Normally play no limit. What would a good limit stake be? (1 Viewer)

KX5

Sitting Out
Joined
Aug 6, 2019
Messages
32
Reaction score
32
Location
Utah
Hey everyone. We normally play $.25/$.50 NL Holdem.

I've wanted to introduce my group mainly to 7 card stud, but I think it may be better to start with limit Holdem then move to stud once they are used to the limit structure.

What is a good stake and buyin that is the most similar to what we are used to when it comes to limit?
 
Kinda depends on how your game plays, if it’s deep stacked and splashy you could play 4/8, if it’s limp heavy with min betting, 1/2. Probably can’t go wrong with 2/4.
 
It's pretty short stacked. For our $.25/$.50 game we usually buy in for $20.

I'm pretty sure I can talk them into buying in for more with limit because it's really really hard to lose your whole stack in 1 hand.

Just curious if there was a formula or something to use based on buyin amount kind of like there is with no limits 100 bb
 
I have some limited (haha) experience introducing NLHE players to limit stud.

Unless you have some folks that are slow learners (not saying dumb, but how quickly do they pick up new stuff) you can go straight to 7-stud limit.

$20 buy in for 0.25-0.50 (0.05 ante&bring) sounds fine to me unless your guys are very aggressive. And even if they are you may find them less so at first in limit until they find their feet. A single bet in every street would be $2 each, Max bet every round would only be $8.

I’ve had 2 different groups that thought 7-stud was “okay”, but really loved Razz. We’ve twice done a 7-stud tournament with Razz cash game after, it worked out well!
 
One thing I did, and recommend, was insist that everyone bet in “stacks, one for each bet or raise” on the bet line. “You know who has raised by how many stacks there are. If you see 4 stacks you know that’s the end of betting”

Limit is hard enough to get used to without having to count the chips in an opponent’s bet. (Is that 6 quarters or 8 that I would have to call?)
 
One thing I did, and recommend, was insist that everyone bet in “stacks, one for each bet or raise” on the bet line. “You know who has raised by how many stacks there are. If you see 4 stacks you know that’s the end of betting”

Limit is hard enough to get used to without having to count the chips in an opponent’s bet. (Is that 6 quarters or 8 that I would have to call?)

So if someone bets, then the next person raises, then it's my turn and I raise also i should put one stack for the first bet, a second stack for the raise before me, then my raise as the third stack? That would make it easier.
 
Wow, you should probably be playing .25/.25 with those kind of buy ins!
I know I've mentioned that, but being in Utah they aren't super into gambling and they don't want to buyin more. But don't want to play for anything less than $.25/$.50 cause it's not at fun I guess.

Can you think of anything I can tell them to to make them want to change either the buyin or the stakes
 
I know I've mentioned that, but being in Utah they aren't super into gambling and they don't want to buyin more. But don't want to play for anything less than $.25/$.50 cause it's not at fun I guess.

Can you think of anything I can tell them to to make them want to change either the buyin or the stakes

Yep, exactly! And that makes it easier to explain and keep track of the “3 raises max” rule, too, b/c 4 stacks is the max.

Seems silly to call a single chip a “stack” in the early streets, but it helps keep people from confusing 4 small bets for 2 big bets.

Plan on almost every player needing to be reminded when the bets change from small to big, every hand, for at least the first hour. :confused

But they will eventually get it.
 
I know I've mentioned that, but being in Utah they aren't super into gambling and they don't want to buyin more. But don't want to play for anything less than $.25/$.50 cause it's not at fun I guess.

Can you think of anything I can tell them to to make them want to change either the buyin or the stakes

I’ve been struggling with the same thing: some of the guys by me in New York think a $40 buy-in for $1/$2 no-limit is perfectly normal. :banghead:
 
What is a good stake and buyin that is the most similar to what we are used to when it comes to limit?

Depending on how your game plays, 1/2, 2/4, and 3/6 (betting levels, not blinds) seem reasonable to me.

There's no real point in putting an upper limit on buy-ins for limit games. It's only relevant in NL and PL games. When combining limit and big-bet games in a single session, it's convenient to put a cap on big-bet hands.

One thing I did, and recommend, was insist that everyone bet in “stacks, one for each bet or raise” on the bet line. “You know who has raised by how many stacks there are. If you see 4 stacks you know that’s the end of betting”

It's desirable (but not required) to have enough of your workhorse chip so that players can place their bets in equal "stacks," and to have at least a 2-chip/4-chip betting structure.
 
It's desirable (but not required) to have enough of your workhorse chip so that players can place their bets in equal "stacks," and to have at least a 2-chip/4-chip betting structure.

So if we do a $.50/$1 limit game, use $.25 chips so the small and big bet is 2 and 4 chips?
 
I occasionally host a dealer's choice limit night - most of my players aren't used to the non-NLHE games, so we play $2/$4 limit but a $50 cash buy-in gets you $100 in chips. That makes it a little easier for guys typically buying in for $50 in a quarter/quarter or even light quarter/fifty NLHE game. YMMV.
 
So if we do a $.50/$1 limit game, use $.25 chips so the small and big bet is 2 and 4 chips?

That's the idea. When used, blinds would be 1 and 2 chips. For stud games, using a dealer ante eliminates the need for smaller ante chips.
 
In terms of relative game size and swings, the blinds in a limit game are somewhere between 1.5-3x the size of NL blinds.

One thing to keep in mind though is that limit has higher variance as you play more hands to showdown than you do in NL. And if you play stud games, the extra being round makes things feel pretty big.

If you are used to short .25/.50 NL, then I probably wouldn't go higher than 1/2 limit (.50/1 blinds).
 
Last edited:
I run a dealer's choice game with .25/.25 NL/PL blinds and .50/1 limit games. I play with .10 ante chips, .20 bring in for stud games. Though without ante chips, I'd just do .50 dealer ante 6-handed, .75 dealer ante 8 handed with a .25 bring in for stud games.

If you by chance happen to try NL 2-7 Single Draw, then play it .25/.50 blinds with a button ante of .25 for every 2 players.
 

Create an account or login to comment

You must be a member in order to leave a comment

Create account

Create an account and join our community. It's easy!

Log in

Already have an account? Log in here.

Back
Top Bottom