Limit or not...?

[oneill1970]

Hi all,

I"ve been playing Limit for over a year now, but am in the middle of a crushing downswing.  I know my AK should hit the flop about 1 in 3, but I seriously can"t remember the last time it happened.  Also, my set of sevens was beaten yesterday by some chap with 53o who made a straight on the river and refused to fold to my persistent raises...I"m fairly tiltproof, but I have been swearing out loud of late.

Anyhows, I feel I have a fairly good grip of pot odds, impled odds, hand strengths and so on, but I cry every time I raise with by far the best hand and somebody draws out on me because the pot is so big they have to call blah blah.

So here"s my question.  Despite the fact that, according to what I hear, Limit is a more open game, given that in NL you can set your own odds, and given that there are many more tables available, should I just cut my losses and move across?  I know that there"s more to be lost on each hand, but the pain of being rivered all the time might be lessened if I knew my opponent was making a massive mistake doing so.

For what it"s worth, my STT results have been steadily upward.  Maybe get the STT bankroll up to a certain amount and then move across?

Obviously this post only gives a short overview of my situation, but any replies would be gratefully apppreciated, as always.

[biffa85]

From the sounds of things you have a firm understanding of the game of holdem, and if you are getting as exasperated as you sound from limit, then trying your hand at NL could be a good thing, as they say a change is as good as a rest.

I wouldn"t abandon limit, just a take a break, try your hand a NL.  It"s quite surprising sometimes when I"m playing one vaient of poker the insights that can be unearthed in another form.

Obviously continuously reviewing your plays to ensure you are not overly "correcting" your game, becoming too defensive/aggresive, etc is still required.

NL is a less mechanical game than limit, although with a firm grasp of odds etc will stand you in good stead, however do remember in NL you are playing with live ammunition and can get penalised for your mistakes far more than in limit.

Best advice is listen to yourself if you are asking the question, then I think you should dip your toe at least, you can always switch back or try stud if you find it"s not working.

[duke3016]

however do remember in NL you are playing with live ammunition

Loving the quote -- should be in todays thought for the day

[Danz0r]

I"d say give it a try..

Even if you start out playing like 1 dollar SnG"s or micro cash until you get a grasp.
Beware, you still get the flush / gutshot chasing idiots who will suckout, just like in limit.
Problem is with NL, these suckouts can be VERY costly.. your tournament can be over or the money you"ve been grinding out for the last 2 hours can be gone in one hand.

Best of luck and keep us updated.

[mal666]

have a pop at hu limit highly profitable

[oneill1970]

I dipped my toes in the NL waters yesterday - ended up down a buyin, but had a good time and was, ahem, astonished at people getting it all in with bottom pair no draw.  Sadly, didn"t get a hand to play back with, and, yes, some guy rivered me, but it will come.

Meanwhile, I"ve done some more study on limit and have found a few holes in my play, so, even if I run cold, at least I have my confidence back a bit now.  I think I"ll mix and match Limit, NL and SNGs for now.  I enjoy them allm and would rather be a complete player than stuck in a narrow niche.

As for HU Limit, I"d like to give it a go, but isn"t the rake a complete killer?

[biffa85]

Worth also trying a few other varients of poker ohama, Ohama h/l, stud, razz, horse, etc, and you can have a bit of practice for free on statrs freerolls, as with NL freerolls standard of play isn"t great, but will get you used to the mechanics of the different games, and helps with your holdem games.  I found when playing Ohama it helped me with understanding the importance of position which transferred back to holdem nicely.

[Trademans]

Limit is a more of a drawing game compared to NL in my opinion & I would deffo recomend you move over.  If you have a good understanding of pot odd etc the range of betting you can make to push draws off hands is easier.. it will take away the frustrating factor of someone outdrawing you with 53 os!

What level are you playing at?  I think this makes a big difference to type of players you are up against...

[oneill1970]

I"m starting right at the lowest level 1c/2c.  Assuming that I don"t need to get too fancy down here with the lowest of the low...!

[mal666]

I"m starting right at the lowest level 1c/2c.  Assuming that I don"t need to get too fancy down here with the lowest of the low...!

please dont waste your time playing 1c/2c get a paper round,save up and start at 25c/50c minimum

[oneill1970]

I think the paper round might interfere with my proper job   , but I take your point!

[rubertoe]

I"m starting right at the lowest level 1c/2c.  Assuming that I don"t need to get too fancy down here with the lowest of the low...!

please dont waste your time playing 1c/2c get a paper round,save up and start at 25c/50c minimum

What would you say that an adequate size BR to sustain playing at 25/50c level! at least 10/20 buy ins?

[Swinebag]

For limit HE I reckon sit down with 30 big bets as a buy in and have at least 20 buy ins. So for mals minimum recomendation at limit you need to have a $300 bankroll to play 25/50c limit cash (600 big bets)

GL

[rubertoe]

For limit HE I reckon sit down with 30 big bets as a buy in and have at least 20 buy ins. So for mals minimum recomendation at limit you need to have a $300 bankroll to play 25/50c limit cash (600 big bets)

GL

Cheers Swinebag - But i was refering about playing 25/50c NL - Which must be Different from limit!!

[WYoung83]

Mal666. i agree not to bother with the micro 1c-2c, but i would say to start at 5-10c and then move upto the 10-25 first before going onto the 25-50c....

i mulitable somtimes on the 5-10c and 10-25c and can easily make on average £10 per hour playng 4 tables at once....then once you start to get to know who the idiots are by always making notes, you can actually follow them around, i think i heard somewhere that this is called "Ambulance chasing", because you are folowing after the sick and injured i guess.  but not to sure.

and if you are wondering about your bank roll buy in. i would recommed that you take into account multitabling and weather it is 9 handed or 6 max.....for example i would evan say 50 max buyins for six max if you are playing 4 tables at once. Its just to much of you roll on the felt all at the same time.