Play Omaha Poker Online for Real Money
Pot Limit Omaha (PLO for short) is a community card game much like Texas Hold’em. The origins of this game are unknown, but it was played under various names in the 70’s in private backroom games, and first made its way to Las Vegas card rooms in the early 80’s. After Jack Keller won the 1984 WSOP Main Event, he headed to England to promote this game which had grown quite popular in Las Vegas, and once London’s Victoria Club started spreading, it quickly became one of their biggest games.
Play Pot Limit Omaha Online at NoIQ Poker
Omaha is now the second most popular game played online. It’s available at some sites in fixed limit or no limit varieties, but true players know this game was meant to be (and is best) played in Pot Limit form. Also, with the majority of live Omaha games being spread today taking place in Europe, it makes sense that the most popular places to play Omaha online are European focused sites, primarily ones which use Euros as their primary currency.
Popular online poker site NoIQ Poker, well known for bonuses, promotions, rakeback, rake races and more, recently made the move from the iPoker Network to the Entraction Poker network. Entraction was the first and is currently the longest standing online poker site to operate solely in Euro (€). If you’re interested in playing PLO online, joining Entraction Networked NoIQ Poker is more or less a dream scenario, as you can play on the leading Euro (€) poker site through one of the most generous poker rooms online.
To get started playing Omaha (PLO) online: visit the NoIQ Poker website.
How Pot Omaha (PLO) is Played – The Basics
Omaha is played much like Texas Hold’em in that facedown hole cards are dealt, and a betting round takes place; then, a flop, turn and river are dealt with a betting round after each. The difference in Omaha is that a player receives four hole cards to start the hand. As far as game play goes there are no other changes. The next and final change comes at showdown; here a player must use exactly two of their four hole cards and exactly three of the five community cards to make their best five card poker hand. This is a rather simple concept that surprisingly confuses a lot of new players; to emphasize, you can’t use 1, 3 or 4 of your hole cards to go with 4, 2, or 1 card from the board. It’s exactly two from your hand and exactly three from the board.
The added two cards to every player’s holdings makes this what some players call a “nut game”, implying “the nuts” (best possible hand) is usually required to win the pot. While this is close to true in many Omaha games, this element is reduced when the game is played short-handed. Short handed PLO is where the big money changes hands, as it’s a game where the fish/gamblers perceive themselves to have the best fighting chance,and the sharks/skilled players know, that while the swings might be large, getting their money in with the best of it often makes this the game where they’ll win the most money long term.
The best place for short handed Pot Limit Omaha PLO is the Entraction Poker Network where games are spread in the six-max variety. To play online at this network, get started from the NoIQ Poker website.
Pot Limit Omaha Short Handed Tips/Strategy
In Pot Limit Omaha, much like Texas Hold’em, position is of vital importance. In this game there are many near 50-50 situations, so the most aggressive player is the one who most often comes out on top. After position, the next most important concept for a beginner is starting hands. This is where the difference from Hold’em and Omaha strategy differs the most, as there are many more playable PLO hands.
In Omaha, it’s important that all cards in your hands correlate with each other. In short handed play a large % of hands dealt will be worthy of play. Hands such as JT98 are near always playable, big pairs are good, but are more helpful when correlated and suited, two pair is also good (QQJJ, TT88 etc) where the chances of flopping a set are near 1:4. In full ring a player needs to be tighter about their selection, but keep in mind we are speaking of short handed play here.
Prior to the flop, you’ll often want to control the size of the pot with all but your best starting hands. This means limping is appropriate in PLO, where it’s generally a bad play in Holdem. One common preflop mistake new players make is overvaluing AAxx. This is a hand you want to play slow unless given the opportunity to get all in (or close to it) pre-flop. With big hands having massive drawing potential, it might make sense to raise big, as it will give you the opportunity to represent having AA if an Ace falls (a common situation where bluffs might work), or it may help you to get paid off in a big pot should you connect on the flop.
After the flop is where the real game starts. Here you need to evaluate the board based on both your hand and the potential strength of your opponent’s hand. This is where advanced strategy comes in. If you’re a good poker player you’ll be able to consider stack sizes, reads on the opponent based on past play and a number of other factors. Some general advice is that in short handed play you should be aggressive with top 2, sets, straights and flushes, but also be aggressive with your draws so that you remain both aggressive and unpredictable.
When your opponent has shown aggression first, this is where your odd calculating skills come in handy. You’ll need to do the math to determine the probability of winning the pot based on his hand ranges. This is not something we can teach on a single page about Omaha, but is rather something a skilled poker player possesses.
For more advanced Omaha strategy, you can read the online version of Super System 2’s Omaha section (link) or from Amazon.com order Secrets of Professional Pot-Limit Omaha by Rolf Slotboom (link). Rolf’s Omaha strategy is a bit unconventional, but the book is a great read, and it’s a style many online players will prefer to play.
One other suggestion would be to start out with the micro limit games at NoIQ Poker and work your way up through the limits.
