Top 10 Reasons Why You Should Play Limit Poker

Congratulations! You just arrived on the poker scene and will soon embark on your latest career choice: professional poker player. You started with $100 online and built your bankroll up to $100,000, hoping to be the next poker millionaire. You're as cool as Ivey, read as well as Negreanu, are as bold as Gus, and know the math as well as Sklansky. Your confidence is high, and you think you can play with the best of them. If this is true, I predict that you probably will succeed, provided you have all the necessary skills that most levelheaded, intelligent poker players have, without any of the bad habits that most levelheaded, intelligent poker players have. I will admit that there isn't a more exciting poker game than no-limit hold'em. Nothing can get you on TV faster than winning a prestigious no-limit hold'em tournament. Also, there is no other game in which you can win a $100,000 pot faster than you can say "no-limit hold'em." But what would you say if I told you that none of those guys started out that way, or even play no-limit hold'em as their primary cash game of choice. Most play the limit or pot-limit form of poker, unless some fish is in town who wants to play no-limit. You can see some of the best pros on Full Tilt playing limit and pot-limit Omaha. Is there a reason for this, or have all the pros suddenly lost their minds? I would never tell anyone which game to play, because that is a matter of personal choice. However, I would like to point you toward another road to consider. It's not the yellow-brick road that is paved with gold and has lots of glitz and glamour, with promises of getting you to the land of Oz. It's a road that is structured with boundaries and occasional potholes, and is well-lit. Such a road can provide you more stability and greater longevity in your poker life, and the opportunity to play with thousands of weaker players who will never sit in your no-limit hold'em games.

Now, before all of you limit players start yelling, "You tell 'em, John," I have to say that I also could provide a list for why you should play no-limit hold'em. There also are many good no-limit cash-game players who do very well for themselves. But let's give the limit players a break. There's been so much hype and so many articles written about no-limit that very little has been said about limit. The media has treated limit poker like an ugly, unwanted stepchild. Nothing personal guys, it is just about the ratings, as no-limit is exciting and makes for good TV. Limit poker can't hold a candle to that, but that doesn't mean no-limit hold'em should be played exclusively for a living. Run bad in it for a while, and you'll be wondering where the hell the yellow-brick road went. On the limit road, when you get beat by 3-2, it's just a small pothole. When the 3-2 beats you on the yellow-brick road, it's like having a house fall on you. If limit players want things to change, it is their responsibility to take the new players aside and make them aware of what's happening. That's how change occurs. The media and casinos won't do it, so quit griping about it and start educating.

It warms my heart when I see the young guns playing limit games. They are realizing that even though the big no-limit hold'em tournaments can bring them their 15 minutes of fame and millions of dollars, the other games can be a great way to make a living. They also have realized that you don't have to roll the dice with your bankroll every time you sit down to play. You still can make good money from grinding it out in limit poker over the long haul without risking it all. Once a tourist gets burned in a no-limit hold'em game, he is more likely to look for a seat in a limit game, where he thinks he has a better chance to win. He will get more bang for his buck, but will still lose in the long run. Poker is a social game, so allow him to have fun in limit poker, where the environment is more relaxing and seemingly safer. There are thousands of weak players in daily limit poker games who always return. The no-limit hold'em environment tends to run most of these players off, so you may never see them again. The limit environment tends to cultivate players and is more accommodating to their weaknesses. Sure, you have to show down a hand in limit, and you can't bet enough to protect your hand, but you also can be sure that you'll have more customers in your pots who are making more mistakes. This affords you the opportunity to stack up their chips on your side of the felt. So, give limit cash games and tournaments a try; you might like them. And the next time some munchkin tries to show you the yellow-brick road, tell him to take a hike. Here's my top 10 reasons why you should play limit poker:

10 You will lose only one big bet, not 50, when your opponent makes his hand on the river.

9 It's a lot easier to put your opponent on a hand by observing his betting patterns, instead of trying to figure out what his all-in bet might represent.

8 If you get caught bluffing, it won't cost you a bagful of money. It's still only one bet.

7 If the game is not on the square, you can figure it out before you go for your lungs. (Believe it or not, there really are colluders and angle-shooters out there.)

6 You will get great sleep at night knowing that you were not bluffed out of a pot, instead of wondering all night long whether or not your opponent robbed you.

5 The same players who got really lucky against you will be back again and again, trying to give you your money back.

4 It allows bad players to keep making the same mistakes, providing you more profitability and more piña coladas on the beach while you enjoy their money.

3 You can run bad for a year and still have money to play, whereas in no-limit hold'em, you could be broke in a week.

2 Even though you beat up on them every day, they still like you (Which is great for your self esteem).

1 They have lost their biggest weapon: They can't yell, "I'm all in."

"Miami" John Cernuto has won three World Series of Poker bracelets, ranks ninth in all-time WSOP cashes, and has more than 90 tournament wins and more than 600 cashes.