Game selection in limit hold’em

Online poker is in a constant state of change and it is only when you have been in the industry for a long time or you view it from a distance that you see it as it really is. For me this is why poker is so fascinating and how boring would poker be if all you had to do was to learn some easily learnable strategy and then execute that strategy and then you simply made money? But online poker isn’t like that and it will challenge you and I for one am very grateful for that fact.

I started my career playing limit Online Texas Hold em poker. I played in an era where the games were much softer than what they are now. But I hear a lot of people say that limit hold’em is a finished game as there is no profit potential in it. I certainly do not agree with that for numerous reasons. Firstly when we discuss profit potential then we do not need to necessarily talk about high-stakes play here or even middle limit play. There are always fish at the lower levels and even though the average pot size has shrunk over the past few years, this does not mean that limit is finished but just that you need to game select better.

Game selection is more important when you decrease the size of the field. This is the same with regards to no limit hold’em as well. If you play full ring in both limit and no limit then game selection is less critical simply because there is nearly always someone who is value in the game and usually there are at least 2-3 players in a full ring game which makes the game profitable for good players. However when you sit in six handed games then there can be a greater potential problem if you happen to find a game with no weak players in it. While it is true that you get to play more hands against weaker players in six handed games than in full ring, the fact still remains that if you happen to sit in a tough game then the reverse also applies.

So not only do good players play the game better and make better decisions but they also lead to smaller average pot sizes as well. Also better players will put you to tougher decisions and will take pots away from you that lesser players wouldn’t. All this leads to lower average earnings and these are situations that you clearly need to avoid. So game selection is pivotal in any short handed game! In no way am I saying that game selection is not as important in full ring games, just that it is more important the fewer opponents that you have. Take this to an extreme and if you play heads up and you are pitted against a superior opponent then to twist a well known phrase then this is a licence to lose money.