Trying to clear off the latest FTP bonus and I figured it would be easier to do if I added a couple of 2/4 limit tables to my normal mix of 50-200 NL tables. Avg pot sizes are normally in the $17-22 range so the rake is about the same as the normal .5/1 NL/PL table. I've had some issues with donking off a lot of chips on limit tables in the past so I decided to approach this a little differently, and as a result feel like I have fixed some leaks in my NL game. In a similar vein to Kuso's PL50 tr post from yesterday, here's what I have found:
Patience
Even tho all the tables are 6max (well, not all, but 75% of the time that's all you'll see when I play), patience is the key. Yes, AA24 is a great starting hand and it should be raised preflop, but when the flop comes 249 and you're CB is raised it's ok to let it go. I would previously have spewed my ass off there. Almost everyone out there at 1/2 up to 3/6 will chase lows and flushes without odds, so pick your spots and get them then. Yeah, I have spent most of a night getting almost zero scoops when they catch, but in the long run it will pay off.
Even the good players do a poor job of pot odds calc'ing when fishing for half a pot. It's important to recognize them, note them, and charge the hell out of them when you have it (i.e. you have the nut flush and there are 2 low out there). I checkraise the hell out of them every chance I get. The additional bonus to this is you can check oop when on a big draw and get a free card a hell of a lot more often. So what if they call you a dick in chat? I am a dick, deal with it.
Fold Equity
You almost always have none. Get used to it, and don't use it as part of your odds calcs when deciding on the turn whether to bet or check or raise. The board can be 2249 and you can announce to the world that you have a deuce but you'll still get called by every A3, 35, and even A5 hand on the planet. If you can checkraise them then do it but don't miss out on the bet you need to make if you might not get bet into after a check. Make the bet you need to make, but not in the hopes of folding them out, just as a value bet. If you don't have a 'value bettable' hand then don't try to steal. Which leads to...
Stealing
Unless your opponent is a rock, you can't usually steal until the river. However, you can often steal a $28 pot with a $4 bet if you pick your spots right. You'll rarely steal on the scare cards (like you can in PL/NL), but you can steal on the whiffs. In the 2249 board above you can steal all day long when a high card hits the river. 9 times out of 10 anyone that called along that far has been fishing for low and nothing but. A rock that will flat call with a deuce should be noted and avoided. Don't let them do that to you twice.
Stats
I don't pay too much attention to them in a 6 max game unless they are huge one way or the other. If someone is a 75/25 or 80/2 I want to know, along with the 15/1 and 15/10 guys. Everyone else in the middle is just that - in the middle. If you want to dig down then I'd like to know how often someone sees the river if they see a flop. To be honest, when multi tabling I don't have the attention span to spend that much time on anything else.
Variance
Sucks balls, but be prepared. Avoid iffy starting hands (24QQ is a very playable NL hand but blows in Limit). Don't get out of line trying to be fancy and you'll stay relatively steady.
Enjoy, comments always welcomed of course.