Daily Poker Tips

In a loose limit-passive limit game, it’s best to raise your draws in position. If you get reraised in this type of game, you know you’re up against a strong hand and you’ll have to make your draw to win. If you don’t get reraised, a bet may be able to pick the pot up on the turn even if you miss. If you get called on the flop and turn, give up on the river if you miss as most passive players won’t call one big bet without a hand strong enough to go to showdown.

When playing a very loose limit game, the value of suitedness goes up but the value of connectedness goes down. That doesn’t mean you should play JX or QX because it’s suited. Stick to big cards and suited medium ones.

Don’t over play top pair in a ‘no fold’em’ game, especially in limit poker. Tighten up your starting hand selection and try to play hands that hold up well against large fields like suited connectors and big pocket pairs. Fold unsuited hands like AJ, KQ, KJ and pocket pairs sevens and under.

Question: Should I limp in a limit cash game with AA or KK? Answer: Rarely. I often don’t like raising with these hands out of the blinds because it does two bad things. 1, it creates a pot big enough to make it right for players to call on crazy draws. 2, it screams ‘I HAVE ACES OR KINGS!’ Limit players often overplay top pair so in this spot make them pay by raising on the turn.

If you are playing a spread-limit game, pay attention to when a player bets the max. Some players will only bet the max when they have a medium-strength hand but not when they have the nuts. When they have a lock, they bet small to keep others in. When they have a hand that can be out-drawn, they bet to make their opponents pay to catch up.