mainly because our opponents have a lot of chances to get a strong hand on the flop. So, to win we need to have some value at the showdown. Even the second best hand frequently loses on the river in PLO (eg. King high flush).
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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.
Best Starting Hands For Plo
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
Below is a summary of hands that are playable starting hands in Omaha Hi Lo
Omaha Starting Hands Chart
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).