Are you just playing the odds?

[djhoneybear]

Poker is a game of information. In no limit holdem you often bet to gain information. In limit with a fixed betting structure it seems that it is harder to gain that information. You can't control the pot odds in many situations. The information you gain by betting seems to be one of two things - either your opponent likes his hand or he doesn't. How does one gain information in (especially) low limit games? If you can't gain information are you just playing the odds in relation to the pot size?

[moot]

Poker Tracker.

Also...

True you can't control the pots odds much, but neither can your opponents. Which is exactly why at low limits (if the game is right) you'll often find yourself playing hands like Ax suited from almost all positions. "Drawing" hands that would often get punished too much on a NL flop usually are getting odds in limit. Plus with the bets doubling on the turn, you can punish the weaker hands (pairs) for double when you do hit.

And at the lowest stakes of limit you don't really need that much information. You're relying greatly on the fact that you opponents have little clue as to what they're doing (and thus have even less "information" than you). And against fish, you don't really need that much information, because you know they likely have crap (because they play so many hands).

Betting doesn't often gain much information, as opponents with call with a vast spectrum of hands, but raising often does. For instance, if you raise an opponent on the flop, and then he checks to you on the turn, you know he probably doesn't have a particularly strong holding (unless he's a tricky player).

There's also position to consider (though since many low limit players don't give it much consideration, it often times doesn't offer many clues as to what they're holding).

Pot odds can be a big part of it, but it certainly isn't the only thing.