Texas Hold'em: No Limit Versus Limit
I created this site with limit
hold'em in mind. As poker has changed over the past year or so, no limit has
gained popularity. Many fundamental poker strategies carry over between
games and betting structures but there are major differences between limit
texas holdem and no limit texas holdem. This article will attempt to list
some of those differences so that you can adjust your skills, or forge your
skills, and kick some ass.
What is no limit hold'em?
Before we get into the details
of how no limit is different then limit hold'em, a definition is in order.
The three most common betting structures for texas holdem poker are listed
here with a short description:
-
Limit Hold'em - This is the most popular at casinos and cardrooms
in CA and NV. There is a fixed betting amount so if someone bets, raises,
or calls the increments are predefined. For example at a $5/10 limit
hold'em game you bet and raise in increments of $5 for preflop and on the
flop, then $10 for the turn card and river card.
-
No Limit Hold'em - This type of poker is the most widely
publicized. It is on the World Poker Tour and ESPN. The largest
tournaments in the world are always played with a no limit betting
structure. The only difference between limit and no limit is that the max
one can bet isn't predefined -- you can bet all your chips at anytime you
like. If you have $10k on the table and one of your opponents has $10k on
the table as well and you catch a great hand on him, it is possible for you
to go all-in and get called, making $10k on one hand and busting him. This
isn't the case in limit.
-
Pot Limit Hold'em - This type of holdem is in the middle of limit
and no limit. The max a person can bet is the size of the pot. This makes
each additional betting round that much larger. Pot limit and no limit
strategy are similar, limit holdem is different. Pot limit holdem is mainly
played in Europe all though you can find pot limit games online now at
anytime.
Who are you?
You may be a brand new hold'em
player who has come to the site to learn how to play. Most likely if you
have just recently been exposed to poker, no limit was probably the game. Or
you may be someone who has been playing limit hold'em and would like to
start playing no limit. You may also be someone who has just read some
literature about limit hold'em but wonders how much of it applies to "big
bet poker".
Who cares?
I'm going to write a separate
article on no limit strategy but having an article about the differences
between limit and no limit holdem could be helpful. The main reason for
this is because limit holdem information is plentiful while no limit isn't.
Most people already play limit holdem and often times getting into a limit
game when you start playing poker is cheaper then a no limit one. The
learning curve is also much steeper for no limit then limit so learning
limit first is a good idea.
So now in no particular order
are some differences between no-limit holdem and limit holdem:
No Limit Holdem Is A More
Technical Game
No limit holdem offers more
tools for a skilled player to use against an unskilled one (you can make a
lot of money off them). That means that the difference between a top no
limit player and a new no limit player is much greater then that of a new
limit player and a top limit one. There are many reasons for this but a few
include the ability to bet a varying amount at any point to either freeze
your opponents drawing hand or completely bust him out in one shot or just
to bluff him off his hand. Notice how you can make a big mistake in a limit
game and you are out a few extra bets. If you make that same mistake in a no
limit game your stack is gone.
Psychology Is A Bigger Factor
In No Limit
In limit hold'em "the best
hand wins". That means that the hands get shown down. Limit hold'em is
pretty mechanical because of this -- you wait for your good cards, hit a
flop and get paid off. In no limit holdem your dream is to play a hand a
certain way so that your opponent miss reads it and loses his whole stack to
you. An obvious example of this would be what you see in the movie Rounders:
checking your nut hand to the person and letting them try to bluff you. It
goes farther then that though. All day you play a certain way and it sets
the stage for later play. You are just waiting for that opportune time to
unleash your arsenal and send someone packing. Limit you can't do this
because the size of the bets...you'll have to show that person you are
beating the winning hand and when you do you won't win as much with it.
No Limit Positional Play
Being in late position in both
limit and no limit holdem is the best place to be but in no limit a person's
position matters much more. This is true for both preflop and post flop
play. Let's take an example from preflop play: JJ in early position. If
you are dealt JJ in a limit game and you are in early position, you usually
just open for a raise making it two bets. The worst thing that can happen
is that someone three bets and then even caps the pot behind you (making it
the max amount of raises...4 or 5). In no limit the damage inflicted by
people yet to act behind you can be much more severe. What if you raise for
a decent amount preflop with your JJ and then get nailed with a huge reraise
from someone behind you? Not that JJ is a bad hand because it isn't but
this just illustrates the problems that arise when you play up front in no
limit. The trouble doesn't end there, post flop play is also deadly if you
are out of position. You can't play too cautiously because that is a give
away you aren't sure about your holding, but then again you don't want to
risk a sizable amount of chips with players yet to act.
