Low Limit Strategy
Fundamental Cash Game Strategy
In a cash game you can re-buy, add-on or leave with your money in between any hands you are playing. To make the most out of this open-ended structure you must consistently pursue positive expectation, no matter how small or big, wherever you can find it. In the long run this consistency will pay off. The trick is to know when the expectation is positive and this depends not only on your cards but also on your opponents and their cards. Your cards are simple but your opponents are complex. When learning something new you need to keep it simple. Therefore, you must learn a strategy that focuses on your cards; a tight strategy in other words. Such a strategy only works under special circumstances. These circumstances will be outlined in this chapter.
Limit Cash Game Rules
BB: The fixed bet on pre-flop and flop.
Big Bet: The fixed bet on turn and river. Normally twice the size of the BB.
Limits: Limit cash games are defined by their limits (stakes) which are presented on the format BB / Big Bet
Stakes: See limits.
Cap: The third raise in the same betting round is known as the cap. The players may only call or fold after the cap has been reached. When we state cap as the correct course of action we mean bet and raise at every opportunity seeing as you will rarely find yourself in a situation where you can make the third and final raise. |
Limit Cash Game Example
In a $1/2 limit cash game, 1 denotes the BB and 2 the big bet.
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What the limit cash game really limits is the amount of aggression you can exert and this is the whole reason why it is so beginner friendly. Loose passive players can play along without getting instantly run over by aggressive players.
Low Limit, Mid Limit & High Limit Strategy
In theory the strategy should be the exact same whether you play low limits ($6/12 or lower), mid limits or high limit games ($40/80 or higher); but reality dictates otherwise. A lot of people play low limits and the majority of them are amateurs while few people play mid limits and even fewer high limits. You find most of the professional players in the mid and high limits. The limits can be categorized as follows:
Low Limits ($6/12 or lower): Low limit games have a large player base consisting mainly of amateurs. Because of this they normally take place at full tables with lots of multi-way pots and crowded showdowns. In order to profit you need to play tight for you will always be called. Limits lower than $1/2 are usually referred to as micro limits but everything up to $6/12 is low limit as far as the strategy is concerned.
Mid Limits (between $6/12 and $40/80): Mid limit games have a much smaller player base than low limit games. You find most of the pros in the mid limits. Mid limit games tend to be short-handed with heads-up pots rather than multi-way pots and few showdowns. In order to profit you need to adopt a looser and more aggressive style of play while at the same time paying careful attention to the pot odds and the playing styles of your opponents.
High Limits ($40/80 or higher): High limit games have a MUCH smaller player base than low limit and mid limit games. High limit games are almost without exception short-handed with heads-up pots rather than multi-way pots and few showdowns. In order to profit you need to adopt a looser and more aggressive style of play while at the same time paying careful attention to the pot odds and the playing styles of your opponents. Those who play at these limits are either professionals, very rich amateurs or indebted gambling addicts.
Multi-way pot: More than two players chasing the pot post-flop.
Multi-way action: See multi-way pot.
Heads-up pot: Only two players chasing the pot post-flop.
Heads-up action: See heads-up pot.
Short-handed game: A game with six or fewer players. |
It is easier to play tight profitably than to play loose profitably. This means that low limit strategy is easier to learn than mid/high limit strategy and it is therefore the obvious choice for beginners.
| As a beginner you should focus on low limit. It does not require much of a budget and it is easy to play. You can just go by the book without having to pay much attention to the other players. And with a little patience you can still make a handsome profit which will allow you to move up to higher limits step by step. |
Low Limit Strategy Table Selection
You already know that you should play at low limit tables. However, there are more things than the limits to take into consideration when choosing tables. There are three basic table types:
Fullring table: Table with 9 or 10 seats (some poker rooms offer 10 seats, others only 9).
Six-seated table: Table with 6 seats.
Heads-up table: Table with 2 seats. |
A cash game starts as soon as two players have made their buy-ins regardless of number of seats. A six-seated table is per definition always short-handed while a fullring table can have anywhere from 2 to 9 or 10 players. However, you rarely see low limit fullring tables that are short-handed due to the large player base.
Full tables must be approached with patience and tight play. The faster and looser play at short-handed tables is much more attractive for the impatient player. However, patience is a virtue that you MUST cultivate if you are to succeed at poker. Furthermore, the tight play at full tables is something you MUST master before you are ready for the looser and more psychological play that take place at short-handed tables. Therefore, start with low limit full fullring tables and keep to them until you can play them correctly without having to think or consult any charts. Only use low limit six-seated tables as an intermediary step before moving up to mid/high limits.
On a related note: By playing on multiple tables you will get more value for your time. Just make sure that all tables you play at have similar number of players so you can use the same strategy on all of them.
Low Limit Strategy Bottom Line
►The relatively tight and simple limit cash game strategy which we will teach only you works properly at low limit fullring tables with an absolute minimum of 6 opponents. Ideally the tables should be full. Short-handed tables require a much looser and more complex style of play and low limit six-seated tables should therefore only be used as an intermediary step before moving up to mid/high limits where the opponents are better and the games are short-handed.
►Play on multiple tables at the same time to get more value for your time. |
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