[BigBrother]

[ QUOTE ]

So my questions are:
1) Do you agree that most of the profit in limit holdem comes from marginal hands?
2) Do you agree that it is actually a bad preflop strategy in limit holdem to play too tightly preflop, because if you don't play enough marginal hands it will be difficult to make a profit?

[/ QUOTE ]

1) No way. Most of your profit comes from your premium hands. Period. A good player will win more with the premium hands than a bad player. The good player bets/raises for value when her hand is good, and finds the discipline to fold when it's obvious she is beat.

You are going to be playing your premium hands 100% of the time...but even AA is only 2 cards of 7. Reading the board, reading your opponents, and understanding the situation will make a huge difference. Your AK will miss the flop 2/3 of the time....how you play it from there will make a huge difference.

2) It depends. Playing tight preflop in a loose game, you can still win, but since you are not involved in many pots, the variance can get you in the short run. Still by playing tight your losses will be limited.

Once you have mastered your postflop play with premium hands, you can profitably add marginal hands...and playing more marginal hands will improve your earn on your premium hands because you will get more action if you are in more hands.

Loosening up a bit preflop CAN increase your earn rate, because you give yourself more opportunities to outplay your opponents. But you need to do it wisely, with the right types of hands in the right situations depending on the table texture. Also don't forget the more hands you play the more variance you will experience and the more you will see the effect of the rake.