Below is a post I made to a mid stakes shorthanded LHE player who was asking about mid-limit PLO game quality and what advice people might have for a LHE player looking to learn PLO. Given the large population of LHE players here I thought this might interest you all.
Games and Bankroll. The games are still very good though you will have to practice game, seat and session selection similar to the way you must these days in SHLHE because there are not a million games at each site. When I say session selection I mean the time of day. But yes, the games are very good from 2/4 to 5/10. I will caution you, however, that these are much bigger games then the same limits at NL. The variance according to PT databases I have from NL and PLO is nearly double in PLO for most players. A little gamble in terms of bankroll requirements is going to add misery to your life in PLO more so then any other game. If you are playing short money-wise, just do yourself a favor and think of the game as glorified blackjack.
Omaha is still more popular in Europe so the games have been less affected by the legal climate changes. If you have access to non-US sites this can be a nice bonus but between PS and FTP you will still be OK.
Fish Protection. Omaha's positive attributes are actually very similar to SHLHE in my opinion. It is an action game with lots of big pots. Also, it has built in tilt-protection for when the fish or normally solid players go off. Much like in LHE, the fish are kept alive by the fact that when they lose it after a string of draw-outs they are likely to end up shoving a bunch of 30/70s and 40/60s instead of in NL where they will get absolutely obliterated as soon as they start to tilt.
Also, the game is enticing to fish and pro alike because it has the appearance of engaging complexity which is somewhat of a mirage but makes people feel sophisticated and entertained while playing a real gambling game, not some battle of wits for serious and boorish money-maker clones.
High-variance games give skilled players an edge because they have the experience, bankroll and emotional control to ride the waves. Remember that built in tilt-protection I mentioned? PLO facilitates bad habits in people. They lose–they tilt, they get even. It happens over and over. Until it doesn't and they pour gasoline on the fragile fire that was once their bankroll. We sit there and wait for this.
The Best vs. The Solid. The best from the solid PLO players are separated by subtle factors. First, the best have balance to their aggression. Yeah it’s fun to re-raise low-runs and so forth with position, but relentlessly pressing people in this game with no balance is a losing strategy. The players in the mid/high games who really give me trouble are like manic/depressive Irish drunks. You never know when things will get hairy and dangerous and it’s uncomfortable because of the dissonance. SHLHE players should understand this. It’s the difference between good-LAG and LAG-monkey.
PLO is a game of value. Implied odds, as illustrated by recent discussions on 2+2 in the “There is no such thing as implied odds in PLO” thread, are a complicated and ambiguous discussion in this game. Look for equity edges and push them—don’t get in the habit of over-estimating draws and calling large turn bets with shallow money. This will add pointless variance and lessen your earn.
Moreover, the best players practice good table and seat selection, tilt control and the basic but not-widespread ability to actually know what sort of equity you are likely to have with your holding on the flop/turn versus your opponent. I know the prior sentence is a description of poker itself drastically simplified. In Omaha, however, you have relatively decent players who probably couldn't tell you what kind of equity they had in a hand even if all the cards were turned face up.
Lastly, as you move up in stakes, stealing small pots from weak/tight regulars is an important pursuit. I wouldn't worry about this at first and just focus on understanding position, pre-flop play including the value of positional raising, out-counting/basic equity calculations and value betting.
