A look at straights and sets in Pot-Limit Omaha

Bob
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Posted on: July 28, 2020 8:32 pm EDT

PLO poker beginners can use these tips on straights and sets to improve their game

One of the common mistakes for poker players is to think their current hand is unbeatable when it is not, especially when playing Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO), which has so many variations. For instance, straights and sets are strong hands, but they are far from being dominant in a PLO game. The success behind picking up the most profit from these types of hands comes from learning how to avoid the many landmines that can trick you into shove it all in; these hands are most likely to lose giant pots that winning small ones.

Sets and straights are hands that can turn into nothing of value if your opponent has a full house or a flush, which are among the most common hands that can crush your game. On top of that, even if you have a set or flush, they can be easily defeated by better straights and sets, which is also very common.
Unless the board cards are unpaired, you should always pay attention to where do you stand compared to other opponents.

In this scenario, your actions during the preflop become very relevant on how the hand will play out after the cards are laid out in the table. For instance, focusing on suited connectors most of the time will end up with you getting a lot of straights; these hands can be used to win small pots. However, it comes with a high risk of losing it all.
The best way to eliminate the risk that comes with straights and sets is not to play those hands that could be easily beaten pre-flop. When playing PLO, pre-flop betting acts as a sort of downfall for many PLO players.