Poker Strategy: Limit Hold’em
Strategy articles that help you bet, raise, 3-bet, and cap your bets.

Long before No Limit Hold’em became all the rage, the Limit tables were where savvy cardsharks plied their trade. Newcomers think that this game is easy because you can’t lose your whole stack in one hand, but those in the know realize that proper LHE strategy is complex and challenging to master. We’ve covered all the basic tips and tricks that you need to know, both preflop and post, like stealing blinds, raising to clean up your outs, the free card play, when to slowplay and when to come out betting, the uses of the check-raise, and more. Limit Hold’em is a tough battle because you have to strive and fight for every big bet you win. Don’t handicap yourself through ignorance – read through the articles below to give yourself the best possible chance of prevailing against the other players.
Featured Limit Hold’em Articles
Chardrian’s Guide to Live Small Stakes Limit Poker (Part 1)
Ok, to start this off, I figured it would be a good idea to give a little background about myself. I was a 2nd year law student at the University of Wisconsin when the poker boom began in 2003. Like many young(ish) males at the time, I got caught up in the wave of...
Pot Equity Edge (LHE)
In Limit Hold’em, you’ll often have a pot equity edge, even with less than 50% equity, if there are many players in the hand. If you can get them to keep putting chips in the pot, you should probably raise with such an edge. If some of them will fold, though, you should probably just call.
Planning Your Moves in Limit Hold’em
In Limit Hold’em, you’ll be seeing more showdowns than you would in No Limit poker. This means that you should carefully consider your ranges preflop by judging your hand’s showdown value when deciding whether or not to fold, cold-call, open-raise, or three-bet.
Why You Suck At Limit Holdem
It’s common for beginning players to perform poorly at the poker tables. Some of the errors frequently displayed by novice Limit Hold’em players include playing too many hands, cold-calling with inferior holdings, folding good hands to a single bet on the river and more.
Most Recent Limit Hold’em Articles
Chardrian’s Guide to Live Small Stakes Limit Poker (Part 1)
Ok, to start this off, I figured it would be a good idea to give a little background about myself. I was a 2nd year law student at the University of Wisconsin when the poker boom began in 2003. Like many young(ish) males at the time, I got caught up in the wave of...
Chardrian’s Guide to Live Small Stakes Limit Poker (Part 6)
Small broadway hands are sometimes playable in Limit Hold’em. Suitedness greatly increases their playability, and there are many cases where you should fold them if unsuited. Small pocket pairs should be played almost exclusively for set value, which means you want a multiway pot.
Pot Equity Edge (LHE)
In Limit Hold’em, you’ll often have a pot equity edge, even with less than 50% equity, if there are many players in the hand. If you can get them to keep putting chips in the pot, you should probably raise with such an edge. If some of them will fold, though, you should probably just call.
chardrian’s Guide to Live Small Stakes Limit Hold’em (part 12)
Betting for value is critical in any small-stakes, live Limit Hold’em cash game. We’ll look at an example hand, changing a few variables around, to see under what circumstances we have a clear bet for value. It’s important to keep making correct bets and raises without being results-oriented.
Hyper’s 6-Max Limit Hold’em Guide Part 2
Hyper put together a sequel to his initial guide on 6 max/short handed play. Click here to read version 1 of his 6 Max Limit Holdem Guide. Short-Handed Limit Holdem Guide v.2.0 Hyper’s Limit Guide, Specializing in Shorthanded Play: Version 2.0 This guide is an...
Small Stakes Limit Holdem Theorems
“Poker is a game of cards, people and position” – Multiple sources “There is nothing you can do about the cards” – Multiple sources Consider that playing cards well will only get you so far if your ultimate goal is to score as many points as possible. If I'm beating...
3-Betting an Apparent Stealer in Limit Hold’em
With most forms of poker, your play in and around the blinds will often define what type of success you have. This is simply because of the positional importance in all forms of poker. However, In a way, limit hold’em places a greater need for sound play in and...
Limit Holdem Goals
Making goals in Limit Holdem is very important in order to progress your game. Your goal for these microlimit Holdem poker games shouldn't be to get rich quick, because it WON'T happen. You are here to learn the game and deal with the bad beats and variance that comes...
The Best Time to Bluff
Ever wonder what differentiates good bluffs from bad ones? This article explains the conditions that are the most ideal for you to pull off a bluff and the situations in which you’re least likely to succeed at bluffing. Your playing image and other factors determine when bluffing is a wise move.
Chardrian’s Guide to Live Small Stakes Limit Poker (Part 3)
COMMON CHARACTERISTICS OF A SMALL STAKES GAME The most common characteristics of a small stakes game are that the players will be loose and passive. Most of the players will believe that luck is a more important factor in the game then skill; and most of the players...
Planning Your Moves in Limit Hold’em
In Limit Hold’em, you’ll be seeing more showdowns than you would in No Limit poker. This means that you should carefully consider your ranges preflop by judging your hand’s showdown value when deciding whether or not to fold, cold-call, open-raise, or three-bet.
Moving from $.50/1 to $1/2
The play here isn't too much different. After playing 10,000-15,000 hands of .5/1, you should be more than bankrolled to play at the $1/2 limit. document.write(BwinPokerA);document.write(BwinPokerB); players are a mixture of loose/tight players but they all play very...
Chardrian’s Guide to Live Small Stakes Limit Poker (Part 2)
In my last post I gave an introduction of who I am and how I got to playing live small stakes limit poker. In this post I want to just jump into my actual guide of how to play. The best place to start is just in the basics. THE RAKE My local casino does not offer a...
Playing Overcards in Limit Holdem – Intro
I have always felt that the playing of overcards presents some of the most difficult situations in limit hold’em at times. When I first started out as an online player, limit hold’em was my main game and these overcard situations were some of the most difficult for me...
Before Moving to $3/6
This section will go over some very popular, yet still very profitable 'plays' that you should do (and will see) against opponents. I recommend you study these plays - how to use them to your advantage, how to recognize them when they happen, and how to defend against...