PLO5 starting hand rankings
No public solver rankings exist for 5-card PLO (PLO5; "Big O" in live rooms, where it's usually played hi-lo). These are equity rankings from simulating every one of the 2,598,960 possible hands, 200,000 trials per hand class. PLO6 included below.
The short answer
The strongest PLO5 starting hands are double-suited aces with a connected middle rundown: A-A-T-9-9, A-A-T-T-9 and A-A-T-9-8 double-suited sit in the top group at 65.1-65.6% equity against one random hand. That group is a 142-way statistical tie, and it has a clear profile: every member holds two aces, 90% are double-suited, and the side cards cluster on T-8-9. The edge is thinner than PLO4's best hand (A-A-T-T double-suited, 71.5%): the fifth card compresses every equity. A hand with at least two aces arrives 4.17% of the time (PLO4: 2.57%), and a rainbow hand is impossible in PLO5: five cards, four suits, so one suit always repeats.
The top group: a 142-way tie
At 200,000 trials per class, the simulation cannot separate the top 142 hand classes: all sit at 65.1-65.6% vs one random hand, about the top 0.11% of deals. Ranking them 1 to 142 would be noise dressed up as precision, so this page doesn't.
What the group has in common instead: every member holds exactly two aces, 90% are double-suited, and the non-ace cards cluster on T, 8, 9, J. Aces plus a connected middle rundown, two suits working. A sample of the group, in simulation order:
Suit tags in the data: ds = double-suited (2-2-1), ss = single-suited (2-1-1-1), 3-suit = three of one suit (triple suited). Against five random opponents the same top-group hands keep 26.0-30.5% equity (a random hand's share is 16.7%): PLO5 equities compress hard multiway.
The top 1% in eight tiers
Each tier is one quantization bin of the underlying table: a group of classes the simulation ranks together. Tiers are real steps; order inside a tier is not.
| Tier | Equity vs 1 | Classes | Cum. % of hands | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 65.1-65.6% | 142 | 0.11% | A♠A♥T♦9♠9♥A♠A♥T♠T♥9♦A♠A♥T♠9♦8♥ |
| 2 | 64.3-64.9% | 126 | 0.21% | A♠A♥T♦8♠8♦A♠A♥J♠J♦8♥A♠A♥J♠8♥8♦ |
| 3 | 63.9-64.2% | 133 | 0.32% | A♠A♥8♠6♥6♦A♠A♥Q♦J♠J♦A♠A♥Q♠9♥9♦ |
| 4 | 63.6-63.9% | 130 | 0.42% | A♠A♥Q♠Q♦J♦A♠A♥T♦7♠7♦A♠A♥J♠J♦4♥ |
| 5 | 63.4-63.5% | 138 | 0.52% | A♠A♥7♦6♠6♦A♠A♥T♠8♥5♥A♠A♥7♠5♦4♥ |
| 6 | 63.1-63.3% | 127 | 0.62% | A♠A♥J♠J♦2♥A♠A♥J♦7♠7♦A♠A♥K♠K♦5♦ |
| 7 | 62.9-63.1% | 124 | 0.73% | A♠A♥K♠K♦J♦A♠A♥T♦7♠4♦A♠A♥Q♠8♥4♦ |
| 8 | 62.8-62.9% | 133 | 0.83% | A♠A♥9♠9♦3♥A♠A♥K♠K♦7♥A♠A♥K♠K♦9♥ |
The full ladder to any depth is in the CSV downloads above; the same tie caveat applies inside every bin.
What the top X% looks like
The hand sitting at each percentile boundary, by combo-weighted share.
| Top | Boundary hand | Suits | Equity vs 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1% | A♠A♥Q♠J♦T♣ | ss | 62.4-62.6% |
| 2% | A♠A♥Q♦9♦3♠ | ds | 61.1-61.2% |
| 5% | A♠A♥Q♦9♠5♠ | 3-suit | 59.0-59.0% |
| 10% | Q♠Q♥9♦8♠6♣ | ss | 56.9-57.0% |
| 15% | A♠J♥J♦T♣3♠ | ss | 55.6-55.6% |
| 20% | J♠T♥9♦7♥7♦ | ds | 54.5-54.5% |
| 30% | K♠Q♥T♠7♦6♠ | 3-suit | 52.8-52.9% |
| 40% | J♠J♥7♦6♣3♠ | ss | 51.4-51.4% |
| 50% | A♠9♥7♦4♠3♦ | ds | 50.0-50.0% |
| 75% | K♠Q♥4♠4♦2♣ | ss | 46.4-46.5% |
| 90% | 7♠6♥5♠5♦3♣ | ss | 43.2-43.2% |
Read it as a strength ladder: a hand at the top-10% line beats a random hand 56.9-57.0% of the time; the median hand sits near 50/50 by construction.
