8 Game Strategy – Limit Hold’em

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Continuing our series on 8-Game strategy, we will delve a bit into Limit Hold’em play. Limit Hold’em is considered the easiest game in the eight-game mix, but many beginning players do not play it effectively. Here are a few tips to help improve your game.

Speculate Less

The first thing that a person taking up Limit Hold’em needs to understand is that speculating in this game does not pay off the same as it can in NL Hold’em. You need to be playing a much tighter strategy than you would in an NL game.

For example, hands like J-10 offsuit might be profitable to play in the right situations in NL Hold’em. However, in Limit, you are going to be a long-term loser with this move. Since you are limited in both the amount and the number of raises you can make on each street, you will never make enough money in a hand to make speculating with these types of hand profitable long term.

Draw More Often

Playing a draw can get expensive in NLHold’em. If you pick up a flush draw, you might have to commit significant money to chase it down. However, in most Limit hands, you are paying no more than a single big bet to draw.

More often than not, you will have the right price to draw to your hand. Most of the time, you are facing a single bet regardless of the street. You’ll usually have odds to call, making it correct to chase your draw. If you have other outs, such as overcards to the board, or an ace, you will definitely play the hand.

Call Down More With Second Best or Based on Pot Odds on the River

One of the biggest mistakes that many beginning Limit Hold’em players make is not calling down a second or even third best hands on the river. Since you will almost always have pot odds to make the call on the river, you should call that last bet with any type of hand.

Even if you think you are beaten, you have pot odds and should call. The obvious exception is when you have such a good read on your opponent you know that they hit a hand better than yours at the river.

Push Your Edges, No Matter How Small

Limit Hold’em requires that you push your edges in order to turn a profit. You can’t get your entire stack into the middle, so you need to pump the pot whenever you can. Don’t worry about whether your player might fold, as many good Limit players will call down in spots where they should

The downside to this is you will get outdrawn more often than you would like. Since it only costs a single bet to make a call, players will often outdraw your weaker hands. However, it is still Hold’em, so players will miss just as much as they would in NL.

When playing limit Hold’em, you want to stick to a tighter strategy than you would in NL, especially if you are a beginning Limit player. Back in the day, Limit Hold’em was the game where players had the lowest edge because everyone played it.

However, since the Poker Boom, you see fewer players focusing on Limit Hold’em. While you won’t have the same edge in this game as you might Stud, solid Limit Hold’em players will be able to school weaker players. Playing a tighter style will keep you out of trouble in the Limit Hold’em rounds.

Next week, we will look at the first of the two split pot games in 8-Game. Come back to learn more about Omaha Hi-Lo, aka Omaha 8 or Better.