Initiative More A Factor In
No Limit
Having the initiative means
that you are the one in the drivers seat, you are the one that is betting or
raising and the other person is reacting to your play. In both limit and no
limit being the aggressor is always favorable to being the caller (unless
you are sand bagging someone). No limit puts a higher premium on initiative
then limit. The reason for this is that since you can make a large bet or
raise at any point, your actions have greater weight. Some no limit players
abuse this by betting and just letting their opponent decide whether or not
they want to call and get involved. Contrast a $1000 bet on a flop where
the pot is $1000 and a $40 bet on the flop when the pot is $180. Notice how
much more powerful a bet is in no limit compared to limit. Size does matter
and it can make you really think if you have to call. Let's look at another
example that will illustrate initiative. Let's say that Player A has TT and
Player B has TT. Player A raises $100 preflop and Player B calls his raise
from the big blind. They are heads up. The flop comes back A - 9 - 4.
That is scary for both players. The person with the initiative, most
likely Player A, will win the pot after betting the flop. In limit holdem
hands win by being shown down after the river. In no limit holdem the hands
usually are won and lost way before then. Because of this, initiative --
doing the betting and raising -- has much more power.
Chip Size Matters In No Limit
In limit holdem the only time
you are concerned about someone's chip size is if they go all-in and can't
complete the bet. Or maybe another situation would be if you can see
that the person is raising their last few chips preflop out of desperation.
In no limit the amount of chips a person has in front of them is one of the
largest factors affecting play against them. An example of this would be if
you have $1000 in front of you and your opponent has $200. The max you can
lose in one hand is just $200. That affects the cards you play against
them. Now take another example where you have $2000 in front of you and
your opponent has $3000. He "has you covered." Since he has equal or more
chips then you do, if you guys start swinging you could lose all your chips
in one fell hand. Another reason chip size matters in no limit is the
concept of being "pot committed." Let's revisit the example of you having
$1000 and your opponent having $200. What if he raised $100 preflop and you
called. Because he already blew 50% of his chips on the first bet, he will
most certainly bet the rest right now. That puts him in a weak position
though because you are having to put in $100 for a chance at winning over
$300. If he had more chips in front of him you couldn't be as confident
since his flop bet may be a much larger one like say $500. Then what would
you do? Or what if he went all-in? Or if he made big bet on the turn?
Another factor chip size has is the implied odds you get from the player.
Drawing hands only make money when they hit while other hands make money if
they "hold up". If you play against someone with a drawing hand that has
few chips, if you hit your hand you can't make much with it.
In No Limit The Odds Are
Against The Weak
Limit poker lays some very
favorable odds. That results in people running you down with all kinds of
nonsense. That is usually because they don't know how to play well but it
is less of a mistake in limit then it is in no limit. Let's take an example
of where you hold AK preflop in a limit game. You are in early position and
raise making it two bets. You get 3 callers behind you as well as both
blinds. Good luck winning this one! The flop comes back: As - Tc - 3d.
Looks like a safe flop right? You bet and out of the 5 players left to
act, 3 call. The turn brings a Jc making the flop: As - Tc - 3d - Jc That
is trouble. If you survive this one you are lucky. Note that the gutshot
straight draw may have already arrived, two pair may already be there, and
even a backdoor flush is now possible. All you could have done on the flop
is either bet or check raise in hopes of limiting the competition. You have
a puny weapon for this. You are trying to kill a rhino with a fly swatter.
What you need is a bazooka. You need to be able to bet a big amount on the
flop and cut off all those draws. See if you raised preflop and got 5
callers, there are 10 bets already in the pot. Everyone is getting the
correct odds to call for gutshot draws and making two pair. No limit offers
you a bazooka whenever you need it. You can make a huge bet on the flop
that skews the odds and makes it incorrect for the people to call. In no
limit you wouldn't have 5 callers behind you either, you would most likely
just have 1 or maybe 2. Then you could come out betting the size of the pot
on the flop and make them pay to see their draws.
The Stakes Are Bigger In No
Limit
Obviously right? What I mean
by that though is that at anytime you can double your chip size if you go
all-in and get a caller ("doubling through"). That also means that you are
one screw up away from losing all your chips. That is a huge difference
compared to limit where you can make a number of errors through out the day
and still come out ahead. When I put it this way it sounds like a
disadvantage since you don't have much room for error (and you can't play
tentative no limit and win). It isn't a disadvantage though. If you know
what you are doing then it adds a lot to the game since you can nail a guy
in one shot for all his chips. Once again no limit favors the pro much more
then limit does.
