5-Card Omaha Rules
5-Card Omaha — also called 5-Card PLO or PLO5 — is Pot-Limit Omaha with one change: each player is dealt five hole cards instead of four. It is a high-hand-only game, played to a five-card community board, and the classic Omaha rule still holds: you must use exactly two hole cards and exactly three from the board. The extra card means more combinations, bigger hands, and bigger swings.
The objective
Make the best five-card poker hand and win the whole pot — there is no low half here. The skill lies in choosing which two of your five hole cards to play, and in reading how the extra combinations lift everyone’s hands at once, so that a hand which would be strong in Omaha may only be middling in PLO5.
How a hand plays out
Five hole cards, then bet
Post the blinds and deal each player five cards face down. The first betting round follows, almost always Pot-Limit. Those five private cards are the game’s defining feature — one more than Omaha, and each adds combinations.
Flop, turn, river
Five community cards are dealt in the usual stages: a three-card flop, then the turn, then the river, with a betting round after each. The board is shared by the whole table.
Two hole cards, exactly
At showdown your hand is exactly two of your five hole cards plus exactly three community cards. You can never use one hole card or three — always exactly two, no matter how tempting the other three look.
Five hole cards give you ten two-card combinations instead of Omaha’s six. Everyone makes big hands more often, so equities run closer together, nutted hands are common, and the variance is higher — respect the nuts and lean on blockers.
Related Omaha variants
5-Card PLO (this game)
Pot-Limit Omaha with five hole cards, high-hand only. Widely spread online and the most popular step up from four-card PLO. Everything follows Omaha rules except the extra hole card and the swings it creates.
6-Card Omaha (PLO6)
The escalation: six hole cards, fifteen two-card combinations, and even wilder equities. The two-hole-card rule and Pot-Limit betting are unchanged; only the deal grows. Big hands become the norm rather than the exception.
Big O (the Hi-Lo cousin)
Take five-card Omaha and add an eight-or-better low, and you have Big O — the same deal, but the pot splits between the best high and the best qualifying low. If you enjoy PLO5, Big O is the natural split-pot sibling.
A worked example
The board reads K♠ 9♠ 4♠ 7♦ 2♣. Marco holds A♠ Q♠ J♠ T♦ 8♥ — four spades in his hand.
It looks like a monster: with three spades on the board, Marco seems to have the nut flush. But he can only ever use two hole cards.
Using A♠ Q♠ from his hand plus the three board spades, he does make the ace-high flush — that works, because exactly two of his hole cards are spades in play. Now change his hand to A♠ Q♥ J♠ T♠ 8♠: he holds four spades, but with only three board spades he can still only add two, so A♠ plus one more spade again makes the flush. The trap is thinking the extra spades in hand add anything — beyond the two you play, they are dead cards.
The lesson: count only two hole cards. If your would-be flush needs three or four cards from your hand, it does not exist. Exactly two hole cards plus exactly three board cards — never more, never fewer.
Tips for beginners
Retrain your hand values. A holding that feels huge in Omaha is often ordinary in PLO5 because the extra card lifts everyone. Tighten your pre-flop starting requirements and favour cards that work together — connected, suited, and coordinated — over five scattered high cards.
Play the nuts and mind your blockers. With equities running close, being drawn to the second-best flush or straight is expensive. Because you hold five cards, you also block more of your opponents’ outs than you might think — noticing which key cards you hold is a real edge in PLO5.
Frequently asked questions
How is 5-Card Omaha different from regular Omaha?
The only difference is the deal: you get five hole cards instead of four. Everything else is standard Omaha — a five-card community board, Pot-Limit betting, and the rule that you use exactly two hole cards and three board cards. It is a high-hand-only game, not a split.
Do I still have to use exactly two hole cards?
Yes, always. No matter that you hold five cards, your hand is exactly two of them plus exactly three from the board. Four cards to a flush in your hand is worthless if only two of them are the same suit as the board’s flush — you can never use more than two.
Is 5-Card PLO the same as PLO5?
Yes. 5-Card Omaha, 5-Card PLO, and PLO5 are all names for the same game: Pot-Limit Omaha dealt with five hole cards. It is spread on major online sites and is one of the most popular Omaha variants after four-card PLO itself.
Why do hands run closer together than in four-card Omaha?
With five hole cards you have ten two-card combinations instead of six, so everyone makes strong hands more often. Equities between hands are tighter pre-flop, nutted hands appear more frequently, and the swings are bigger — which is why pre-flop selection and blockers matter so much.
What is 6-Card Omaha?
The next escalation: PLO6 deals six hole cards, giving fifteen two-card combinations and even wilder equities. The two-hole-card rule and Pot-Limit betting are unchanged. Big O is the Hi-Lo split cousin of five-card Omaha, splitting the pot eight-or-better for low.
Related games
Informational only — this guide explains how the game is played and doesn't mean it's offered on Salty Poker.