10 tips to improve your Limit Holdem game Part 2 of 2

In Part 1 of this series I discussed the first 5 tips to help improve your Limit Holdem game. The first 5 tips I offered were mainly geared toward pre-flop and flop play, where the final 5 tips will focus on the Turn and River -the more difficult streets to play.

• 6. Bad beats happen more often

Because players are often getting decent odds to call, you will suffer a lot more bad beats in Limit Holdem than in No Limit. But, this is precisely what you want to happen! You want your opponents to call when the pot odds dictate they should fold. This is where Limit Holdem is superior to No Limit; in Limit Holdem players need to be more precise with their decisions, whereas in No limit the ability to make large bets can overcome a slightly -EV call on a previous street. This means more Limit Holdem players are making mistakes, even the ones that play semi-decent.

• 7. Position gives you more choices

Poistion is critical in every form of poker and Limit Holdem is no exception. By having position you are able to use all of the advanced plays the game has to offer without prejudice: semi-bluffs, bluffs, free-cards and so on. These are options you don’t always have when you are out of position.

• 8. When in doubt, CALL

Another big difference between Limit and No Limit is that in Limit poker it’s always better to call than to fold when you are unsure of the correct play. The most you stand to lose by calling is a single Big Bet. On the other hand, if you fold you lose the whole pot. In No Limit your opponent could actually bet more than the pot on the river, so the choice between calling and folding is a lot less clear.

• 9. Find good spots to bluff

In Limit Poker the bluff should be used very sparingly, even though you only need to succeed occasionally to show a nice profit. Since you can only bet a certain amount in Limit Holdem, it’s hard to get a player to lay down even bottom pair when the pot has 25 bets in it!  This is why it’s important that you pick your bluffing spots carefully.

• 10. The real money is made -and saved-on the turn and river

Continuing on point #3, with the betting amount doubling on the Turn and River in Limit Holdem this is where your profits will be made. Knowing when to fold a hand, or value-bet a river, is where the money is won in Limit Holdem.

Although these 10 tips are fairly basic, if you were committing any of these errors in your Limit Holdem game fixing these leak(s) will drastically increase your profits at the poker tables.