If you want to be a winning limit Texas hold'em poker player, you need to think not in terms of pots, but of bets. The size of the pots you can win in limit hold’em is, as the name implies, limited. Your value comes not from trapping an opponent into giving away his whole stack but in winning the most bets possible when you have the best hand, and losing the fewest bets when you are beaten.

Ways to Win Extra Bets

Betting for Value
In limit Texas holdem poker, when you have the best hand on the river, you need to bet it. For example, if you have been checking and calling with a flush draw, and you make your flush on the river, bet it! If you check, your opponent is likely to see the threat of the flush and check behind you, costing you a bet. If you bet, the pot will usually be too big for your opponent to fold, even if he believes you are bluffing.

Well Timed Check Raises
If you feel you have the best hand, often the best course is to play straightforwardly and simply bet. However, if you think a player soon to act after you may bet, you may want to check and let them bet. Any player who calls that bet will feel compelled to call again when you raise due to the poker odds, netting you many extra bets. Only do this if you have a very strong hand that can withstand multiple opponents.

Ways to Save Bets

Stop Playing any Ace
Most players will see a flop with any ace, figuring it only costs them one bet and if an ace flops they will have top pair. In the first place, most of the time you won’t flop an ace and will have to fold to any bet. The times you do flop an ace, if you have a bad kicker, you are likely to lose a big pot to someone with a better ace, since your opponents will be playing their aces as well. Stick to suited aces and aces with big kickers and play poker with better chances.

Stop Playing Any Suited Cards
A similar idea applies to suited cards. You will rarely make a flush, and when you do, if it is a small flush, you may lose a big pot to a larger flush. Your best bet is to only play suited cards when they have some other value to them, for example they are big cards or connected cards.

Be Realistic About Pot Odds
Although in limit Texas hold’em you are often getting correct odds to call with a wide variety of hands, you are not always getting correct odds. If you are in the big blind, are called in one place and then raised, you are looking at 4.5 to 1 to call. Good odds, but your 7 2 off suit is still probably not going to win more than 18 percent of the time.

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