I’ve earlier said that Omaha is a simple game of the simple man. When you add one more card, the game actually gets even more simple. Pot limit Omaha with five cards (PLO5) is a dream game for all tight and careful players. Players who are fishing with small pairs and low flush draws will soon realize that they lose it all… When I’m writing this text, I do presume that you have read the rules for Omaha or that you are familiar with the game through playing it.
First and foremost, the ground rule is that you should only bet with good cards and the very best draws. Playing like that is a good way for you to play at a table with nine players. At a table on-line with only six players is quite different. There you’ll see all kinds of moves happening, players can bet with absolutely nothing and raise with the weirdest draws. It’s time to think at the ground rule when you receive yet one more card in your hand. It is a bigger risk to be facing the nuts or a nut draw. One should only play the best hands in five card Omaha, be aggressive when you hit and only draw for the very best.
A typical mistake is to think you can play all your hands in PLO5. Of course, you are not falling far behind if you put all your money in the pot before the flop, but neither are you very much a head. If the game is hard, you’ll get into a lot of mishap with bad cards. A flopped straight is the usual death trap in PLO5. A low set is an even more likely to be a re-buy hand for you. With the straight you have at least the opportunity to get half of the pot quite often.
It is better to play high cards and cards that are numerically close to each other. You should find at least four cards in your hand that are playable before entering the pot. If it happens that you get five unexceptionally good cards in your hand, you should try to make the pot bigger pre-flop. There’s no use to play small rundowns with irrelevant cards like K6543. If you get two small pairs and a straight draw it does not automatically mean that you should put all your money in the pot, quite opposite from what you often do in four card Omaha.
You have more playable hands when you have the position. The position is especially important when you have the nuts and all the others get to put their money in the pot before you. To buy the Button is somewhat a hard thing to manage to do. Weak players usually check their good hands so there’s always a risk for a check-raise. You are also able to bet when you hit with a semi good hand if you have the position, it’s a more difficult thing to do from early position. There might be the chance, even in PLO5, that no one has got a very good hand.
To raise only and always when you have AA is a stupid thing to do. If you continue to after the flop, even when the flop does not help you at all, it is the same as donating money. AA is a good hand to draw with, as are many other hands in PLO5. You want to get the top two pair with your aces and hopefully action from a player who has smaller two pairs. If you always show that you are having aces, you won’t be able to get any action unless from those players who have the odds to continue with their draws.
Trying to get the button pre-flop is always a good idea, even though it does not always succeed by raising. Few players are willing to give up a hand that they would play from the button for only one raise. You get closer to your goal with a re-raise. If you are at cut-off or hijack and somebody does a raise, it could be a good idea to do a small re-raise with a hand like QJT97.
It takes smart moves from a big stack to get the growing when the cards hit well. If you at the same are able to get the button, even better! There’s nothing stopping you from pushing all your money in the pot with you aces pre-flop as you are a favorite at the time, even though just a small favorite. It is worth leaving less to play after the flop than in PLO, so that you won’t lose your advantage.
The only thing worth slow playing is four of a kind. Players tend to get less aggressive in PLO5. That is because they all usually learn fast from their mistakes.. Therefore it will get more difficult to be able to do check-raises, and it’s always extremely dangerous to give away free cards. If you hit the flop TTJ with JJ in your hand, it is definitely no place to check. A high turn card can take over the pot and you usually get the best action if you are the one making the bet first. It’s anyway not worth waiting for any action unless somebody has got a ten in his hand.
It’s easier to try to buy the pot in PLO5 than in PLO when you have one A in your hand. The players are to learn fast that there’s a possibility for a A flush if there are three suited cards on the table. You cannot expect it to succeed every time, you have to get to know your opponents so that you’ll be able to figure out if there’s a chance to do it.
It’s very rare you’ll have against you a draw hand if you flop a set in PLO, even if the flop seems dangerous (ex.JTxs) . This is so rare, that I wouldn’t consider it to be any risk at all in PLO. But when playing PLO5, it’s very likely that you have against you a hand with equal odds as you have and I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that someone has a leading draw. It is recommended only to pay if you have the leading set in PLO5. There are two reasons for this; smaller sets give up easier in PLO5 (after a while of playing the game) and second issue is that you might have a draw against you that has got better odds than you.
To get your money in into 3player pot with a bad wrap draw is not usually a good idea. Even to get involved in a family-pot with a decent straight draw can sometimes not be such a smart thing to do, because you often end up in a split pot. You should only go for nut backdoor flush draws in this game to get the full value of your bets. For those who like to draw smaller flushes, I recommend Texas Holdem.
The turn and river play does not differ very much from PLO. You should give more respect to your opponents if a straight card shows up on the board, and bet less with a set if a straight card appears.
To be able to get thin value from the river can be a challenge. The same goes for value check-raising. Most of the late position players bet with either the nuts or with absolutely nothing. You can get the opponent to bet but it can be hard to get paid with a check-raise.
My game guidance is based on how the game was played in Aviation Club de France a few years ago. I do believe that the internet generation is able to learn the game faster than the businessmen did in Paris. Perhaps the youth even finds the spots when to bet with thin value. Only time will show how the game is going to be online.
Aki Pyysing