Intermediate Strategy: Setting Your Limits
by Dougie Goguen | Dec 9 2011
Learn how to hit the "sweet spot" when setting limits in your online poker play.
When you are making the move from complete poker amateur to semi-professional, one of the most important things you can learn is how to pick which limit to play (assuming, of course, that you're playing limit poker at all.) You should choose which limit to play based on your financial wherewithal, your overall ability to play poker and how risk-aversive you are.
Get more for your money with Bodog’s instant online poker deposit bonus program!It doesn't matter if you've Bruce Wayne rich: it's best to start out at lower limit tables just for the simple fact that the competition at them will be easier to take on. Not microstakes games - players there are too interested in gambling versus playing poker - but I've generally found that $1/$2 games are perfect for the newly-minted semipro. Very few full professionals play at that level and thanks to internet anonymity, it's not like your friends are going to know that you play at a lower limit than what they think you can manage.
The main factors when you choose a poker limit at which to play out are fairly simple: should you move up or should you move down. In general, you should only move up by a limit level if you feel comfortable playing at that limit for seven sessions or more. If you feel very uncomfortable playing at any given level, then step down. Nervousness can mitigate bad decisions and put you in tilt very quickly, something that no poker player.
Another thing I see players do quite a lot is deciding to just "go for it" after one or two winning sessions at one level and moving upwards in the limits too quickly. They don't have the bankroll to survive the higher financial risks and increased level of competition at that level and even if they win one session, if they bust out, they bust out hard in the next.
Play online poker at Bodog today!If you're playing at a higher level and you take a hit, you should generally move down. However, you shouldn't move down so far that you are no longer motivated to play. If you move up to $25-$50 from $10-$20, you shouldn't fall back to $1-$2 once you decide that $25-$50 is too high. While people tend to play too scared at a higher limit, they also tend to play too loose at a lower limit. Play a limit that motivates you to play, but at which you are not scared to play.
