Strategy for limit Hold'em

[floptrips]

Hi, another rookie question: I discover the home game I'm going to tonight is limit Hold 'Em, but all my studies have been for No Limit. It's a cash game. Any obvious differences in strategy to adopt? Ta

[snoopy1239]

Obviously, it depends on the limits that you're playing, but my main advice would be to avoid bluffing too much. Bluffing is often dangerous in home games anyhow, but in limit, I'd rarely make those moves.

I'm no pro, but Hellmuth suggests the following:

raise preflop with any pair and then bet the flop whatever if heads up. If you get action then fold.

He also advises caution with King Queen. He reckons it's a dangerous hand that can cost you a lot of dough.

Most hands are worth calling at the end. If you've made it to the river you should stick in that extra call unless you are 100% sure you are beat or you hold a complete dud of a hand. If you fold to much on the river when the pots odds are in your favour, then you could find yourself being bluffed out of big pots.

If you flop a set, bet it as much as you can.


That's the best I've got. Hope it helps.

[jezza777]

I havent played limit for ages but one thing i do remember is that the hand that benefits most from flop betting is the hand with the biggest draw, so if you have a monster draw then bet the bejesus out of it. Also dont bother to slow play if you hit a monster you always seem to get customers in limit. Depending on the number of players at the table starting hands also change in value AJ goes down in value whereas hands like 78s can drag you a nice pot for little investment. Limit is more of a math game and bluffing will rarely work so make sure you know pot odds and all that stuff.

good luck

[thetank]

Position is all important. Tight in the back, loose up front. Small pocket pairs and suited connectors lose some of their value, Big cards like AQ and KQ are better limit poker hands. Don't be playing KJo from early position or anything silly.
To play small pairs, low suited connectors you need a lot of players in an unraised pot, therefore you can't play them out of positon.
Most of the time you're playing a hand come in for a raise, especially if you've position and two big suited cards. Don't call a raise pre-flop with less than a premium hand eg, fold AJ to a raise before you unless you're on the button or one of the blinds.

Remember, a bet saved is a bet earned. One more bet you'll be up at the end of the night.