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PLO – Top Online Poker Game

After discussing various issues relating to online poker, its journey from major profit machine in 2004 to something that requires a more advanced approach in 2009 I decided to check out first hand the current recommended game in poker, Pot Limit Omaha poker. The game is more complicated than Texas Holdem because with four hole cards you can use any combination of them to make your hand. There are also the consideration that if you, for example, hold four hearts then you are less likely to hit your flush therefore making the hand less valuable as a drawing hand. This does not apply to Texas Holdem as you only hold two hole cards. Good PLO players hold a massive advantage over crossover players from Texas Holdem, because it takes time to learn the required adjustments.

I decided on a little test. I played a single table tournament in Holdem and one in PLO and compared and contrasted the apparent standard that I came across. The major conclusion I found was that 100% the standard of PLO was significantly lower than the Holdem SNG. This is probably no surprise as it is well-known that PLO is less developed and known than Holdem. But few players may realise the extent of the weak play in PLO and the opportunity that exists to learn this game. It really inspired me.

Admittedly I made the obvious mistake most Holdem players make and I play Pot Limit Omaha just like Texas Holdem at present. That is not a recommended strategy for PLO. Because players hold more cards you must adjust your playable range to folding hands that in Holdem you would enjoy a showdown with. This is easy to do with hands like two pair but once you have straights, or low flushes you still often are facing draws to full houses and better hands. It can be tricky to know just what to do in these spots. I found what makes PLO very difficult is that players can hold, for example, a draw to a nut flush, full house and even quads in the same hand so their implied odds are always there. The key concept I am trying to grasp is that you must build the pot to compensate for the times you are outdrawn to ensure you are not losing big pots and winning small ones.

I was talking to a friend of mine who lives in the USA via Skype and who is a poker professional. I cut and pasted some hand histories for him to look at with one hand where I had drawn to a full house on the river and hit and took down a nice pot. I had checked the turn to keep the pot small thinking I may be behind but that I had showdown value. My friend slaughtered that play. Apparently by checking the turn it gave a free card to my opponent who had a lot of cards to draw to that would beat my hand. I thought I was doing right by checking. This goes to show that even with good intentions a good Holdem player like me is not necessarily good at PLO from day one and much work must be put in to improve. Many players are too egotistical about poker to admit they are bad at a particular game and make the changes. If you think about it and you will probably know someone who are delusional over their poker playing, part of pokers profit potential is that everyone thinks they are amazing!

Pot Limit Omaha is a great game to learn for 2009 and 2010. I have set myself a long term goal of becoming proficient at HORSE but I want to learn first of all Texas Holdem, then PLO, then move on to Seven Card Stud. I have also tried out 5 Card Stud and Draw Poker, mainly out of curiosity after watching the movies the Cincinnati Kid and Maverick! Do not just play Holdem as you gain a lot by trying the other games. The other games are also easier but you will need to work to get better than the average player, but it is worth it.

The game of the moment is PLO and I am going to keep trying to get better and better to catch some of the juicy profits whilst they are available.

By Malcolm Clarke

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