preflop strategy

[tastyfish]

In a post elsewhere on the forum, qwerty mentioned that preflop strategy in pot limit holdem differs from limit holdem. Is this true and if so how?

Are there cards you'd be more inclined to go all in with? I've basically been assuming that the hand rankings and values would be similar if not the same, so i've been playing premium hands very aggressively but playing very tight unless the table is shorthanded. Also, if you have a chip lead over someone, my tournament strategy has been to bully them and force them all in as often as poss as early as poss - i.e. preflop. Is the idea that they might not want to back a draw hand against a premium hand sound if they're short stacked?

[Greg (FossilMan)]

In limit poker you only occasionally have to deal with a situation where you or an opponent is going to run out of chips before the hand is finished. As such, how much you can win or lose (in terms of number of bets) is essentially constant. I mean, if you see the flop with a small pair, you can't win 100x the money you put in preflop no matter how the hand plays out. There is a limited range for the amount of money you can win or lose.

In big bet poker, there is no upper limit beyond the size of each player's stack. As such, you can win or lose 100x or more the amount you invested preflop. This has a huge impact on the number and types of hand you can play.

Also, in limit, your chances of winning a pot without a showdown are MUCH lower than in big bet. This means you can't play as many hands, because you so rarely have the option of bluffing. I mean, being able to read that somebody has a mediocre hand does you no good in limit if you can't beat it, because when you bet/raise, they will so often grit their teeth and call you down anyway.

Later, Greg Raymer (FossilMan)