Limit ring game question...

So I've become more and more interested with Limit Holdem. I've been watching the tables on full tilt from the $10/$20 all the way down to the .25/.50 to get an idea for how the real money games are being played all while playing the 200/400 play money 9 man tables just to get more of a feel for things before I jump into the real money side of it all. I was playing 6 man tables but I have found that a wider range of cards become more appealing to me on a short handed table causing a huge leak in my game. From what I've noticed it seems as though the .25/.50 games play tighter and there are less people in the pot than in the higher levels. I found that rather odd but that's where I've got to start so that's what I've been watching the most of.

Anyway, my biggest question is when to chase and when not to chase draws. With limit you always have odds to call (or so it seems) but I seem to have a knack for chasing when I shouldn't and folding when I should chase. I've been keeping notes on the players at my table so I know when I'm beat on the flop or when my opponents are chasing as well. There are times though when I find it difficult to detect when a player that is chasing catches up (not with straights and flushes but with two pair or a set).

Any help, tips, or suggestions for limit would be greatly appreciated.

I think its a game of luck.It is according to position ,Whats already hit the table.It is always good to keep notes to learn some of your players.Everyplayer doesnt always play the same stratedgy,sometimes they mix it up. gl

In typical situations of the $2-$6 and below games............

The most common game is the "No Fold-em, Hold'em." Generally these tables will end at the showdown with 3+ Players. Trying to win without a showdown, is shamelessly not going to happen very often. The table however might tighten up if you find that 3 or more players at that table have decent sized stacks. (These are the ones that I prefer)

Typically, you will not be taking that many hands away from these tables, but the pots you do take will be larger on the overall scale as a result.

I usually only play if I can raise at these levels. Again, I bet for value.........so if it's worth playing I will 'Play' it. All-in and overbetting is worthless and will create a hole you can't climb out of. But with betting for value, you can bring in a few players, and then progressively bet to keep your advantage. If they come over the top, I play my reads on their Preflop bets, and consider the actual texture of the board in relation to my hand's actual value. I'm not afraid to three-bet these levels because they should already know, I don't enter unless I have goods. I want them to know that if I bet, I'm not afraid to defend what I have.

By mindful that your opponent's preflop action can ussually give you a VERY good impression of what they have. I use these hands as a general starting guide to place my opponents on ranges then adjust the ranges after watching thier betting patterns from looser to tighter.

for learning purposes play money is a joke, for every 1 player that takes it serious, there are 40 donks
Low limit cash not much better except to learn staying off tilt ( good luck with that )
.50/1 is the lowest you can start to see real players that can play
Through any level there are luckies that seem to hit with the damndest hands. find a level that u are comfortable with and go at it.
gl

Not any more 'luck' than overbetting a draw (chasing) in NL.

In limit games the player is making more decisions, card by card, than most do on NL tables. That said, there is different strategies involved in limit than NL. You can't generally bluff a player off a draw. The check/raise is one way, and that used to be a prohibited move at live games in many casinos and cardrooms.

Position is just as important in limit as NL. How many are left to act after you. What have they been playing. Stack sizes have a lot to do with it, just like NL. You don't really want to sit at a limit table short stacked. It's easier to bet you out of a pot. Looks like you're playing with limited funds or scared money.

Limit is a game for grinders with patience. Far less variance in limit. For decent players, swings won't affect your BR nearly as much as NL.

I started limit 5 draw and 7 stud in '69 when Holdem tables were sitting empty - IF - they had any at all. I still prefer 7 stud, which is always a limit game. Yes, I've seen some NL stud, but it's an insane game, NL Holdem on steroids.

Would really need some kind of Hand Histories to give advice on the 'when to fold' when to 'chase'. I don't particularly care for the word 'chase', since even betting in NL games is it's own advanced form of 'chasing'. Why is it NL players call it 'betting draws' while they say seeing cards and betting accordingly (in limit) is 'chasing'. Aren't they really the same thing?? Just costs you more to do it.

To give you a short but useful answer, I´d say you should always chase when you have 8 outs or more in FL, in other words you dont fold flushdraws or open-ended straightdraws

Liek, pot odds & stuff. Sometimes you'll be getting odds to draw out, sometimes you won't. You have to weigh the size of the pot vs. how strong your draw is. You can draw to pretty much anything (overcards, gutshots) on the flop for 1 bet if the pot was capped preflop multiway. But if you limped in the small blind, and the big blind checked, you better have a very strong draw to call just based on the draw's equity (you aren't planning to bluff later, ect.).

Thanks for the tips and info. I had read elsewhere that limit held less variance than NL which is why I am interested in learning more about it for ring games. The NL low level ring games always test me and push me to the verge of tilt after getting stacked by someone who calls a 3x or more raise with cheese and ends up hitting runner runner or catches a four to a suit board for the flush.

One thing that I have found out is that I'm no good on 6 man limit tables. Too wide a range of hands look good to me and my stack will take huge swings. Where as on a 9 man table, I become much more selective with starting hand requirements and will slowly increase my stack rather than watch it go up and down.

Also, I what should I consider a good win rate for limit? I've heard 1 to 2 big bets per hour or should I be looking at big bets won per 100 hands?

emarld,
Where did you find that chart?
i have just started to play low limit, limit games and would like to compare it to my play.

Thanks