Limit help needed!!!!!

I am going to a casino to play limit holdem live for the first time. I am mostly a NL player. I usually play live so that is not a concern, more about style. Here is what I want to know if someone can help.

I plan on playing $2/$4 or $3/$6. What type of players should I expect?

Is there a big jump in talent/skill between the two?

Do you be aggressive and play straight up. Raise if you have it. Fold if you don't. Hard to bluff since you can't put alot of pressure on someone.

Do check/raises, slow playing sets work in limit? Do the plays in NL convert over to limit or does it depend on the person your against.

As far as limits go talent wise, live you usually see a little less talent in the 2/4 and the 3/6 than online play. bluffing is still a part of limit play but for obvious reasons, it isn't the type of tool that it is in NL poker. After reading Jennifer Harman's section on LHE in Super/System II, and much study and experience of my own, when playing LHE aggression is going to be the one trait that will win you the most money. Playing straightforward poker is the biggest strategical move in limit holdem as opposed to NL, although the bluff and semi-bluff are still important in your playbook.

In early position you should stick to playing mainly the top tier of starting hands. A-A, K-K, Q-Q, A-Ks, A-Ko, A-Qs, and A-Js. Sticking to these hands from early position will allow you call a raise behind you or even re-raise. In a very passive game you can add more hands to these starting requirements because during most very passive games, people are folding marginal hands already and will continue to do so in the face of a raise.

In middle position, you can add a few more hands to your starting selections but always take into account the action before you and what the players behind you are inclined to do so you don't get stuck calling bets that are going to get another raise behind you if you hold a very marginal hand.

Late position in LHE is a place from which to play a lot of hands especially if you can see a flop cheaply and to steal the blinds if posible. LHE is a game that, when played properly, is extremely fun to play because it makes you think and analyze much more than NL and is a much better gauge of the ability of a player. Outplaying someone after the flop in LHE is much more rewarding than winning an all-in coin-flip IMO.

Like I said previously, agressiveness in LHE is the biggest trait that a good player must posess. Passiveness in LHE is a recipe for failure and will result in all your chips ending up in front of the agressive players at the table. Hope you have fun and keep us posted on how it goes.

I only play casino card rooms. The closest to me has 3/6 all the time and 4/8 one day
a week. Before I moved, I played 5/10 at a place with a lot of really good players and
occasionally I'd find a loose 10/20 table. (I just love loose players with bankrolls)

My experience (10+ years) at 3/6 has been: a lot of calling stations all the way to the
river. Pot odds, implied odds, EV, etc., are simply not in their vocabularies. You'll never
find a taker if you try to make a prop bet on any of the simplest pecentages. Their eyes
glaze over if you try talking theory with them. If you even think about bluffing these
tables, you might as well just toss your money out the window. It will not work.

Hey, they're nice people, they have fun while they're losing their $2-300 and really
whoop it up every 5 sessions when they win $150. They don't look at gambling as a way
to pay expenses or afford niceties. It's a past time and may God continue to bless'em and
love 'em, cause I sure do.

The 4/8 folks are less likely to be in love with seeing flops and they don't chase. I like
these tables because you can get into some really tight hands and good pots. You can
be down $80 real quick and up $200 even quicker. I am a tight player. I'm not afraid to
get agressive. Bluffing can be done. After the flop. Never before. (again, my experience)

They're more likely to be aware of any betting patterns you may have, so be sure and
mix up your style. It won't take you long to figure out who's knowledgeble and who's not.
Some of them are old hands and often play larger tables. And you may notice, if you're
listening, some of them talking about others rooms they play in. Frequently you'll find
that some of them are pros and they play small limits between big games or to pick up
some "walking around money." Check raises, bluffs, etc., will work, or not, if
you've established yourself with your competition. As I said, at 4/8 they're more
knowledgeable.

Long story short: yesterday I had been at it for about 8 hours. A couple of new
guys came in. After about an hour I noticed out of the corner of my eye that
they both folded when I raised on the turn. I realized I'd done that twice before
in that hour when I'd had trips (from the flop). They caught it. Yes, I'd fallen
into a pattern, hadn't realized it, they saw it, but I changed it.

So, in conclusion, go get'em. Take your knowledge and use it. Enjoy yourself.
And good luck to 'ya.

what type of money should I bring to the table to play 3/6 or 4/8 for a 5-8 hr session?

Take all you can afford to take. I never like to play poker at a table with a small or even medium stack, unless I'm just going to bounce over to a juicy game at a higher limit for a few orbits. In a game where I'm actually going to sit, I want to have a stack well above average. This fluctuates depending on who's playing.

Personally, I take $400 for these games. I buy a rack of white and a stack of red. I've
never had to buy a third rack. I'm prepared to lose the 400, but never do. No brag, fact.
I never set foot in a casino without knowing exactly how much I'm prepared to lose. Some
say that's a loser's attitude. For me, it's good business sense and I'm comfortable with it.

Sometimes, after about 6 hours or so and I'm winning, I'll start setting a "stop" on my
winnings. Say I'm at +150. I'll set my minimum at 100. If I lose 50, I cash in. I keep
moving this number up. After I'm past 200, 200 becomes the number. And so on.

I stay about 12 hours with two breaks for eating, about 45 minutes each. "Back in the
day" I'd play 16-18 hours and eat at the table. I'm getting too old (67) for that.

Dawg, are you the fame dawgnutz that is on the FTP leaderboard for tournament MTT wins? Just curious.

No.

Right on. Just saw the name and thought since it was fairly unique you may be one and the same.

db,

Over the years, I've had a few screen names "lifted." OK, maybe they weren't. Maybe it's the old
"great minds run on the same track" thingie. :=)

In this case, I'm probably the latecomer. (hmmmm, sounds like a personal problem - not related
to poker - but I digress) I'm a Dog Nut. Always had'em, always will.