Limit poker: A love/hate relationship

I spent more than a year and a half trying to learn limit hold em and move up to higher stakes. From my initial foray into the 2/4 limit waters at Internet cafes in Santiago, Chile to shorthanded efforts in a Waikiki hotel room, I struggled to beat the game.

I have a different perspective on limit games than many players. I don't look at limit as a grind; instead, I see it as a more pure form of poker where you need to wrestle pennies or dollars in expected value from every bet. Every hand you're involved in has several betting actions, and each of them is important. I liked that, and I knew the principles involved in limit were essential to improving my all-around poker game.

From December 2004 through May 2006, limit hold em was my main game before I finally threw my hands up in the air and went for the easy money to be found at no limit tables.

Here are my 2006 limit results:

1/2	$3
2/4	$53
3/6	$188
4/8	$0
5/10	$1,462
6/12	$448
8/16	$359
9/18	$218
10/20	$958
15/30	$5,676
25/50	$91
30/60	$1,787
50/100	$1,160
Total	$6,065

Those aren't exactly inspiring numbers, and I'm at a loss to explain why I can't seem to beat these games. I always spend time to find loose tables, and I think through my actions before making them.

Obviously, my place is at the no limit tables, but I can't abandon limit entirely either because it's so important to other forms of poker that I hope to get better at (Triple Draw, O8, Stud, Stud8, etc.)

Either I have a fundamental misunderstanding of the game, or I make adjustments too frequently, or the variance is higher than I expected.

I will say this: I feel like my limit background prepared me well for no limit games, which seem easy by comparison. Without limit, I wouldn't be mentally ready for the swings of the game, I wouldn't know how to play shorthanded games, and I wouldn't be familiar with concepts like way ahead/way behind situations. These aspects of the game go over the heads of many no limit players who don't have much limit experience.

I don't know where to go from here except to play limit games occasionally and try to stay sharp.

My temporary limit strategy is simple: Play tight, play short sessions and leave as soon as I get ahead.

I have the utmost respect for strong limit players, and maybe someday I'll be a winner at these games.