How to play Pot-Limit Omaha

The one rule that changes everything

You are dealt four hole cards. At showdown you must use exactly two of them, plus exactly three from the board. You cannot play three from your hand. You cannot play one. Aces in your hand with four to a flush on the board do not make a flush unless two of those aces (or ace plus another of the suit) are in your four and three of the suit are on the board — count carefully, because this is the leak that costs beginners the most money.

Pot-limit betting

You cannot shove any time you feel like it. The maximum bet or raise is the size of the pot, computed as: current pot, plus a call of the bet in front of you, plus that same amount again. Rooms and software compute it for you. The effect is that stacks go in across multiple streets more often than in Hold'em, and that flop and turn decisions are where the money actually moves.

Why the nuts get stacked

A wrap (a straight draw with many outs, often 13–20) plus a flush draw can have more than thirty clean outs. Flopping top set on a connected two-tone board is a strong hand and also a favourite to be behind by the river against the right range. PLO is a game of nutted hands, redraws, and knowing when your 'nuts' are only the nuts for this street.

• Double-suited and connected holdings play; four random cards do not
• Position is even more valuable than in Hold'em because pots are multi-way and streets are expensive
• Aces are a raising hand, not an automatic stack-off on any flop
• If you came from Hold'em, fold more flops for a month on purpose