No-Limit Strategy - Big Poker

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3. Over-defending blinds

In middle- and high-limit hold’em games, say 30/60 and above, players must be careful not to give up their blinds too easily, especially if the raiser is first in from a late position. Since the big blind is getting 3.5:1 to see the flop, he must call quite liberally against a player first in on the button.

However in no-limit games, the big blind is usually not getting such good odds to call (most opening raises in no-limit cash games are 3-4 times the big blind, making the immediate pot odds about 2:1 for the big blind). But far more importantly, the positional handicap suffered by the blinds is much more pronounced in no-limit play. If a strong opponent acts behind you, he can often infer weakness from your betting patterns and steal pots on later streets. He can also get far more value when he suspects that you’ve got a good hand, but he’s got an even better one. In limit, position often helps a good player win a bet or save a bet. In no-limit, position often helps a player win the entire pot, win a big pot instead of winning a smaller pot, or lose a small pot instead of losing a big pot.

Again, concrete examples may help. Let’s say your opponent raises, first in from the button in limit. You call with a hand like 9c7h, which is a correct defence heads-up against a button raise. The flop comes down Kh8c6h. Depending on your opponent, your playing style, and how you are perceived at the table, you may choose to play the hand hard, hoping to take your opponent off a better hand, or play it softly hoping to hit your straight for a good price and get paid off when you make it. Nevertheless, you won’t be blown off the hand, and it won’t cost you a lot of money when you miss your hand.

Compare the same hand in no-limit. If you choose to check and call the flop, and you miss on the turn, you could be faced with a bet that makes you lay down your draw. If you make an aggressive play for the pot and either bet out or check-raise on the flop, you’ll be in no-man’s land on the turn if your opponent calls and you haven’t improved. Now you’re in the uncomfortable position of either making a large bet on the turn as a probable dog, or meekly giving up the initiative and check-folding to a large bet.

4. Over-valuing “big cards”

Many no-limit authors have already written that while hands like AK, AQ, AJ, KQ, QJs, KJs and so forth can be your bread-and-butter hands in limit hold’em, they can be downright treacherous in no-limit. The most common playable flop for these hands is top pair with a good kicker, which is a definite money maker in limit hold’em. Even in no-limit hold’em tournaments – especially in the later stages where the ratio of blinds to stacks is larger – these hands should often be played hard. But top pair has broken many an unweary no-limit player in cash games. To play top pair correctly with over 100 big blinds on the table requires a lot of finesse. The skillful no-limit player walks a fine line, trying to make money with the hand without being broken with it. Again, position is critical when playing a hand like this, as it can often earn a good-sized bet from a dominated hand like top pair with a worse kicker, or save a large bet if the hand is second-best.

Big pairs are also vulnerable in deep-money no-limit. Heads-up in limit hold’em, you’re almost always getting to the river with your big pairs unless the board looks very scary. Whether it’s you or your opponent who is leading the betting, your hand is usually good enough to get to the showdown.

When there is lots of money to be played, the only hand you can feel very good about putting all your money in with before the flop is two aces. After the flop, while many people believe that two jacks is the toughest hand to play in no-limit, many experts believe that it is in fact two kings. When you’ve re-raised before the flop with two kings and get played back at on the flop, you have to consider two possibilities: that your opponent flopped a set, or that he slowplayed two aces before the flop. I’d bet on AA, KK, QQ and JJ winning money in the hands of just about any competent player, but the truly skilled no-limit player knows how to maximize his winnings when he’s up against a weaker player while keeping from getting broke when the hand is beat.

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Conclusion

It takes a lot of education and practice to develop the skills necessary to becoming a winning limit hold’em players in the middle and high limits. But many winning limit players don’t understand why they fail when they step into the no-limit arena. If you’re a successful limit player and you haven’t quite enjoyed the success you think you deserve in no-limit cash games, consider whether you’re making any of the mistakes outlined above. On the contrary, if you’re already an experienced no-limit cash game player, think about the some of the mistakes your limit cash game opponents might be making, and try to find ways to exploit them.