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Texas Holdem Tips - High limit vs. low limit poker

So you've been playing Texas Holdem for a few months now and are seeing some success. Perhaps you're beginning to feel like you're not learning much from the players at the lower limits. Or perhaps you think you're ready to play for higher stakes. (See High Stakes Poker for more details). Regardless of the reason, you're now ready and willing to play for more money and are trying to find tips regarding the differences between the high and low limit games. Below we describe many of these differences and theories behind how you should adjust your game.

In this article the term, "high limit poker" is used to define games that are $10-20 and slightly higher. In reality the $10-20 limit through $20-40 Texas Holdem games could be considered medium stakes as there are many bigger games readily available. The Texas Holdem tips here are aimed to help the reader make the transition from their $4-8 and $5-10 poker games to limits which are $10-20 up to $20-40.

In high limit Holdem there are fewer players in each pot.

As you begin to leave the lower limits behind for bigger games you will notice that there are fewer weak players in each game. This next statement sounds counterintuitive but fewer bad players is actually good for your game. A bigger limit game means that you need to win less pots since each pot is worth much more money. It also means that you need fewer weak players to provide a profit to you. In fact, the game only needs 1 or 2 weak players for you to win on a consistent basis.

If there are fewer players in a pot it means that when you have the best hand your odds increase that it will stay the best hand. For example, when playing $4-8 you frequently have 6-7 way action. Consider when you flop an Ace and hold Ace/King how often you are drawn out against by 6-7 players who continues to call with bottom pair, mid pair, or a weak ace. Now consider how often this will occur if you are going up against 1 or 2 players with the same hand and the same flop. Since there are less draws out against you your hand will hold up more often. This means that your bankroll will have less variability and that you will incur less bad beats per session.

Since there are fewer players in higher limit games you must be able to properly calculate "Poker Pot Odds" since the pots will frequently be too small for you to justify a good call with your flush or straight draws. You need to be aware of when the pot is not offering you the proper odds to call and be able to incorporate the frequency that your opponent will fold if you raise into your analysis of the hand.

Since there are fewer players you should be more creative with your hands. You should find more opportunities to bluff in a higher limit game since the players are more capable of folding. The common theory of "in a loose game play tight, in a tight game play loose" should be incorporated into your game to some extent.

Changing gears against tough competition

Against tough players who know all the basics of poker you need to be able to change gears in order to be effective. For example, early in a session I might raise with Ace/King and if I miss a flop I might check and fold if my opponent bets. Later, I'll use this to my advantage and check/raise a flop that I've raised with pocket Aces. If I'm not getting any action and only stealing blinds when i raise because my opponents believe I'm playing tight, I may raise in early position with a hand such as suited connectors with the intention of stealing the blinds playing off my table image. If I don't win the hand right there I still might hit the flop and have a hand totally concealed. However, it should be noted that you shouldn't get too caught up in this strategy or you'll simply be another "loose cannon" on the table and your bets won't get any respect.

Isolating against bad players

A key tip for survival in higher limit games is to quickly identify the bad players. Once they come into a pot you should try and isolate yourself with them through a raise with the intention of getting the pot "heads up" between you and the poor player. Once this is accomplished you should be able to pick them off by getting in more bets when you have the best hand and losing fewer chips when you don't. For example, if I begin to see a weak player limping in or coming in with a raise with hands such as King/Jack I'm going to reraise him with hands in an attempt to isolate. The hands that I'm reraising him with don't need to be premium, just stronger than what he would raise with. Thus, in this scenario, Ace/queen might go 3 bets when against a normal player I'd throw the hand away.

Stealing Blinds in high limit Holdem

In high limit Texas Holdem you will need to steal blinds to be successful. This means understanding what is a strong hand when you're in late position or on the button against the blinds. It also means being able to bet ace high for value when your weak passive opponents are on draws. This takes time to learn and I recommend playing in short handed games to work on this aspect of your game. We have a few other articles which should help you understand how the hand values change based on position and how to play the blinds."Texas Holdem Starting Hands" for position play and "Poker Blinds" for strategy out of the blinds. 6 handed maximum player games are a great place to improve your aggressiveness for short handed games and stealing blinds.

Conclusion

There are a great number of strategy changes that must be made as you take your game into higher limits. Analyzing the game, isolating weak players through aggression, and drawing less are the key differences between limits.

Would you like to read about more tips for Texas Holdem? This article is focused on taking your game to the next level.

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