8 Things to keep in mind when playing PLO | WHISP
1. The Nuts – In PLO someone has the nuts much more often than novices expect, especially if they’re used to playing NL-Hold’em. When a player rises in PLO towards the end of the hand, it is very much likely that the person will be holding the nuts. For example, if it’s a paired board till the river, a nut flush should be an easy fold on a pot raise.
2. Bluffing – There is far less bluffing in PLO than is done in Texas Hold’em, Of course, people do bluff in PLO too, but with so many hands possible, it’s much more difficult. So be very cautious while bluffing or I would suggest to simply avoiding bluffing in a PLO game.
3. Starting Hands – This is a much debated topic when it comes to PLO, with so many possible combinations, you can usually play more hands in PLO. You can play a little looser before the flop, if you truly understand the game, interpret the flop correctly and know which hands to play carefully, which to bluff with and which to fold.
4. Drawing Hands – You can play a lot more drawing hands in PLO than in Hold’em, but you should make sure you’re drawing to the nuts most of the times, for example, if your hand is A-10-7-4 and the flop comes K-5-6, it is NOT a good drawing hand, because you are nuts only if you hit a 3, but if you hit an 8, in most of the situations you’ll find yourself in trouble.
5. Backdoor Hands – Backdoor hands are played more often in PLO than in Hold’em. Because you have six hands rather than two. Suppose you flop two pair or a set with one of your flush cards also on the board, you and your opponent who flopped top set get all your money in on the flop. Then it comes runner-runner in your suit to make your flush and win the pot. In other words you have escape valves in PL-Omaha that you don’t have in Hold’em. In Hold’em you have only two cards to start with and sometimes there is no escape possibility – you’re trying to hit two specific cards and that’s it. The odds of two of your suit coming on the turn and river are about 23 to 1. But in Omaha, the odds are more in your favour.
Let’s say that I have -A? 10? 2? 2? and the flop comes J? 7? 2. My opponent makes trip Jacks and I make trip deuces. We get all our money into the pot. I still have about a 13 percent chance to make a flush if it comes club>club or diamond-diamond on the turn and river. Therefore my backdoor possibilities, my escape valves are pretty important.
6. Volatility – PLO is much more volatile than NL Texas Hold’em. Many times, hands come up that both you and your opponent will put all their chips in the pot, even if the cards were played face up. Typically this happens when a player has top set and the opponent has a big wrap or a wrap with a flush draw.
7. Implied Odds – Your implied odds in a hand take into account what you are going to be paid off with. But more often you cannot count on that payoff in PLO. For instance if you’re drawing a nut flush and you hit it on the river, there is very strong chance that nobody will call you on the river.
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