Ok so basically I'm brand new to limit holdem, I just started playing today and am completely lost. This hand is an example of one of my problem areas. Also rather than make 98 different posts with all my inane newb questions I'm just going to stick a bunch at the bottom here.
Full Tilt 0.25/0.5 Hold'em (6 handed)
Full Tilt Converter Tool from
FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FCP)
Preflop: Hero is BB with J
, K
.
4 folds,
SB raises, Hero calls.
ReraiseFlop: (4.40 SB) 2
, 8
, K
(2 players)SB bets,
Hero raises,
SB 3-bets, Hero calls.
Ok, so on the hand in question I think pf is standard right? In NL if someone 3bet that flop I would probably fold like 90% of the time unless they gave me some ridiculous reason to call, but in limit it's only one more bet and from what I've seen (and maybe it's just cause it's .25/.50) people go crazy with like second pair, draws, TPNK. So that said: call the flop, keep pot small on turn and river assuming the board blanks?
and now for my beginner questions:
1) I've noticed I've been playing A LOT tighter than the rest of the table at all the tables I've played at and to be honest I'm not playing all that tight, is this just cause I've got some maniac tables or is limit holdem that wild of a game where people raise the whole way with air and get called down by A high?
If you are playing 6-max as a rule, you should still be playing relatively tight, but abusing position. Open your range in position if it's folded to you and you're first in. You should be open raising the top 40% of hands from the button against typical opponents, and around 35% from the CO and SB. Obviously, play tighter against raises in general, and defend the BB somewhat liberaly with any decent hand against people who might be stealing.2) Basically I'm not calling or raising any hands that I wouldn't be willing to call an extra bet with right? Depending how many people are in a hand of course
Don't limp 6-max pretty much ever. Either raise, or threebet. You're looking to raise for isolation, value, and to steal the blinds. You can ocassionally limp weak multiway hands like small suited connectors and small pocket pairs from late position and the sb if it's 4 limpers to you or something, but generally, open raise when it's folded to you if you're going to play, and 3bet in position against normal or loose raisers to isolate and make the game easy.3) C-betting....I'm just confused, I've seen it work for people with like 4 people in a pot that got 3-bet pf and fold everyone out for 1 bet on the flop but I'm guessing that's just bad. I'm sure it has it's spots, but it's read dependent and mostly for use in heads up pots?
Proper c-betting is heavily dependent on board texture as well as number of opponents, and who the opponents are. If you never c-bet, you're giving your opponents way too much information. Keep in mind, an individual c-bet into 3 players might seem off, but if the hand was raised preflop and there are 6 small bets in the pot on the flop, and you only have to win with your c-bet 1 in every 7 times you make it to break even. Thus, c-bet alot. Best boards that you miss are paired boards like QQ6 or 994, or dry boards like J62 rainbow. I also like to c-bet more when I have actially flopped a draw, even as little as overcards with a backdoor flush.4) Obviously the strength of draws goes up since your getting much better odds but how much better? I mean OOP it's tempting to call 1 bet but if/when it gets raised your putting in another bet and cutting those odds down. Any merit in leading a draw rather than checking it to get better odds in a multiway pot (I keep going back and forth on that, math makes my head hurt)
This is the art of LHE. It's all about equity. You should lead your draws when you have an equity edge over the table on the current betting round. Your equity is a combination of the percentage of the time you'll win by making your hand, combined with the percentage of the time you can expect to win when all of your opponents fold. Basically, if you would have close to the odds to call correctly if someone bet, you should probably bet out instead, because the fold equity your opponents give you makes betting way more profitable than simply calling. That being said, I'm more likely to bet draws oop, and take free cards in position, and this tendency increases on both ends the more opponenets I have.5) Calling people down... a combination of the odds I'm getting, the crazy aggro play, and just overall I feel like my reading skills are better in limit (which I thought would actually be the opposite since I would think the range would be much wider since the nuts is betting the same as second pair) and it's got me making calls with A high if I think it's good and it's been working ok but i don't want to be results oriented so if this is bad someone please let me know.
It's very read dependent, as you said. If you think your hand beats your opponents hand at least 1 in x times, where x is the number of bets in the pot, then call. That being said, you can obviously call and lose a great many rivers where you can close the action for one bet, lose the hand, and still break even. I also prefer to have the betting lead throughout the hand when I can, because of the aforementioned fold equity, but it's occasionally correct to bet the flop and turn, and then check the river oop to allow your opponent to bluff with a missed draw or bet with a worse hand, especially when the river makes the board dangerious, or when you think betting the river will only get you called by hands that beat you.I'm sure I'll have more questions but I figured this was a good start. Any other advice would be appreciated and I hope I really hope this is the right forum (The hand I posted was SH, and I play mostly shorthanded but I think since my topic is mostly about being new to limit it should go here right?) Also I'm reading SS2, so that should answer some of my questions but any other recommendations on books, websites, videos, etc. to help with limit hand. Thanks!
