Hand selection strategy for 5-Card PLO (avoiding trouble hands)

5-Card Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) is a high-stakes game where hand selection will ruin or rescue your bankroll. Unlike No-Limit Hold’em, where preflop hand strength is pretty decisive, 5-Card PLO is all about made and coordinated hands that have the ability to make the nuts. The right starting hands are important in order to stay away from trouble spots after the flop and gain maximum leverage.

Understanding the Fundamentals of Hand Selection

In 5-Card PLO, you get five hole cards instead of four (like normal PLO), which increases the number of combinations. But the rules remain the same—you have to make use of exactly two of your hole cards and three community cards to create your best five-card hand.

Because of the extra hole card, equities are closer than in 4-Card PLO, and players chase large draws more aggressively. This means marginal hands can get you in serious trouble unless you are disciplined in preflop choosing.

Avoiding the "Dangling Card" Trap

One of the biggest mistakes in 5-Card PLO is to play in hands with a “dangling card”—a card that does nothing for your overall hand. For example:

Bad Hand Example: K♠ Q♠ J♦ 5♣ 2♠

The K-Q-J is fairly coordinated, but the 5♣ and 2♠ don’t contribute anything to the hand. This makes it difficult to hit strong nut hands consistently.

Better Hand Example: K♠ Q♠ J♦ 10♣ 9♠

Now, all five cards are cooperating to create straight and flush possibilities.

The more coordinated your hand is, the greater your chance to make nutted hands that will scoop the pot and not fall prey to marginal situations.

The Power of Double-Suited and Connected Hands

Double-suited hands also create more flush draw possibilities, so they are much stronger than single-suited hands. Hands such as:

A♠ K♠ J♥ 10♥ 9♦ (double-suited)

Q♦ J♦ 10♠ 9♠ 8♣ (connected wrap straight with two suits)

These hands provide you with the greatest flexibility after the flop since you can make several strong draws.

On the other hand, playing weak, unconnected hands such as A♠ 8♦ 6♣ 3♠ 2♠ is a disaster recipe. Although you may have an ace and a suited card, this hand will seldom hit hard enough to win large pots.

Understanding Preflop Equity in 5-Card PLO

One of the defining characteristics of PLO is how close preflop equities run. This is even more apparent in 5-Card PLO, where hands with strong connectivity and suit potential perform significantly better than those with isolated high cards.

Let’s look at an example using equity calculations:

Scenario:

Hand 1: A♠ K♠ Q♦ J♦ 10♠ (double-suited, strong connectivity)
Hand 2: A♠ A♦ 8♣ 6♠ 2♣ (pocket aces with little connectivity)
Hand 3: K♥ K♣ 9♠ 7♦ 4♠ (pocket kings with one suit)

Against each other in an all-in preflop situation, Hand 1 (the connected, double-suited rundown) will often perform better than either of the big pocket pair hands. In fact, against random holdings:

The A-K-Q-J-10 hand has about 45-50% equity
The A-A-8-6-2 hand has around 32-38% equity
The K-K-9-7-4 hand is an underdog with roughly 25-30% equity

The reason? Pocket aces without connectivity rarely improve past one pair, while the connected hand has multiple ways to make the nuts.

Trouble Hands to Avoid

Certain types of hands can seem playable but will often put you in bad situations postflop. Here are some examples:

1. Weak Aces (No Backup)

Example: A♦ 7♠ 4♣ 3♠ 2♣
Why it’s bad: Even though you have an ace, the rest of the hand is weak, and you’ll often be forced to play top pair with no redraws.

2. Bare Pocket Kings or Queens

Example: K♠ K♦ 8♣ 6♠ 3♦
Why it’s bad: Unlike in Hold’em, pocket kings aren’t as dominant preflop, and without straight or flush potential, you’ll often be in tough spots.

3. Middle Card Clusters Without High Cards

Example: 9♦ 8♣ 7♥ 5♦ 3♠
Why it’s bad: While there is some connectivity, it lacks high-card strength, meaning your straights are vulnerable to higher ones.

Position and Hand Selection Adjustments

Position plays a huge role in 5-Card PLO, just as in any other poker game. You should be tightening up your hand selection in early position and loosening up slightly in late position, where you can play more speculative hands.

Early Position (UTG, UTG+1) Strategy:

Stick to premium hands like double-suited A-K-Q-J-X, strong double-suited rundowns, and A-A-K-K-X with connectivity.

Avoid hands with “gaps” like A-K-10-6-4, as they create tough postflop spots.

Middle Position Strategy:

Expand your range slightly to include high-connected single-suited hands, such as K-Q-J-10-9.
Still avoid weak aces or disconnected pairs.

Late Position (CO, BTN) Strategy:

You can open up more with speculative hands like J-10-9-8-7 single-suited, since you can play more aggressively postflop.

Blind Play Strategy:

Be cautious with limp-calling weak hands, as you’ll often be playing out of position postflop.
Defend your big blind with hands that have multi-way potential but avoid weak, unsuited holdings.

Final Thoughts

Mastering 5-Card PLO hand selection means focusing on connectivity, suitedness, and avoiding hands that can get you in trouble postflop. The key takeaways:

Avoid “dangling card” hands – Every card should contribute to your hand’s overall strength.
Double-suited hands > Single-suited hands – More flush potential = more profitability.
Connected hands > High-card hands – Big pairs without straight or flush potential are traps.
Be mindful of your position – Play tighter early and widen your range in late position.
Understand preflop equity dynamics – Premium rundowns often outperform naked aces or kings.

The more disciplined you are with your preflop hand selection, the fewer tough postflop spots you’ll find yourself in, allowing you to capitalize on weaker opponents who overvalue marginal holdings.