Pot Limit Omaha (PLO) is a game played with four cards instead of two, unlike Texas Hold’em. With the extra hole cards, hand rankings in PLO poker are slightly different and take some time to get used to. Understanding the different hand combinations and how to evaluate the strength of each is crucial to becoming a successful PLO player. In this blog post, we’ll go through the basics of PLO poker hand ranking and provide some tips on how to master it.

Understanding the Basics of PLO Poker Hand Rankings

In PLO, players must use exactly two of their four hole cards and three community cards to form the best possible hand. The ranking order of PLO poker hands is also a bit different from Texas Hold’em. Here are the hand rankings in PLO poker from highest to lowest:

– Royal Flush

– Straight Flush

– Four of a Kind

– Full House

– Flush

– Straight

– Three of a Kind

– Two Pair

– One Pair

– High Card

Besides the ranking order, there are some other differences between PLO hand rankings and Texas Hold’em. For example, in PLO, there are more opportunities to have flushes and straights, and thus, these hands have more value than in Texas Hold’em. Another example is that a hand like top set on the flop is not as strong in PLO as in Texas Hold’em, as there are more draws available for opponents to hit which may give them a stronger hand.

The Importance of Understanding PLO Hand Ranks

To be successful in PLO, you need to have a good understanding of the relative strength of your hands. Unlike Hold’em, where there are only 169 possible starting hand combinations, there are over 16,000 starting hand combinations in PLO. Therefore, understanding the different hand rankings can help you make better decisions in different situations and evaluate your equity against your opponents.