PLO6
Same method, 50,000 trials per class across 962,988 classes. The sixth card compresses equities further and pushes triple double-suited hands to the top.
PLO6's top tier is a 976-way tie at 64.5-65.2% vs one random hand. Every member is at least double-suited, 98% hold two aces, and the side cards cluster on T, J, 8, 7. Typical members, in simulation order:
| Tier | Equity vs 1 | Classes | Cum. % of hands | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 64.5-65.2% | 976 | 0.11% | A♠A♥Q♦T♠9♥8♦A♠A♥J♦T♦8♠7♥A♠A♥J♦T♦9♠8♥ |
| 2 | 63.3-64.5% | 950 | 0.21% | A♠A♥J♠J♦T♦7♥A♠A♥J♠9♦8♥8♦A♠A♥7♠7♦5♥5♦ |
| 3 | 62.6-63.3% | 918 | 0.31% | A♠A♥8♠7♥7♦6♦A♠A♥K♦J♠J♦5♥A♠A♥9♠8♥8♦6♦ |
| 4 | 62.2-62.6% | 936 | 0.42% | A♠A♥Q♠7♦6♥6♦A♠A♥K♠J♦7♥7♦A♠A♥9♠9♦7♦4♥ |
| 5 | 61.8-62.2% | 912 | 0.52% | A♠A♥K♠Q♥Q♦6♦A♠A♥T♦T♣7♠7♦A♠K♥K♦9♠9♥7♦ |
| 6 | 61.5-61.8% | 917 | 0.62% | A♠K♥K♦7♠7♥4♦A♠A♥T♠T♦4♥4♣A♠A♥K♠K♦8♦3♥ |
Suit tags: ds3 = three suits paired (2-2-2), ds = two suits paired (2-2-1-1). PLO6 boundary hands: top 1% = A-A-K-8-7-5 ds (60.8-61.0%) · top 10% = A-K-J-J-T-4 3+2 (56.4-56.4%) · top 50% = K-Q-J-8-5-4 3-suit (50.3-50.3%).
Suit patterns in 5-card Omaha
How often each suit pattern is dealt in PLO5, exact combinatorics. Pattern notation: 2-2-1 means two suits paired plus one odd suit.
| Pattern | Shape | % of hands | Combos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Double suited | 2-2-1 | 36.52% | 949,104 |
| Single suited | 2-1-1-1 | 26.37% | 685,464 |
| Triple suited (three of one suit) | 3-1-1 | 22.32% | 580,008 |
| Triple suited + pair (3-2) | 3-2 | 10.30% | 267,696 |
| Four of one suit | 4-1 | 4.29% | 111,540 |
| Monotone | 5 | 0.20% | 5,148 |
| Rainbow | 1-1-1-1-1 | impossible | 0 |
Terminology varies: "triple suited" in 5-card Omaha usually means three cards of one suit (3-1-1 or 3-2); in PLO6 the same phrase often means three suit pairs (2-2-2, tagged ds3 on this page). Double suited is the most common PLO5 pattern at 36.5%, and in PLO4 the split is double suited 13.5%, single suited 58.4%, rainbow 10.5%.
How PLO5 compares to PLO4
By raw equity against a random hand, PLO4's top five are all double-suited aces with a pair: A-A-T-T (71.5%), A-A-J-J (71.2%), A-A-Q-Q (70.9%), A-A-5-5 (70.8%), A-A-9-9 (70.7%). The famous A-A-K-K double-suited ranks 6th at 70.7% and A-A-J-T double-suited ranks 7th at 70.6%. Against one random hand, the pair's set-making power counts for more than broadway connectivity; against real opening ranges, connectivity earns its reputation back. That caveat is the point of the next section.
