LIVE $3/6/12 vs. $3/6 and/or $4/8 -Experienced replies

[wattsman]

Let's leave online play out of this, it's a diffrent world anyway.
I live in Houston and local live games are always NL or PL. I enjoy these games and can really get into a tourney.
However, in order to build a real bankroll, I am looking to improve my LHE game and grind it out in semi-nearby LA casinos.
I only played a little $4/8 and gave my money away playing way too loose being used to my $1/2 NL standards.
But I was intimidated at the time by $3/6/12.
Now, having read a few more books I want do less gambling and more winning. But so far my reading has only included one mention of double-on-the-end play and was not at all indicative of the differences.
One hope is that skilled play will have better pay-off versus the calling stations, maniacs, etc.
Mind you, I am not merely looking to be mechanical, I plan to develop a tight-agressive playing style, but not immune to deceptive play.
Should I look forward to double-on-the-end or avoid it for some reason?
I'd appreciate any perspective you have on this.
I also want to tighten my NL standards and I figure that playing Limit can help with my internal programming there.

[talking toaster]

If you're playing against opponents who don't make the adjustment, and you do the new structure will be very advantageous.

You can be more speculative, and there will also be opportunities to slowplay.

Against most 3/6 players, though, I wouldn't like it too much, since they're too speculative anyways. I would occasionally try to run and show a bluff so that they'd be more inclined to pay off the double bet.

[Holm Fries]

Ciaffone and Briar have a chapter on this in MSHE. It is for mid-limits, but I am pretty sure the concepts would hold for this game.

[AcesAagaard]

I have always appreciated the double bet on the end style for a couple of simple reasons. Flops come cheap( even a capped flop is only gonna cost you 1 river bet). Secondly with the middle limit it will allow you to find pot odds on your draws with speculated value. Just calling in the middle rounds can have a huge payoff if you hit one of your outs on the turn or river. Also it is much easier to get out of a hand when you don't have that much invested. Lastly on the big bet on the river gives you a chance to really rake in a decent pot. If you check raise you'll take down the equivelent to four bets in the standard $3-$6 game.

[Gap23Razor]

[ QUOTE ]
I live in Houston and local live games are always NL or PL. I enjoy these games and can really get into a tourney.
However, in order to build a real bankroll, I am looking to improve my LHE game and grind it out in semi-nearby LA casinos.

[/ QUOTE ]

i take it by "LA" you meant Louisianna? or do you mean "Los Angeles"? (after all, you said semi-close, plus everyone knows Texas is sooooo big! so it might be Los Angeles because after all, 2500 miles is just a trip around the perimeter of a normal sized Texas ranch... [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img])

here my take on strategy adjs for your game, which is worth what you paid for it....

with a larger limit on the river allowed, you have better implied odds for your draws...so you can bet your good draws (8-10 outs) on the turn more readily --- with the standard limit game i figure i need to get 4 more bets in the pot by the showdown for each bet i put in on the turn...that usually restricts these bets to situations where i have 3 or 4 opponents on the turn while i have 9-10 outs...but with a doubled limit on the river you will have better implied odds if you hit the draw...you could probably play your 6 outers on the turn and maybe your 5 outers too...expect more suckouts, more folks playing on all streets/loose play than the standard limit structure...have a large stake/session bankroll;

[VBCurtis]

Replies indicate chasing pays off better, since the implied odds are bigger. Since most 3/6 or 4/8 players chase too far anyway, it seems to make their natural style less wrong. Seems 4/8 would be the better game, if the 3/6/12 players don't go super-passive on the river.

However, if the players are afraid of a raise because it's $24 and never charge when they hit their 5-outer, the implied odds improvement may not matter.

I suggest you hone your game in 4/8, then test the 3/6/12 to see if it plays any differently once you're a solid winner at 4/8.
-Curtis

[Maliant]

You can make a lot of calls in limit hold'em that would seem like way losing calls NL, be aggressive w/ your draws on flop though seems like 3/6-4/8 live players are usually really passive and can get free turn cards alot. They will slow down a lot after getting raised although you will be called down almost 100% of time in low limit games because they haven't learned the fold move yet.