Rookie Q about Limit holdem

[Lagtastic]

So do pot odds really matter in limit? what i mean is when the draw card hits the river, by pot odds arent you always gonna have to call anything if you had been betting the whole way? i mean wouldnt you always be pot commited in LHE by NLHE standards? does this make sense?

[RustyBrooks]

Yes, pot odds still matter. For one thing, look at the recent posts about bluff frequency and game theory. These help you decide when you should call or fold (or possibly, raise)

Beyond that, you must consider player tendencies. The people I play with live, I can comfortably fold 2 pair on the river if they bet when the flush draw comes in, almost regardless of pot size, if I know they will not bet without the flush. Other players bet so frequently that calling is practically mandatory with a pair, no matter how bad the board is.

Without reads, you can make some quick estimates as to how often you think your opponent is bluffing and determine if that number is high enough to make the call profitable. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't. Many times it's better to raise when you think there is a high chance your opponent is bluffing, particularly in a game like limit holdem (as opposed to, say, razz, where your opponent can tell if he has a total lock on you)