Spread vs. Fixed low limit differences

[njholdem]

Hi all...
I will be making my first trip to Vegas after having played exclusively in atlantic city. I usually play 3/6 holdem with the occasional foray into 4/8. I was surprised to learn recently that the Vegas card rooms dont seem to offer 3/6 that much, but instead have 1-4-8-8. Since I have never played spread limit holdem, I was just looking for any general advice from others who have played this betting structure before. I know this is kind of a vague question, but thanks in advance for any help!

[CrackerZack]

bet the max. the raise to 6 pre-flop helps knocks out a lot of the field if you raise first in and frequently you can limp along for $2 (the BB) and see a discounted flop. If you can get in for $2, suited connectors become quite a value, with big cards and big pairs, raise and kill others implied odds so they can't do this to you.

[Louie Landale]

The 1-4-8-8 game is basically a 4/8 game with smaller blinds: players will routinely bet the max and rightfully so (you will rarely if ever see a $7 bet).

The smaller blinds means [1] your implied odds are greater SO LONG as there are loose players chasing AFTER the flop, and [2] unraised pots feature very small pots on the flop.

[1] means you should often speculate, but also means you should raise with your good hands to punish the speculators. [2] means its often a disaster to be the "caller" on the flop, and also means that you can slow-play and trap more profitably against the better players.

- Louie

[Dynasty]

bet the max.

When you have a good made hand, definitely bet the max.

However, when you a have a flush draw on the turn and you are very sure that you will get called if you bet and somebody else will bet if you check, there's an interesting option- make a partial bet. Bet $4 on the turn when you've got QhJh on the Kh,7h,2s,2c board against several opponents.