[Texas72]

A lot of people learned how to play NL first (myself included) so we naturally avoid limit, thinking you can't get people off hands, can't run bluffs, etc. - can't do all the things we do in our NL games to win.

I felt the same way until I was forced to play limit. I visited a friend in Colorado, where the only poker games they offer is $2-$5 spread. I asked a good friend of mine, who played $20/$40 limit, for some advice. He told me to stick to premium hands, bet them hard, and that I would get sucked out on - no one drives all the way to a casino to sit and fold for hours. It was good advice - my biggest problem was playing too many marginal hands, since everyone else was! I fell victim to the same trap I was warned about.

When I go to Vegas, I always play limit - anywhere from $2/$4 to $4/$8. It can be quite profitable. Again, you just have to stick to your premium hands and be as agressive as possible. You'll find some crazy games where everyone is playing trash and the suckouts are coming fast and furious...but overall, you'll end up the winner when you have the nuts and everyone else is in chasing - they can't catch all the time. Plus those low-limit tables are often the most fun - everyone is drinking and laughing, having a great time. Sometimes you'll find a table full of serious players, and a $3/$6 game can end up feeling like a $10/$20 - no personality at all. But for the most part, they're a blast to play.

Limit is considered by many to be the purest form of Hold'Em. Because you are limited in what "mind games" you can pull, you have to fall back on the basics - reading your opponent, playing the best cards, calculating your odds. And you can bluff - it just depends on the player. You can't bluff a calling station in any game - NL or limit. You're likely to find more calling stations at a low-limit game, true - but that just means you need to identify them and know how to play against them as cheaply as possible.

Limit really is a beautiful game. Just requires a little more work.