Well I begun PLO 2 months ago now. I really enjoy this game after having played for 2 years mostly NLHE.
I decided when I begun to put 2000 USD of my modest bankroll to this game, and to learn it, as I know learning is a costly process ...
It's time to make a brief summary for me.
These 2000 have quickly climbed at the beginning, I was about 500 down after the first month, playing 2/3 hours a day after work. And I must say that I played losing session after losing session...
This last month I'm at 1800 so 200 down from the beginning but 300 from the worst.
The problem is that in this last month my bankroll soar rapidly at these 1800 for the first 15 days, but these last 15 days have been days of great volatility, between 2300 and 1800.
I find that volatility very huge, and more embarassing I can't really say that I'm a winning player because winning sessions are often offset by losing ones..and these losing ones are made of bad starting hands, overbet 2 pairs, drawing K-flush mostly.
I can win but I can lose also the same amount that I won because of all these "mistakes" I mentionned. But in the meantime, if I wasn't making these mistakes, wouldn't I play too tight for this action game ?
For example I was saturday or sunday at the 0.5/1 PLO table, beginning at 100, down to 35 at a moment, then up at 175 and finishing my session at 140.
Is that normal ?
I'm sure I could reduce this volatility, but how ? And how turn a stagnating (can I say that ? ) session into a winning one, I really feel that I'm not progressing these past 15 days...
I wonder also if this volatility is not amplified by the fact I play on very different tables from the 25 to the 100 max-buy-in at Stars.
Should I concentrate on the 50 for example, then move up when I really feel good ? I feel that the 25 is not a very good table for learning as most players are really bad and you don't play the same game you would play on the 100 table, but I could be wrong ..
I read once on 2+2 some1 who told a guy who wanted to learn PLO to avoid tables under the 0.5 / 1, his strategy would be to build a bankroll to afford the 0./5 /1 then directly move at this limit.
I hear for your advices...

well, i'm on occasional PLO player at party $25 tables and from my records, I'm a semi-consistent winner. From my experience with limit HE online, I started with the lowest .5/1 and I found that it really helped me at the higher levels. Since I would have to show down winning hands, this really helped me work on reading people and making sure my starting hand selection was solid. As I moved up, I can adjust if needed.

I'm not sure how closely this relates to PLO, but I feel that playing at the fishier lower limits can help set the foundation for solid play. You learn to start with better hands in order to be a consistent winner. If you can win enough to have the bankroll to move up, then you've earned your way there. It is easier to adjust to the other factors in the game at the higher levels once you get there and have solid basics.

Just my opionion as its really worked for my limit HE game.

I think your idea of PLO is maybe still kind of taking shape - yes it is an action game, and indeed you can probably profitably play more hands in PLO than you can in holdem; indeed, a good PLO player on a table of fish could call every single hand and still make money (although it's not really advisable).

However, you need to be giving action on the RIGHT hands. If you are pushing in chips on king high flushes, overpairs etc, can't get away from middle set when someone raises you, chances are you're playing too loose in general. You can be loose, aggressive, even bet like a crazy person in the right situation, and you can win a lot of pots on passive tables by betting draws or outright bluffing (but never more than two opponents for this!) BUT if you are calling just about every hand preflop and putting a lot of chips in with any old hand, your opportunities to semi-bluff and bet draws aggressively will be reduced because people won't put you on a hand. Sure, that also means your big hands get paid off but let me let you into a secret... In PLO, even if you play very tightly, people still routinely pay off your big made hands with draws, and call your 1/2 pot milking bets on the river with garbage like two pair when there's a straight showing. In other words, in this game, especially at the lower limits, you don't have to give action to receive it. Don't worry too much about table image at PLO50, worry about playing the right hands and making the right percentage decisions on each play. If you build it, they will come - make a hand and people pay you off in this game, like any other, like NL or like stud, there are plenty of fish in this sea. Don't be tempted to become one by trying to make too many fancy plays or getting into a loose/aggressive mindset.

All that is needed to be a successful PLO player is a good head to analyse the situation you find yourself in, a good knowledge of "what is a good hand and why", a bit of patience and enough balls to be able to put your whole stack in on the right hand. I think you are aggressive and intelligent enough to be able to do this, and I expect you'll make real headway in this game in the next few months if you can get a hold of your leaks, because believe me playing too many hands preflop, betting too aggressively on vulnerable holdings, and putting in too much money on non-nut draws like K-high flushes are big leaks in this game.

You should recognise also that playing too many hands preflop, whilst not especially costly itself in an "action game" with a lot of implied odds can be FEEDING other leaks; that is, you play marginal hands for 50 cents or whatever preflop, hit a decent flop for your hand but, because it was so marginal or poor in the first place, you have tough decisions after the flop because even though you hit your hand your holding or your draw is not THAT strong. You make life hard for yourself after the flop by playing garbage before the flop, it's very easily done. A lot of people do this and dont understand why they don't win much in PLO. If you're a starting player, I would suggest you play the top 25% or so of starting hands at the absolute maximum, probably closer to 15-20%. That means folding that TT72, staying away from hands with a suited king and not a lot else, getting hands with multiple gaps and a few medium suited features in the muck, and attaching very little importance to low pairs (below, say, JJ). You might like to re-read my article on starting hand selection in the "poker articles" section of the front page here at www.livepokerforum.com as to specifically why playing weaker hands preflop can be a good way to promote poor post-flop play, especially for newer players.

If you tighten up a bit, and continue to play aggressively in a CONTROLLED manner in spots where it's very clear to do so, in time your game will open up and you'll be playing a few more hands and winning more pots. I think you are good enough to be very successful at this game, and enjoying it is a big plus. This month, I have been playing on looser tables than normal and I too have gone back to playing only the top 20% or so of hands in these games; at Stars, where it's a little more passive, I play most hands in late position especially if the game's shorthanded because I know a lot of pots are taken down by bets and semi-bluffs early on so LP is the place to do that from. At Gaming Club and Cryptologic, however, the play is a bit more loose and so there's more opposition and you need a better hand to be betting aggressively (in general) so I've toned down my calling a little bit. Perhaps you could benefit from doing something similar. Bear in mind I have been making $60 per hour this month (that's not generally representative for me, but I think 40-50 is perhaps sustainable long-term in the games I play, including bonuses etc) and I've been mucking at least 75% of my hands preflop.

Lastly, if you haven't read any books on this game yet, I suggest you take a look at Bob Ciaffone's one (it's called Omaha, the action game, or something) and Stewart Reuben's How Good Is Your Pot Limit Omaha. Reuben plays very loosely preflop, however, because he plays in games with a large buyin. You should NOT play a lot of the hands he calls a raise with etc. on a short buyin table like you find online.

Anyways, I hope you find all this broadly helpful. I look forward to reading about your progress and results in the weeks to come!

Best of luck,

Monk
xxxxx