Calling all action junkies, there’s a new game in town because PokerStars launched 6-Card Omaha on Friday. Wait until you try this format if you think standard pot-limit Omaha (PLO) is a crazy game.
PokerStars fully launched 6-Card Omaha on its dot-com and dot-eu online poker sites on February 14th. Players flocked to the tables while most of the world was whispering sweet nothings into their loved ones ears on Valentine’s Day.
What is 6-Card Omaha?
6-Card Omaha is similar to a typical game of PLO except every receives six hole cards, as the name suggests. PokerStars’ 6-Card Omaha offering comes with stakes from $0.05/$0.10 up to $50/$100.
The games work in the exact same way as four-card PLO but with more hole cards. Hand rankings remain the same, as does the rule of having to use two hole cards to make your hand. It’s just the game generates ridiculous action because hand equities run so close.
You’ll notice 6-Card Omaha is a flop driven game quite quickly. Most players have made their hands or have got monster draws after the first three community cards are dealt.
What Are The Best 6-Card Omaha Starting Hands?
Good starting hand selection is key to success in 6-Card Omaha. It’s easy to think that any dealt hand is playable, but this is a major leak.
There are six possible two-card combinations available to you in traditional PLO. This increases to 10 in “Big O” and further still to 15 in 6-Card Omaha. That’s a lot of possible combinations to consider when you receive your hole cards.
Cards that work together are your obvious starting point. Playing draws is common in all forms of Omaha so hand that can make straights and flushes are strong.
Furthermore, big pairs that can make top set are also strong. As are a combination of the pairs, same suits, and potential straights.
Be aware that most hands hit a draw on the flop, but that doesn’t mean play everything dealt to you.
Are Pots Really Bigger In PLO Games?
Pots grow larger in all forms of PLO thanks to the pot-limit structure and the closeness of hand equity. Hold’em players often commit their stacks as a substantial favorite. For example, aces against kings all-in preflop sees aces an 80% favorite.
This doesn’t happen often in PLO. It happens, but it’s very rare.
Hand equities on the flop run very close. Take this hand as an example. A player has Ad-Kd-Qs-Js against As-Ac-Kh-Kc and the flop reads Ah-Td-9s. You’d think the hand with top set was a massive favorite, right? Wrong. The hand with a set is a favorite but only 58.66% against 40.37%.
Even a flopped straight isn’t always guaranteed a win. The player with Jd-Td-9c-8h is only a 56.10% favorite to beat Ad-Kd-Qs-Js on a Qc-9s-8s flop!
Online Poker’s Biggest Pots Have All Been Omaha
Five of the biggest online cash game pots every played for took place in PLO games. All five involved Viktor “Isildur1” Blom, which is quite amazing.
The biggest pot of all time took place at a PLO table with blinds of $500/$1,000!
Blom raised to $3,000 with 9s-8h-7d-6d and Patrik Antonius three-bet to $9,000 with Ah-Kh-Ks-3s. Blom wasn’t done with the hand and he four-bet to $27,000 before Antonius made it $81,000 to go! Blom called.
The pot was already huge with $162,000 in the middle. Antonius flopped a straight on the 4s-5c-2h flop and bet $91,000. Blom raised to $435,000 before calling off his last $163,000 when Antonus set him all in. The 5h turn and 9c river completed the board and Antonius banked an incredible $1,356,947!
We can only imagine some pots high stakes 6-Card Omaha is going to create.
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Matthew Pitt
If it’s something you can play online for real money, chances are Matthew knows a bit about it. He’s been writing about slots, craps and poker for the better part of the last decade. He’s written for PokerNews, PartyPoker and many other respected online gambling websites during the last nine years.