High Cards (KQ, AJ,
KJ,...) Go Down In Value, Middle Pairs Go Up
Pocket Aces and pocket Kings
are great hands in both limit and no limit games (as is AK) but other
face cards like KQ, KJ, AJ, etc are not. In limit holdem a hand like KQ is
definitely playable. In no limit that hand will either win you a small pot
or lose you a huge one. They are serious trouble hands. An example would
be if you have KQ and the flop is KT3. If you are a limit player you'll see
that as a favorable situation but in no limit the only time you are going to
get action on that hand is if you are going to lose. Also you leave
yourself wide open to bluffs since your hand can't stand a substantial
raise. Middle pairs in no limit are stronger then in limit. If you have 99
in no limit, that is a good starting hand, in limit it is as well but so
many people will call preflop and on the flop that if you don't hit your
set, you are doomed. Middle pairs are great no limit hands because the
implied odds you get from hitting the set. Let's say you have 88 and the
flop is Q83. Your opponent has AA or KK. You are going to absolutely ream
him. In limit you'll also win a big pot but not anywhere near as large as
in no limit. The reason the middle pairs are also so powerful is because it
will rarely be top set (and even when it is and overpair like AA looks great
with that flop). Let's say another example is 88 against AK and the flop is
A83. See how well it is disguised and how hard it will be for the person to
get away from their hand?
Some Draws Go Down In Value
In No Limit Holdem
Draws like flush draws and
openended straight draws have their place in both limit and no limit games
but no limit does not favor them. The reason for this is that you are often
times heads up and you aren't getting good odds on your hand. That doesn't
mean that draws aren't playable, it just means that they go down in value.
Also note that straight draws often times make more money in no limit then
flush draws because flush draws are much more noticeable when they hit.
Hitting flushes rarely make a lot of money unless they are against another
smaller flush (or unless the money was being put in before it arrived).
Taking away the implied odds on drawing hands lowers their value. Note
though that some draws in limit holdem aren't as playable as they are in no
limit because of the upside of the implied odds if you hit. An example of
this would be a gutshot straight draw or catching a small set on the turn.
Those are disguised hands that have a chance to win a big pot and bust
someone out. Contrast that with the third heart hitting on the turn and you
having a flush.
Bluffing Is A Key Tool In No
Limit
In limit holdem if you try to
bluff someone on the river and they have any kind of hand that was already
worth a bet, it is an automatic call. Because you can only bet so much at a
time, your bets mean very little in relation to the pot size. In no limit
holdem, if at any point in the game you sense weakness you can put that
person to a decision by raising them as many chips as you have. That gives
you a lot of power. Bluffing is a small part of limit play, usually the
best hand wins. Most hands go to showdown. In no limit this isn't the case.
Instead most hands are decided without ever seeing what the person had.
Hand Reading Skills Are
Essential In No Limit
Hand reading in no limit is
much more important then in limit. This is similar to bluffing in that in
limit holdem, if someone tries to get fancy with you, you can just call and
it costs you one or two more bets. In no limit though a person can bluff at
you with a huge bet and then you'll have to make a decision based on their
previous play, your hand and the current hand texture to decide what the
proper action is. Being able to read people's strength and weakness is key.
This isn't easy and it is what sets apart the great players from the good.
If you sit down with a pro like Phil Hellmuth he isn't going to be able to
read your hands immediately but if you play with him for a bit he will read
you like a book. That is why he is so good. In limit holdem this doesn't
help quite as much because most hands are won by showing them down at the
river. Because of this your hand reading skills can only get you so far if
you don't have good hands to back them up.
No Limit Games Have Less
People Seeing The Flop
Limit games often have four
people seeing the flop (or even more if you play looser games). In no limit
holdem it is usually heads up or maybe three way action. That means your
good hands will hold up more often because you don't have 5 other people
with random hands trying to catch their gutshots, two pairs and trips. You
might think that creates smaller pots but it doesn't. A $2/4 no limit game
is much larger then a $2/4 limit one. Remember that at anytime you can bet
your entire stack and get called. Bets the size of the pot are routine.
This concludes my little
article pointing out some differences between no limit holdem and regular
limit holdem. I'll add more items to this as they come to me. Initially I
thought I wasn't going to fill out a whole page on this subject. Also I
wanted to say that by no means am I trying to discourage new players from
trying no limit. No limit is a tougher game then limit but that should be
cause for you to be more interested in it instead of less. It means you have
a bigger edge if you have done your home work and that translates to money.
Also note that tournament play is different from regular play but many
concepts carry over.
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