Starting hands for PLO

SocietyRed · May 30,2006, 09:04 PM

I'm getting more and more into PLO and was wondering what the starting hand requirements are. What books are good for beginner PLO players..

Thanks

Red

GTA Poker · May 30,2006, 09:51 PM

There are no good PLO (I assume you're not tlaking PLO8) books.

I'm a good PLO player. Basically you want to always have all 4 cards working together with no danglers, double suited obviously being best. Don't overvalue KK and AA hands unless you can isolate reraise all-in preflop or on the flop. At lower limits it's best to be patient, make very few moves and always be drawing to the nuts.

Mathematically if you have 13+ outs that you think are clean to the best hand on the flop then you want to pot or repot.

DrTyore · May 30,2006, 10:15 PM

I agree with GTA...

A great hand is one where everything works together, for example;

4-5-6-7 is a great hand, especially with some suited as well

AAKK (2x suited) is generally considered the best hand, but I would put it on par with a hand like AA-10-J (2x suited), bother are SUPER premium hands.

I rarely raise pre-flop unless I'm in position (position is 100x more important in PLOM), and like "morty's" signature says... "THE NUTS ARE OUT THERE"

Some other tips

- Never slowplay anything less than quads.. preferrably the nut quads (no, I'm not kidding)
- You should always be betting when you have the "current nuts" to take away odds... (I hate flopping the nut straight however, b/c it's usually beat by the river)
- FOLD PREFLOP... yes, nobody else is, yes, you do have a lot of draws, but the #1 money loser in PLOM is hitting a full house with your pocket twos. Trust me on this one, you will find out.

Mark

BBC Z · May 30,2006, 11:43 PM

I think it was 'play poker with the pros' that put 89TJ DS as like the 5th best hand in PLO..

Anyway, PLO-8 is all about postflop. Dont go preflop crazy, but if they 4 cards make sense to you, they're likely playable.

GTA Poker · May 31,2006, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BBC Z

I think it was 'play poker with the pros' that put 89TJ DS as like the 5th best hand in PLO..

Anyway, PLO-8 is all about postflop. Dont go preflop crazy, but if they 4 cards make sense to you, they're likely playable.

Did you just reference, "Play Poker Like the Pros"?

Oh My.

Metro · May 31,2006, 11:50 AM

Are you talking Hi-Lo or Hi only?

For Hi-Lo you definately want an Ace in your hand - there are very few hands that I would start with, sans an Ace.

For Hi only - I agree that playing hands that are well coordinated is a good strategy - hands in PLO are not dominated the same way they are in TH. So get in cheap and see a flop with coordinated flops. The size of the pot by the river is often huge compared to the blinds.

Remember the importance of position and re-draws - flopping a nut str8 in poor position when someone else also flops it with a redraw to a boat or flush is going to kill you.

And always, always make sure you know what the nut hand is.

SocietyRed · May 31,2006, 04:54 PM

Thanks for the info guys. I'm giving this a go on party playing $25 Max PL Omaha. Any advice on play specific to party PLO?

red

Meistro · May 31,2006, 05:06 PM

Disclaimer : I do not know much about Omaha.

What I have read is that you want hands that work together. Hands like JJ109 double suited, for example. or AAKQ, or even 7766 double suited (not sure about that last one).

What you really want to avoid are 'danglers', hands like KKsQs3 or AKJ4.

moose · Jun 01,2006, 12:54 PM

What I want to know is where can I get odds like flopping 2 low cards what are the odds of turning the 3rd low, what are the odds if continuing to the river. What are the odds of going runner runner low if one low card flops. I can count the outs, but I want to be able to discount for counterfeiting in my hand or the board.

Metro · Jun 01,2006, 02:47 PM

Without additional draws - drawing to a low hand will often be a mistake.

You will be drawing to only half the pot - maybe only a quarter.

With PL you are paying a lot to draw on turn and river - and at best you are probably only getting you own money back.

BUT - you may miss the low - you may be getting quartered.

DISCLAIMER: This only applies if you have no redraws.