Before we begin, if you are unfamiliar with hold 'em and want to know about 'beginner level', don't forget to read the hold 'em setup up and basic play page first before you begin with this page.
In this section we will discuss the obvious parts of limit hold 'em strategy: Pre flop - top ten hands only, how to play on the flop and how to play A-K on the flop, how to play the top ten hands on 4th street and how to play on 5th street - calling because of pot odds. If you feel you are at an advanced level it could still be beneficial to read this section. You can never learn enough when it comes to hold 'em.

When learning the game, some of the top professionals in the world recommend playing only the top ten hands and folding all the others. This might sound boring or very defensive play but it will keep you from losing a lot of money as you learn and it will let you play the 'easier' hands first before getting too adventurous. The top ten hands are: AA, KK, QQ, AK, JJ, 1010, 99, 88, AQ and 77. One of the benefits to playing this "strategy for survival" is that when you constantly play these big hands, your opponents will begin to fear your bets and raises because they'll feel you are playing a powerful hand. This will allow you to make a few different plays later on, once you have moved up to the intermediate and more advanced levels. This 'top ten hand' strategy will teach you the fundamentals, something which you will need when it comes to adventurous, more advanced play. It is recommended that you play these top ten hands regardless of your position in the betting order or the number of bets it will cost you to get involved. It is always best to raise with these hands regardless of how much it will cost you. Sure, if you have enough evidence to suggest that your 88 is beaten, then obviously it would be acceptable to fold the hand but in general, playing these hands with a great deal of aggression is a good way to play hold 'em.

The flop

The power of the raise and how to use the skill of raising correctly is very important to hold 'em. How to use the raise on the flop to find out "where you are at" in the hand is a good principle to know. Knowing how to use the raise and re-raise on the flop to gain information, so as to learn, possibly, if you have the winning hand or not will be covered in the next few paragraphs. Learning these skills are crucial to your decision-making process for the rest of the hand, and sometimes it can cost you a large amount of money or chips to receive this information! Another advantage to using the raise or re-raise on the flop is that your aggressive betting can often cause a better, more dominant hand to fold. Aggressive play in hold 'em is often rewarded in ways you weren't anticipating at the time.
You've been told to "ram and jam" (raise and re-raise) with the top ten hands pre flop but what happens if you have made it four bets to go and you 'miss' the flop eg. you have 1010 and the flop comes 2-Q-J? Obviously the dream flops where a 10 comes are easier to play, where you can keep on betting without too much fear and the flops where they are terrible for you are easy to get away from too but with trickier or marginal flops, probably the best way to play them is that you raise your opponent as if you have hit the flop perfectly and watch for their reaction. If you get a strong reaction that you are beat on the basis of your opponents reaction to you, you fold. However, if you are pretty sure you have the best hand then keep on betting and raising. As you may have noticed, we are using raising here as a way of getting information, as we discussed earlier.
Ok, now imagine you have AK and you have raised or re-raised as you were supposed to do, the flop comes and its a bad one for you. What would you do? Well, since you have already invested a lot of money in the pot with this hand, usually you can play this hand pretty aggressively after the flop also, since you have built a fairly good-size pot, one that's worth going after. Once again after you make your bet, watch for players reaction and collect all the information you can to check the strength of your hand.

4th Street (turn)

The style that you are reading about when playing on the flop is adopted, you will find that 4th street and the river are now easier to play, through the fact of your aggressive raising on the flop to find out how strong your hand is at that stage. The turn is now the time to put the information you have learned about your hand to good use. With the bets now doubled on this section, a well judged fold here could save you at least two big bets and maybe more. On the other hand, a well timed bet could win you the pot. If you are confident that you have the best hand when the 4th card is dealt, you have to be aggressive and bet or raise. If you have a good feeling that your hand is beaten then it is time to fold.
One thing that you need to be aware of is protecting your hand at this point. If you have a strong hand pre flop, also strong on the flop and turn, you should be betting and being aggressive to knock out drawing hands and make them fold. If you feel somebody has a flush or straight draw or low pair, you don't want to give them a cheap shot at catching their card on the river. If you do, at this point your pocket kings could look very weak. Also, if we use KK in the hole as an example, if say an ace comes on the river, you will not be sure where you stand at this point. If you have the goods, don't give cheap cards - make your opponents pay to play.

5th Street (river)

It was mentioned at the start that this section would explain how to play 5th street and calling because of pot odds. Basically, if you have played one of your top ten hands aggressively to the river, it is probably correct to call one bet on the river. The concept of "Pot odds" could convince you into making a lot of calls on the river. Here's an example:

If the game is $5-$10, and a top ten hand is played aggressively throughout the pot to the river, it is possible that there is $140 in the pot already. If you imagine that you make it $15 to go before the flop with three opponents ($60) and then raise on the flop and two of the other players call ($30), then bet out and both players call on 4th street ($30), and finally one opponent bets out into you and the other player calls ($20). The pot would hold: $60 (pre flop)+ $30 (flop)+ $30 (turn)+ $20 (river) that equals $140. Now to call for $10 at a chance to win a pot of $140 sounds very appealing!

Now if you do decide to fold at this point, you must be at least 93% sure that you are beat (10/140 = 0.0714, and 1 - 0.0714 = 92.86) This is why calling for one bet is probably the right move! The amount you are calling ($10) to win a pot of $140 is too good to turn down. However, if the worst possible card for your hand came on the river, and the tightest player at the table bets into you suggesting that this card has helped his hand, you might be 99% sure that he has beat you.For the most part, you should call the one bet as it is giving you 14/1 odds to call which are pretty strong.
When you are going to need to call two bets on the river (someone bets and another raises) usually it might be a good idea to fold, unless you are holding a really strong hand. Usually a strong re raise on the river shows strength in a hand and a good chance it has you beat, unless its a stone cold bluff, but you would rarely see a top class experienced player bluff-raise on the river in limit hold 'em. Sure the pot odds might still seem pretty appealing but unless you have the goods, throw your hand away.

To sum up, if you aren't sure whether to call one bet on the river, then make the call. Generally for two bets though, it would usually be best to fold as you would rarely see players making it two bets to go on a bluff at the river. However, if your instincts tell you to call, fold, or raise on the river and you've began to trust your instincts, then go with that, follow them.
So, before the flop in limit hold 'em, only play the top ten hands, and play the aggressively. On the flop, raise to find out "where you are at" in the hand so you can make a better judgement for the rest of the hand. 4th street, protect your hand or fold it, depending on the information you have and on 5th street, use the pot odds as a way of deciding if a call is worth while and if its usually two bets to go, possibly folding is the best option.

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