12-21-05, LearnTexasHoldem:

The Button In Low Limit Holdem

Question: I play some of the lowest limit hold em tables. (.05/.10 or .10/.20) It seems to me that opening up more on the button is only more important than middle or early because you play less hands over all. I understand that opening up on the button is important in higher limit games because you have more info. It seems to me when you play at this low of a limit, that all of the people are so inexperienced that they always check and call no matter how you raise. What I am saying is that if you are on the button, and you raise, everyone else will just call. If you are in middle position and limp, everyone else will just call etc. So-With that being said, is it extremely advantageous to open up only on the button and play tighter in other positions, or just play less cards all together? Seems to me that no matter what, there is no "respect value" in these games, and most of the time you are not going to be able to use any "technique". Regardless of what you do, everyone always checks and calls anyway. Please let me know your thoughts if you have time. Thanks.

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Answer:

The reason that you see higher limit players (when in larger games) raise from the button more, is because as the skill of the players increases, so does the effectiveness of pure aggressive play. When your opponent takes into account what you have and gives you credit for that hand strength, then bluffing becomes worthwhile. Secondly, as you play in larger games, the edge you have versus your opponent isn't as great so everyone is pushing weaker hands.

For example, any Ace is usually a raising hand in larger games if no one has played yet and you are on the button seat or one before the button. An Ace figures to be a favorite over what the blinds have, so this small edge is exploited. Now, is it correct to use that same line of thinking for all games? No it isn't and the reason is exactly what you already pointed out: Players at low limit games check and call with anything, so if you just press weak hands against them, you'll lose. Both bluffing and semi-bluffing lose most of their value when the opponent doesn't take into account your hand when making his decision.

So if you can't bluff and semi-bluff with success against weak opponents -- those found at low limit games -- what can you do? The opposite strategy is to value bet. Value betting is saying, "I think I have the best hand now, so I'm going to put money in the pot. I'm not trying to get my opponent to fold, I want him to call when I bet." There is no magic to this. You flop a hand and bet it. The key is to not pay off their good hands.

If you miss the flop with AK, there is no reason to try and bet to pick up the pot right then, since you know your opponent will call you with anything. A better strategy is to hit a flop then bet. This is weak poker, but what beats low limit holdem the best. You wait till you think you have the winner and bet it down. This might be bottom pair, top pair, or middle pair. The fundamental strategy here, why you'll beat them, is because they will call you more often when you have the winning hand than you'll call them when they have the winning hand.

In larger games, to get action on your good hands, you'll have to use some tricks and play very well. In lower limit games the key is to play solid hands for how many players are in preflop and then to play well post flop. No tricky play is needed. Check if you don't have a hand, bet if you have one. Now, with this in mind, how does the button affect things? The value of the button is that we can see how many people are in preflop before we commit a bet.

Let's take a marginal hand like K6s. Limping in from early position with that hand, even in a weak game, probably wouldn't be winning play. On the other hand if you are on the button and you can see that everyone has called so far, or maybe even just one or two players, you will probably be able to play it profitably. If someone raised preflop, you could just fold the hand. See, in weak games, you want to play as many hands as you can against your opponents because most of your edge comes from post flop play.

The reason for this is because when you have 6 players taking a flop each hand, even if you have a hand like AA, it is very unlikely to hold up. Postflop play is where you'll beat them so you limp in a lot and hit a big flop and win some, otherwise you get out. The more you can see what the other players do before you have to act preflop, the better chances your decisions will be correct.

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