While no-limit hold'em has been the most popular poker game widely available for a long time, there is a very strong following for pot-limit Omaha. Also known as PLO, this game has been the second most popular game for a very long time, and is very similar to no-limit hold'em in many ways. The main difference between these two games is how the pocket cards are dealt. Here we're going to look at some tips to help you choose good starting hands in pot-limit Omaha.

In general, you want to have big pairs, big cards, be suited and be connected. Within these four criteria, the cards in your hand must work together. To illustrate this point in action, consider that a hand like Ace-Ace-Nine-Five in four different suits is actually a fairly useless hand because it will rarely make a hand better than one pair. One pair is not a very strong hand at showdown in pot-limit Omaha, even heads-up.

On the other hand, consider a hand like Ace-Jack-Ten-Nine with the Ace suited. This hand can make lots of straights, nut flushes, and many strong two pair hands or draws. This hand will play much better than our Ace-Ace-Nine-Five rainbow example, even out of position.

There are many hands that are in the middle of these two extremes, like King-Jack-Ten-Eight with the King suited. This hand will be pretty good in position, and will probably still play better than Ace-Ace-Nine-Five rainbow, but also suffers from some reverse implied odds issues since it cannot make the nut flush and often won't be making the nut straight.