Time to get my “brag” on… PLO8 is my game. I have consistently been ranked in the top 1% in the world of online players in PLO8. I have played over 20,000 PLO8 tournaments and have learned the game every step of the way.

MuckItForMe (Party Poker up until end of 2006)
ChiCubbies07 (Full Tilt after Party Poker banned US players 2006)
These statistics do NOT include cash games and sit and go tournaments.

There are so many aspects to consider to play winning PLO8. I believe it is the easiest game to take advantage of bad players. It is also a poker game with an extremely low luck factor. You will see primarily the best PLO8 players in the money in a PLO8 tournament. Unlike hold em, there will be very few bad players that get lucky and advance… and the ones that do will stand very little chance against the sharks they are now in the water with.

I will limit this blog to the 3 most important topics to master to become a winning player at PLO8.

1. Hand Selection
2. Pot Control
3. Nut Game
4. Putting Your Chips In The Pot In Hopes To get Them Back.

HAND SELECTION:

When I first started playing hold em, I was given the advice that hold em was a high card game…. PERIOD! It was the best hold em advice that I could get as a beginning player.

Allow me to give you this advice on PLO8: It is primarily a low card game… PERIOD!

Quality Starting Hands
A-A-2-x
A-A-3-x
A-A-4-5
A-2-3-x
A-2-K-K
A-2-Q-Q
A-2-J-J
A-3-4-5
A-A-x-x
A-2-K-Q
A-2-K-J
A-2-x-x (with suited ace)
A-3-K-K
A-3-4-x
2-3-4-5 (Muck when no ace and other low card is flopped)
J-Q-K-A
T-J-Q-K
K-K-Q-J
Q-J-T-9
2-3-4-x (fold when no ace and other low card hits the flop)
Any four cards between a 10 and ace

In a dealt omaha hi lo hand there is a 60% chance of a low being possible by the river…  there will be 3 or more different cards 8 or lower on the board.
2 Low Cards (example A-2-J-Q), probability of making a low by river = 24%
3 Low Cards (example A-3-4-K) probability of making a low by river = 40%
4 Low Cards (example 3-4-7-8)  probability of making a low by river = 49%
If you are constantly playing cards without low possibilities and missing draws, you will deplete your chips in no time. If you are drawing give yourself the opportunity to win part of the pot when you miss your high hand draw but still complete the low. Furthermore, when you play high hands and draw and get lucky and hit your draw, all too often the low will complete also and you will not actually increase your chip stack by constantly splitting pots with the low.

In the late stages of a tournament, when the blinds are big, I am looking primarily to play two way hands (two big cards and two little cards preferably double suited or at least single suited.)

Many players will like this hand in the late stages of the tournament. Personally, I do not.

You have absolutely no flush potential. If you do make a low heads up against a raise, too often you will get quartered and lose chips to the same low and a better high.

Will I call a raise outside of the big blind with this hand? No. Will I call a small raise in the big blind? Yes, but I will proceed with extreme caution.

POT SIZE CONTROL:

One of the biggest mistakes made by a novice player in a PLO8 tournament… or any pot limit tournament, is failure to understand the importance of controlling the size of the pot.

I have talked about survival strategy repeatedly on this website and posts. You MUST employ a survival strategy to be successful at PLO8. In order to survive, you must always keep the pot within reasonable limits to pursue draws. PLO8 is a game of draws and calculating the math of draws, so keep pot size controlled until you end up with the nuts.

Early in a PLO8 tournament, I NEVER raise… EVER… I don’t care if I have AA23 double suited. I want people to come in and I will control the size of all pots to make sure I am still in the tournament towards the end.

Late in the tournament, I will raise several hands especially with position, but I will play wisely after the flop to prevent any pot from getting too large and being my demise.

A-2 with a big pair or double suited I will min raise, All other premium starting hands I will limp. AA2x or AA3x late in a tournament I will make a pot size raise preflop and take my chances of doubling up or getting knocked out, but these are pretty much the only hands I will take that chance with.

NUT GAME:

Omaha hi lo is a game of making the nuts… don’t put too many chips in the pot without it. REPEAT: OMAHA HI LO IS A NUT GAME! Low ends of straights, king high flushes, and non-nut full houses (occasionally top full houses) will often be the end of a bad player’s tournament.

How to play the nut low. NEWSFLASH: It is possible for more than one player to have the nut low.
The nut low, by itself, can be one of the biggest chip drainers in PLO8. All too often you will get 1/4 or 1/6th or even less of a monster pot which will cost you a ton of chips.

How to play a low draw? Check! If you only have the nut low draw and zero high draw, do not call a bet of any significant size… calling small bets is OK.

How to play when you flop the nut low? CHECK! If you have no high or potential for high. See how the action goes. Also, can your low be counterfeited where you could lose all of your chips and be out of the tournament after flopping the nut low and being too aggressive? Advantage, when the low is still good on the river, worse lows will usually pay you off… especially when they have the second nut low. They are SURE you would have bet the nut low already and now assume you only made a high hand.

How to play when you flop the nut low and either a made high or big high hand draw? BET! Value bet  because you want callers. bet enough to slowly build the pot so if you hit your high draw you can quarter the hell out of the other low 😉

PUTTING YOUR CHIPS IN THE POT IN HOPES TO GET THEM BACK:

Case study 1: You have AA47. The flop heads up comes A46 with 2 hearts. You bet and your opponent makes a pot size raise. What do you do?

Correct Answer: FOLD!

The low is made by your opponent. They have other draws straight and flush to go with the MADE low. You cannot ever gain chips in this pot t. If you continue in this hand, you will end up putting MANY or ALL of your chips into the pot and hoping to get lucky to get them back… YOU CANNOT WIN HERE! I will still fold this hand most times with 3 way action… although I will check this flop with 3 or more way action.

Case study 2: You have A45K with nut hearts. Again you are heads up. The flop comes 864  with 2 hearts. Your opponent bets pot. What do you do?

Correct Answer: FOLD!

The nut low is already made. Bottom line here, you are on a flush draw to try to get lucky to get your chips back. Once again, (in the vast majority of instances)you cannot win here. In a multi way pot with a reasonable size bet, I will at least see the turn card in this scenario.

If you are now saying to yourself, “Wow, you do a lot of folding until you make the nuts!”…

CONGRATULATIONS! You now understand PLO8 tournament strategy.