I have had many discussions with friends about whether PLO is dangerous for online poker players and on the whole we agree that for a new player it is better to focus on Texas Hold’em poker whilst you hone your knowledge of strategy and the other fundamental concepts. PLO is like a heightened from of Hold ‘em, it charges you more in terms of pot size to make the decisions you have learned in Holdem. Good decisions therefore earn you more and bad decisions cost you more.

A bankroll can be lost in a shorter space of time in PLO by going on tilt because the pots are bigger more regularly than in Hold ‘em. In Texas Holdem the chances of getting a big hand versus big hand confrontation are reasonable, but they do not happen that much. When they do, the money tends to go in and you flip for the pot. You will get such a situation quite often in Texas Hold ‘em if you play regularly.

In PLO, because you hold four hole cards instead of two there are more opportunities for you and your opponents to hit (perceived) strong hands and therefore you get a hand (and face a strong hand) more often per round that any other form of Poker. Many Holdem players do not make the necessary adjustments in realising that stronger hands are not necessarily so strong in PLO and they are willing to get their money in lighter than they should. This promotes players to play more hands than what standard PLO strategy would recommend and the game gets a little crazy as a result.

Bankroll management must be used and never forgotten in order to be a good PLO player. Any deviation from recommended bankroll management “law” will be cruelly exposed. You will not notice this if you go on a winning streak but when things go wrong you will be more inclined to panic if you are playing too high in this swingy poker game where losses can really hurt. PLO can lead to big profits which is why I think it is a good game to play, but with plenty of caution.

To play PLO I would increase the amount of buy-ins in your bankroll considerably. This will compensate for you “paying tuition” to learn some of the moves in the early days and also for the swings involved. Sometimes your straights, flushes and even full houses will be beaten so much you will be sure online poker is rigged against you but that is the game. Any frustration and emotion is heightened in this volatile game so being in control and fundamentally strong at tilt control is important before you attempt to play PLO. If your bankroll is not large enough yet to play PLO then wait and continue to study the game whilst it becomes large enough.

The good thing is that mastering these concepts at PLO will make Texas Hold ‘em seem far more relaxed and friendly as a game to you. Hopefully this new perspective on Poker will result in additional profits. PLO is an exciting game that demands respect and if you learn the correct strategies you can make a lot of money from it as it is a far less solved game than Texas Hold ‘em.

By Malcolm Clarke

The table then erupted and told me that I only had a straight. If you look at the board I had Ah-Kh-Qh-Jh-10h. The players at the table told me that I could only use three cards on the board. Nobody had told me this, and so I assumed that they were trying to cheat me out of my money. I immediately asked for my money back and they told me that I had lost fair and square. After a few choice words and a near fist fight, I had to leave the game.

Was I cheated here?

Joe

Joe,

You need to learn the rules of any game that you play before you sit down. In Omaha Poker, you make your best five card hand with two cards in your hand and three cards on the board. You are REQUIRED to use two cards in your hand and ONLY three on the board. Based on the cards in your hand and the board cards, you had an ace high straight only. Your opponent did indeed hold a Straight Flush.

You were not cheated. You failed to learn the rules and it cost you. However, do not feel bad. I actually made the exact same mistake as you when I first started playing Omaha. I thought I have a Straight Flush and raised like mad and then lost to a Full House. It was a computer game and I thought the game had malfunctioned. I then learned I just didn’t know how to read my hand.

Farha took down his first major poker title in 1996 when he won the $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha bracelet and $145,000. He remained relatively quiet in the tournament world until 2002 when he finished in 3rd in the $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha event at the WSOP.

Farha’s best World Series of Poker Main Event finish occurred the year everything changed in poker. Most anyone that follows poker knows that Farha finished 2nd to Chris Moneymaker in 2003 and Moneymaker’s win started the current poker boom. Before heads-up play started, Moneymaker actually offered an even split of the prize pool out of respect for Farha’s game. Farha thought he had a good chance to win and turned down the deal. $1.3 Million for 2nd place is still not a bad finish. A few months later, PokerStars.com scheduled a rematch between the two players and Farha won the rematch.

Farha would win his next major poker title in 2006 when he would take home the bracelet in the $5,000 Omaha 8 or Better event. This win would earn him $398,560. After having a quiet 2007, Farha would return to the WSOP in 2008 and cash twice, making a final table in the $10,000 World Championship Mixed Event and finishing 6th.

For his career, Sam Farha has won over $2.19 Million in live tournaments. Farha is always at the table with his signature cigarette. In addition to tournaments, Farha can be found in many high stakes cash games, especially Omaha. He is also a regular guest on High Stakes Poker.

Outside of Poker, Farha co-authored the book Farha on Omaha, which will serve as a strategy book for both cash game and tournament Omaha. He has also served as a spokesman for Harrah’s entertainment and is supposedly working on production of a reality TV show.

Sam Farha many times at the table has the look of the classic Vegas gambler or maybe a mob pit boss that has decided to play a few hands. His wild and unpredictable style keeps opponents guessing and his preference for Omaha tends to lend him to gamble a little more in other poker games.

Sam Farha is a true Omaha specialist that has taken his skills and made himself a champion of poker. If not for a well times bluff and a fortunate flop in the 2004 WSOP Main Event, he very well may have been a Holdem champion as well. Regardless, Farha is a fearsome opponent at the table and one you probably want to stay away from unless you want a good story about how you lost your money to him.