Low Limit Hold’em Tips

Maximizing Profit in Low Limit Hold'em Tables

For a beginning poker player, the best place to start out is at low limit hold’em tables. While much of the latest buzz involves high-stakes no-limit hold’em, it’s wise to start out in a place where learning the basics won’t mean losing your life savings.  Jumping into a high-stakes no-limit cash game when you’re a beginner will put you on the fast track to Brokesville. Trust us; you want to start playing low limits.

In low-limit hold’em games you will find a good mix of players.  Some will be beginners; some will be players that simply aren’t skilled enough to play higher levels; some will be crazy gamblers that can’t afford to get into higher tables; and a few will be good players who prefer lower risk games.  The latter is the group you should focus on and learn from.

Many of the players in the former categories just saw the WSOP on television and decided Texas Hold’em was their game.  A few may have been playing with friends for years, but that doesn’t mean they’re good.  In fact, they likely have very bad habits.

Turn their bad habits into your advantage by following the below guidelines for low limit hold’em play.  You don’t have to make daring bluffs or great folds to win; you just have to play consistently and well.
 

Low Limit Hold’em Tips: A Few, Good Hands

You’d be surprised how hard this rule is to follow, especially at low limits.  The general rule that most winning poker players follow is to play 10% of hands.  Those who play more than 10% are daring at best.  Those who play more than 15% are, to put it simply, suckers. 

What do we mean by good hands?  Well, there are three types of opening hands you can play: made hands, broadways, and draws.

•    Made Hands
By made hands, we mean hands that won’t improve much, but are strong off the deal.  Pre-flop this means high pocket pairs, AK and AQ.  AA, KK, QQ, and JJ can also fall into this category.  AK and AQ aren’t technically made hands, but they’re better than all the Ace-rag hands bad players tend to play, so in this sense they’re solid bets.

Made hands don’t come around that often, so raise when you get them.  Raise as much as you can.  Don’t worry about the AA your opponent might have.  Just raise.  People will get aggressive with anything at low limits.

•    Broadways
Broadways are hands with two big cards, like KQ or AJ.  The problem with these hands is that unless they’re suited, they can’t improve much. Yes, they can pair, but where do you go from there?  There are a large number of players in most hands at low levels, so the chances of someone else hitting a lucky two pair, straight, or flush are pretty high.

That’s why you have to raise hard or fold when you have a Broadway.  If you don’t raise, other players will limp in with weak draws and one of them will beat you.  With a Broadway you want to be playing against as few players as possible, and if you think someone has you beat, you should probably fold.

•    Draws
Playing draws in low limit games is a good idea because the good hands you hit will pay off well.  An example of this is a 5, 6 of spades that can easily give you either a straight or a flush. These hands are called suited connectors.

•    Low Pocket Pairs
Other hands that make good draws are low pocket pairs 2 through 6.  These can improve to three of a kind or a full house, both of which are solid hands.

Before the flop, try to get to see the flop by paying as little as possible with these hands.  After the flop, if your draw doesn’t improve you shouldn’t put any more money in; instead, check through if you can.
 

Low Limit Hold’em Tips: Raise with Good Hands

This rule doesn’t just apply pre-flop; it should be adhered to all the time.  The biggest problem new players have is that they’re too timid with good hands.  Good hands don’t come along often enough for you to be afraid of something better.  Naturally, sometimes someone will have a better hand, but the number of times people will pay off your raises just to see what you have will vastly outweigh the number of times you’re beat.

If you think you have the best hand, raise.  You don’t have to trick people by making check-raises or calling so you can raise the next round.  Low limit players will call just about anything, so you might as well have them call you when you have a good hand.
 

Low Limit Hold’em Tips: Fold Bad Hands

This is a natural corollary to “raise with good hands” but is also very hard to obey.  Pre-flop, call a bad hand like A5 or K8.  This is the kind of hand that, even when you hit, can still be easily beaten.  Don’t play this kind of hand.  These are the hands that low limit players fall in love with and call to the river on.  These are also the kinds of hands that give you the edge when you don’t play them.
 

Low Limit Hold’em Tips: Call Sparingly

The only time it’s acceptable to call in a low limit game is if you’re on a draw.  If you think your hand is good, raise; if you don’t, fold.  Calling with a hand that has a poor chance of improving or is likely to be a loser is the easiest way to hemorrhage money.  That’s what everyone else does.  Don’t be like everyone else.
 

Low Limit Hold’em Tips: Don’t Fold on the River

There is one exception to the above rule which allows you to call when you have some doubt.  If someone re-raises you or bets into you on the river after a scary card like an Ace has come up, and you think you might not have the best hand anymore, you should still call.

Desperate low limit players will often try to steal the pot with a raise on the river, and you can’t let them do that.  No matter how doubtful you are, you can’t fold to a single bet on the river.  Of course, you might consider folding if the bet is raised and re-raised, if only to avoid paying two more bets and dealing with two players in the showdown.  Otherwise, just call. You’ll be surprised how often you win.
 

Low Limit Hold’em Tips: Start Playing

You now know enough to start getting in the game and winning some cash.  If you’re successful and decide you want to move up to higher limits, be careful using this strategy.  Middle limit players are not nearly as loose and foolish as those at low limit tables.  You’ve been warned.

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