TOP applications to other games

[sirtemple]

I have recently read Theory of Poker and found it a very good book. By it's own admission it is geared towards limit, single winner cash games. I was wondering, what corrolaries can be drawn for NL, High-lo Split, and Tournament games.

For NL all of the principles should apply, however implied odds and pot odds would be drastically different. It seems to me that limping into pots with medium suited connectors has alot more value, since if you hit you will get paid well.

For H/L split it seems that there is little value in bluffing. You would have to convince the other players that not only do you have a good hand, but that you are going in the same direction they are. I think that more players will call you down with weaker hands in hopes that you were going the other way. Pot odds would also be different, since the pot will be split. At first glance It would seem correct to simply reduce the odds the pot is giving you by 2, but many times the low end is itself split. Perhaps the pot odds for high are halved while the odds for low should be quartered?

As for tournaments I am not sure how helpful TOP can be. In a cash game game having an edge, even a small one, will make you a consistant winner. But in a tournament you need to beat out 98% of the field to get paid. Since you need to win so many more times to make money, it would seem that a slight statistical advantage is not beneficial. To do well in tournaments it looks like you need to be a strong favorite every time you get your money in a pot. Drawing hands would therefore have greatly reduced value.

These are just my musings on the subject. I am eager to read other player's views on these situations.