You’ve probably heard pot-limit Omaha described as a “drawing game,” but what is exactly is meant by that phrase? Aren’t all poker games “drawing games,” whether we are talking about flop games like Texas hold’em or PLO, or stud games like seven card stud or razz, or, well, draw games like 5-card draw and deuce-to-seven lowball?
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You’ve probably heard pot-limit Omaha characterized as “a game of swings,” a reference to the fact that the game can be quite volatile in terms of its effect on your bankroll. It is safe to say that while variance is always dependent on a given player’s style and skill level relative to his opponents, generally speaking, PLO is a much more “swingy” game than no-limit hold’em or many other forms of poker, for that matter.
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By the time you get to the turn in pot-limit Omaha, you should have a fairly good idea what sort of range of hands your opponent(s) might be holding. While it is usually the case that multiple players either limp in or call a raise to see the flop in PLO, big bets on the flop generally tend to weed out the field somewhat, so oftentimes by the turn there are going to be either two or three players left vying for the pot.
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After the river card comes, all that is left is the betting to decide who ultimately is going to be taking the chips. The best possible hand — the “nuts” — is now there for all to see. Everyone still in the hand is aware of what possible hand holding would constitute the nuts. And, in fact, as far as the betting on the river goes, the nuts provide the subtext for all subsequent action.
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Those with experience playing Texas hold’em know that when a pair appears on the board amid the community cards, that doesn’t always mean someone automatically has trips. For example, if two players see a flop of J-6-6, neither is probably going to suspect the other has trips since the chances of flopping two sixes when holding a six in one’s hand is so small. It happens, of course, but by no means should the players always expect someone to turn over trips in this case.
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Having four hole cards in pot-limit Omaha — as opposed to just two in Texas hold’em — means a player has six different two-card combinations to choose from when forming a five-card hand with the three community cards. As such, Omaha affords much greater opportunities for drawing to many different hands at once.
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Continuing our discussion of pot-limit Omaha starting hands, we understand that one of the primary factors we are looking for in a good PLO starting hand is a hand in which all four of our hole cards are coordinated or “working together,” thereby creating six decent two-card combinations from which to choose from when creating a hand with three of the community cards.
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So we’ve talked about suitedness and “rundown” hands as good ones for pot-limit Omaha. What about pocket pairs? We generally like being dealt pocket pairs in Texas hold’em. Shouldn’t we also like being dealt pairs in PLO, too?
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Probably every player who makes the move from Texas hold’em to Omaha has a period early on when it seems as though every single hand dealt is playable. After all, one gets four cards rather than two, and if you count all of the different combinations that makes six different two-card combinations to play from one’s hand along with three community cards. Surely just about any four cards is going to have something playable in there somewhere, right?
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You’ve heard pot-limit Omaha described as a “drawing game,” a reference to the fact that because players are dealt four hole cards (as opposed to just two hole cards in Texas hold’em), there are so many more opportunities available to draw to straights, flushes, and other “made” hands when those community cards start coming out. Indeed, in many cases it is correct for players flopping big straight and/or flush draws to play them aggressively, since they will often be favorites over flopped made hands like sets or two pair.
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