| Dealt frequency | PLO4 | PLO5 | PLO6 |
|---|---|---|---|
| At least two aces | 2.57% | 4.17% | 6.08% |
| Double-suited | 13.5% | 36.5% | - |
| Rainbow | 10.5% | impossible | impossible |
| Best hand's equity vs 1 random | 71.5% | 65.1-65.6% | 64.5-65.2% |
Rankings are not a preflop strategy
Equity against a random hand is the cleanest way to order hands, and the wrong way to pick which ones to play. Real opponents don't hold random hands, position changes what a hand is worth, and a hand's value comes from the nut hands it makes by the river, not its preflop percentile. A-A-5-5 double-suited outranks A-A-K-K here; nobody should open-fold the second and feel clever holding the first. Use the ranking to calibrate how strong holdings really are, then drill position-by-position decisions in the trainer and check specific matchups in the equity calculator.
Methodology
Hands that differ only by suit relabeling play identically, so the deal space is grouped into suit-isomorphism classes: 134,459 classes for PLO5's 2,598,960 combos, 962,988 for PLO6's 20,358,520, 16,432 for PLO4's 270,725.
Each class's representative was simulated against one random opponent hand, dealt to the river: 200,000 trials per class for PLO5 (standard error about 0.11 percentage points), 50,000 for PLO6 (about 0.22pp), 400,000 for PLO4 (about 0.08pp). The 6-max column repeats the PLO5 run against five random opponents (201,000 trials). Tables were generated 2026-05-04 (PLO5) and 2026-05-14 (PLO6) with a fixed seed.
PLO5 and PLO6 classes are stored sorted by simulated equity but quantized into 959 and 974 bins. Differences inside one bin are within Monte Carlo noise, which is why this page reports tiers and equity ranges instead of pretending to rank hands 1 to N. The CSV downloads keep the raw simulation order with the same caveat stated in their headers. Dealt frequencies (aces, suit patterns) are exact combinatorics, cross-checked by enumerating all 270,725 PLO4 hands. PLO4 equities are per-class from the 400,000-trial table.
These are preflop equity rankings, not solver output. As of July 2026 no public
postflop solver data exists for PLO5 or PLO6, ours included. Regenerate everything
on this page with node scripts/study-guides/gen-plo5-rankings.mjs.
SolvePLO, "PLO5 Starting Hand Rankings", solveplo.app/plo5-starting-hand-rankings, updated July 2026. Questions
- What is the best starting hand in PLO5?
- There is no single best hand: 142 hand classes are statistically tied at the top, all at 65.1-65.6% equity against one random hand. Every one of them holds two aces, 90% are double-suited, and the other cards cluster on T-8-9-J. A-A-T-9-9, A-A-T-T-9 and A-A-T-9-8 double-suited are typical members.
- How many starting hands are there in PLO5?
- 2,598,960 five-card combinations, which collapse to 134,459 distinct hand classes once suits that play identically are merged. PLO4 has 270,725 combinations (16,432 classes) and PLO6 has 20,358,520 (962,988 classes).
- How often are you dealt aces in PLO5?
- A hand with at least two aces arrives 4.17% of the time in PLO5, vs 2.57% in PLO4 and 6.08% in PLO6. Exact combinatorics, not simulation.
- Can you be dealt a rainbow hand in PLO5?
- No. Five cards, four suits: some suit always repeats. The most common PLO5 suit patterns are double-suited (36.5% of hands) and single-suited (26.4%). In PLO4, rainbow hands are 10.5% of the deal.
- What does "double suited 2-2-1" mean in 5-card Omaha?
- Suit shape notation: 2-2-1 means two suits appear twice each and a third suit once - the 5-card version of double-suited, dealt 36.5% of the time (949,104 of the 2,598,960 combos). Single-suited is 2-1-1-1 (26.4%), triple suited is three of one suit (3-1-1 at 22.3%, or 3-2 at 10.3%). The full table is above.
- Is PLO5 the same as Big O?
- Same five-card deal, usually a different game: live "Big O" is normally 5-card Omaha hi-lo (eight-or-better split pots), while PLO5 means high-only. The deal math on this page - suit patterns, dealt frequencies, combos - applies to both; the hand RANKINGS are high-only and do not transfer to split-pot play.
- What is the best starting hand in PLO6?
- PLO6's top tier is even wider: 976 classes at 64.5-65.2% vs one random hand. Every one is at least double-suited, 98% hold two aces, and the side cards cluster on T-J-8-7. A-A-Q-T-9-8 and A-A-J-T-8-7 with three suit pairs are typical members.