Intermediate Limit Hold em Strategy

Here are some efficient intermediate strategy ideas that should help you stay ahead of the game. These are some of the most important points you can retain about the general nature of the game.

* Fold Fold Fold: When you love to fold, you cut your losses and keep your money. Most players will look for reasons to stay in a hand. A typical scenario in their mind is "If I get this card on the Turn I'll win or if I pick up that card I'll have a draw" and so on, but these are long shots at best. You should be looking for reasons to fold. Being paranoid and suspicious, in this game, is much better than being surprised. And don't beat yourself up if you end up folding what would have been the winning hand. You have to be able to occasionally fold huge hands from time to time or you will end up losing large portions of your stack when you guess wrong. In most cases, you'll fold a questionable hand and see that it was the right move as the cards are dealt and the other players showdown better hands.
* Don't Get Pressured: Let's say you call a raise (two-bets) before the flop with K-8 offsuit. The next player re-raises and by the time it gets back to you it's re-raised again for the maximum four bets. Most players would go ahead and call in this situation. At this point, don't feel pressured by the table (or yourself) to call. Fold it and get away from the hand. Your next hand could be Aces, you never know, but you do know (or you should) that you're probably not holding the best one as of now and you don't even have much drawing potential. Would you have called with four bets to go if it came to you like that in the first place? Then don't do so now.
* Play Your Position: When you're in bad position (first to speak or close to it), you should be playing tight. Take your chances from good position (last to speak or close to it). Furthermore, play towards the maximums of your suggested starting hands in bad position, and then you can play towards the lesser suggested hands or better from good position.
* Don't Bother Bluffing: Bluffing is overrated in a Low Limit Hold em strategy. The other players can call your bluffs down cheaply up to the turn, and that means they have a chance to catch a hand to end up beating you with a long shot. You can raise and re-raise with an obvious flop and it seems someone will be willing to call you for at least one more bet. Maybe they're on a draw or they've hit some part of the board (even if it is just the lowest pair possible) and they want to see what the next card will bring.
* Don't Chase Straights: Trying to hang in a hand hoping to pull out a miracle card to complete your inside straight is the worst, and calling bets after the Turn when you've missed your open-ended straight draw is a close second. There is even more danger here when two or more cards on the table are suited (see below for reasons why this tends to be true). Notice that suited-connectors (unless they are Queen, King or Ace high) are not suggested for starting hands in a Low-Limit game. Fold your risky draw and wait for a hand that at least has high-card potential as suggested above.
* Flushes Pay: For the reasons stated above, many players are looking for reasons to stay in the hand. And a great hand that's full of potential (for them) is basically any two suited cards. So when you see the flop come down with two board cards flush, you have to be much more wary of a flush draw than in higher limit games. If the turn or river then brings the third flush board card and multiple raisers act before you, it is probably time to lay it down if you don't have two suited yourself. For this very reason, however, note that the ChessandPoker.com Standard Starting Hands chart suggests that any A-x suited hand should be played (most King-high and Queen-high flush draws are also very playable hands). If your opponents are going to be trying 5-9 suited, hope they "hit" it against your bigger hand when they'll end up paying you off nicely with your nut flush. Let them be the ones complimenting you on your "nice hand" as you drag huge pots.

Author: James Yates