Limit Poker is The Same Wherever You Play Limit Poker

I want to clear up something that I have heard discussed numerous times. I was recently playing in a $5/10 limit game in Toronto while I was waiting to go play at a $10/20 table. The game had a lot of action. It didn't seem to matter if there were raises happening in early position or not and people didn't seem to care what came down on the flop. Numerous players came in with any two cards and often played deep hoping to improve their hands.

After playing for about ten or fifteen minutes, one of the players closer to me stated that you wouldn't see this kind of play at higher limits. He claimed that this was a product of low limit play and that so many players kept seeing lots of flops and chasing crazy hands because it was so cheap to do so.

I didn't think much of it except I noticed that this was the lowest limit offered by that room on that day. It would appear that anybody wanting to play poker who were looking for the lowest limit possible were going to play at tables like the one I was sitting at. There is something to be said about the players who hunt out the "cheapest" game. They do tend to be more recreational type players and have looser tendencies.

Not long thereafter my name was called to go join a $10/20 game. I gathered up my chips and went and took my seat. The game had an interesting mix of players that seemed to change regularly as for some reason, there always seemed to be somebody getting up every half hour or so. Regardless, after about three hours I decided to take a break and head over to the bar to order a snack. Not long after I was joined there by a gentleman who was sitting in my game. He introduced himself and was quite friendly. We talked about the game and it wasn't long before he made an interesting remark. He said that the game was a little more loose than he was used to and that he believed there were better games at higher limits.

There you have it. Within the span of a few hours, I hear two different players at two different levels of limit play, claiming that higher limit games are better and the players are not so loose. This is a misconception I run into quite regularly. It is interesting that these types of statements are often made by players who don't play higher limits.

Here is all you need to know. Limit play is limit play wherever you go. I think the Beatles wrote a song about it. It doesn't matter if you are playing $2/4 limit at Hollywood Park or $400/800 limit in Geneva, it is all relative. Players who sit in limit games tend to gravitate to levels that they feel comfortable with. The amount of money doesn't matter because their games tend to be the same. There are loose players, there are tight players and there are a whole bunch in the middle. This disparity of players can be found at every level.

If you are a loose player who can only afford to buy in for two hundred dollars at a time, you will play loose and wild probably at a $5/10 game. If you are a loose player who can only afford to buy in for one thousand dollars, you will probably play loose and wild at a $20/40 game. The limit doesn't matter. The amount of money is relative to the bankroll of the player. I watched a crazy $400/800 limit game on television not too long ago where pretty much everybody at the table was determined to see flops. They didn't care how many raises went in pre-flop. They wanted to play.

Don't craft your game in the lower limits thinking that you are becoming a great player and you will be rewarded when you move up because there will be less maniacs trying to suck out on you. They exist at every level. Play your best game always and learn how to read other players. That way it won't matter what level you play. You want to be able to play well and make good decisions against a multi-player game just as you would in a tight match up.

Limit players are limit players wherever you go. Limit poker is a great game. Learn to master it and don't worry about classifying things that you don't have any control over. If you want tighter games at the levels that you play, then look for them. If you can't find them, get good at the games that are available to you until you are able to find games where you will have an even greater edge. No matter what, the more you practice and play, the better you will become. The skills you develop will be available to you at every level of play.