[Guest]

Annie and I are going to be in Reno in February. We are staying at the Hilton and will be playing some poker. When we stayed there before we played and I ended up sitting at the table for 9 hours on one rack and walked away with half a rack and was quite entertained.

Since then I have played only no limit and have grown to love it. The thought of limit poker makes me *erp* and I am not looking forward to it. It seems that limit poker is more about the cards and not the "bet" or the "player". My hesitaion to play probably stems from a view point of limit poker that I haven't grasped yet.

So I guess my question to anyone concerned is: What mindset should I play with in order to make money? Do I just play the cards I get or is there a way that I haven't thought of yet to actually "play" limit poker?

Daddy

 

[BigKahuna]

For me, the limits are what matter most in "limit" poker. If you are at 2/4 or something like that, it is all about the cards except when maybe on 4th or 5th street at the larger limit where you might force a good player out on a 3 bet or something but for the most part, you need some good cards to start or to hit the flop. It is basically a game of catch and release.

The cruisin to mexico WPT episode which was the only limit game they have played thus far was a good depiction even at higher limits of how much the cards mean and how you need to hit the flop. Daniel N. got raped by the flop and other lucky hits by Eric L. in order to lose a 2 to 1 chip lead and lose the tourney.

I will only play pot-limit or no-limit and after that it wuold be omaha high and 7CS.

 

[Hagar]

I don't know how valid my advice is, since I usually get punked in these games, but I do believe my game plan is sound and just run into pretty bad luck a lot of times. But in the spirit of trying to help......

It seems that limit poker is more about the cards and not the "bet" or the "player".

This is largely true, but you still need to be aware of who you're involved with. Any given action from one player means something entirely different than another player. While this is true in NL as well, the consequenses and available counter-measures are quite a bit different than in limit.

It's vital to determine who's at your table and adjust your play accordingly. Depending on what limit you play, there will likely be a couple solid players at the table and the rest will be pretty bad to very bad. Show appropriate respect to the solid players (don't get into hands with them with out very good hands) and be willing to call down the bad players with lesser hands. It's impossible to give specific examples on this, but pay just pay attention to who's playing what kind of cards.

Bluffing is 99% ineffective in low-limit poker. If you're going to try a bluff, make sure you have only one opponent and he/she's a decent player, able to lay down marginal hand. Never try to bluff a calling station - they will often call you down with any pair or even Ace high.

You should rarely fold to one bet and one opponent on the river in limit poker. Never is too extreme, but if you're still in the hand on the river and you're the last to act, it's probably correct to play sherrif if you have any hand at all.

If you're not comfortable with the table ,get a new one or quit for a while. Personally, I hate the "capfest" (raise because we can) tables and won't play at that type of table for very long. Some people hate the "limpfest" tables (very little raising, especially before the flop) because there's not enough action. If the table doesn't fit your desire get up and leave - you'll likley stop playing your A game if you're out of your element.

As a general rule, play pretty tight (only premium hands) from early position (unless you're at a limpfest table) and allow yourself to play lesser hands (not complete crap!) from later positions.

Finally, try to consider what other players think of you. THe better players will have formed an opinion ("not a threat", "keep an eye out", "show respect" etc) and will react differently to your "moves". You can use that image to your advantage. The weaker players probably are not paying any attention to any of that so don't worry about trying to use your image when they are in the hand.

This is actually a pretty deep topic and hard to cover in a "breif" post on a forum. Hope this gives you something to think about.

 

[Quads]

When I started playing poker, I was given this as my first lesson:

In Low Limit poker, play the cards.
In Mid Limit poker, play the chip stacks.
In No Limit poker, play the people.

For what ever it's worth.

 

[Guest]

kewl!! Thanks for the help!!

 

[Quads]

There is also a book out there. I think it is called Winning at Low Limit Poker or something to that effect which I understand is a great book from those who have read it. (I have not yet, but I want to take a peek at it)

 

[Hagar]

Winning at Low Limit Poker

Yes, it is a good book. If you're looking for book recommendations , let me know...