Looking for advice.

I've never played pot-limt Hold 'em, but am thinking about trying it out. The game has a 5-10 blind structure. I've been succesful at ring games in the 6-12 to 15-30 range. How should I adjust my play to this type of game?

Buy the book by Ciaffone, and study it well.


Then pray that the learning curve doesn't break you.


5,10 blinds is a pretty big game. I've seen single pots with over $10,000 in them at this level and even below. I've seen people win or lose the same amount in a session many times.


Be prepared for swings like this, as they will occur.


Later, Greg Raymer (FossilMan)

Ouch!! Is there a better way to gain experience?

Simple, but great post, greg....ty; very to the point...


i am also relatively new to pot limit, and I initally wasn't prepared for the swings of the game... Even in a 2-2 blind game, just one hand is easily capable of snapping a $200 table stake(i learned this the hard way). Compare that to a 5-10 limit game; at worst you may lose 1/2 of that stake in one hand, and that would be a very very rare case.

Absolutely. Online is a great place. Poker Stars offers micro-limit pot games. Good luck.

The Psychology of pot-limit play is very different than limit. Aggression and bullying opponents are more important aspects of play along with a host of other aspects you will need to learn. And you MUST be prepared to lose your entire stack on one hand. The other players will test you on this, especially if you are new to the game. This does not mean that you should throw your money in on a whim, but that the other players will be looking for spots to see if you are capable of playing in "their game".


In a 5-10 blind game you should buy in for at least $500; this will depend on the type of game but you need to have at least the average stack size on the table to help you play correctly and not be at a disadvantage right away. Thus, scope out the pot-limit game you intend to play in.


If losing $500 or $1,000 on one hand is hard on your stomach - then best stick with limit play. Make sure you have a large bankroll - you will need it. Good luck.


-Zeno

5-10 blinds would be an awfully big game for a newbie. Pokerstars or UB micro limits blinds would be your best bet. Also read Ciaffone's and Cloutier's books.


KC50

that big. I know of two games 5-5-10, P/L where 1,500 is a rather large loss...yes some are larger but most are not...watch the game to see how big the players make it.


A key difference between limit and P/L, is that in limit a player most often has good enough pot odds to draw to all sorts of hands,,,,the opposite is true in P/L

Coincedentally I just left poker stars where I played micro-limit pot limit for the first time. I have Caffiones book on pot limit and skimmed as I played. In the 50cent BB I flopped K7 ,2pair,bet and was raised and on the end I called 18$ that was the biggest bet I called. Other guy had AK. 2Farmakes a good point regarding pot odds,its critical.I only played for about 1hour and the largest pot I saw was about 70.00. I had fun, played tight and aggressive, and will try it again.

meant to post below KC50

Preparing for the swings is pure psychology. Take e.g. $100 and play with about the attitude of double or nothing. It doesn't matter how long it takes - 5 minutes, 3 hours. It's faster than limit poker, that's all. You can play X times $100 per day, e.g. every day. The need of bankroll isn't that much if it's mostly around heads up - you can flip a coin 100 times for double or nothing, and the likely result is rarely scary - and if you add your possible +EV to that, you have little to worry about.

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Just kidiing! Thanks for the info.