If you want to be good at any game of poker and your goal is to make money over the long haul, Limit Hold’em is your ticket. This game is the most frequently played cash game, both online and in a live casino, so becoming an expert at this style of game will always put you in good stead when looking for a cash game.
The major differences between No Limit and Limit are also the key points upon which your strategy should depend. In No Limit Hold’em you can, at any point, raise any amount above the minimum, up to and including all of your chips. This creates great pressure on an opponent and is a key strategy for collecting chips. In Limit Hold’em you don’t have that weapon and must instead rely on methodical, strong, smart poker to win the day.
A LHE game typically has a small blind that is half the big blind. For example, a LHE game might be $1/$2. This makes the big blind $2. For the first two rounds of betting—pre and post flop—the blinds are $1/$2. For the second two rounds of betting—post turn and post river—the blinds are doubled, so $2/$4.
Also most limit games have a cap, usually around four bets. Say the under the gun player raises—all he can raise is one bet, so in the above game he pushes $4 forward instead of just calling the $2 big blind. The next player raises, and pushes $6 for three bets. It folds around to the UTG player, who raises again to a total of $8, hitting the cap of four bets. The next player can only call, and then the betting is over.
As you can imagine, it can be hard to put pressure on a player if there is a cap on how much they will have to call and they have plenty of cash. There is, however, a nice subtle effect from playing with limits- often player lose track of exactly how much they are calling. In the above game it is possible, by maxing out bets, to put in $48 a hand.
The key, then, to LHE, is to have the right mindset. Be patient, look for an opportunity to soak up your opponent’s money when you have the best hand, avoid being a calling station, and you should do fine.
