Poker Training
No Limit Poker Starter
Has the excitement of poker gotten to you? Tired of watching poker players on TV have all the fun? If you are just chomping at the bit to yell "all in", then No Limit Texas Hold'em is the game for you. However, before you run off to the table to stake your claim, it's best to know some simple facts on how the game works and learn some playing tips for this fun and exciting game.
Structure
When you go to play no limit Texas Hold'em online, you need to pick a buy in amount. For example, on the low end of many online poker rooms are the $25 buy-in tables. If you selected a table with this structure, you would be allowed to buy-in for a maximum of $25 at any one time. If you win, your chip stack is allowed to go higher than the maximum buy-in.
What does this mean for you? Well, if you sit down at a $25 no limit table, you won't have someone buying in for $1,000 and pushing you all-in with every hand you decide to play. The structure tends to bring together players of like mind. If you were looking to win $1,000 tonight, you would not be sitting at a $25 no limit table.
Let's keep that $25 no limit table in mind and talk about the blinds. The blind structure at the table would be 25 cents for the big blind and 15 cents for the small blind. As you can see right off, the blinds are structured to allow players to jump in the pot for a minimal amount.
Remember, it's no-limit and anyone can bet anything at any time. You might limp in for twenty-five cents and the next player comes over the top for $2. When it's your turn, perhaps you call the two dollars only to have another player come back over the top for $20. Many players come to the no-limit table and try to play like it's a limit game and that's where they get burned.
More Control
The draw for many to the no-limit side of the poker world is control. In no-limit poker you have, for better or worse, more control over your game. Let's run an example hand scenario to see how bluffing in online poker is more plausible in no-limit poker verses a limit game.
Example Hand:
Flop: As Ad 3c
You find yourself in the envious button position against two other players. Both players have just checked to you. Looking down at your hand, you see your Qs and 9d has little hope. However, you think that neither of your two opponents have aces and you want to make a bluff at the pot using the board to scare your opponents into folding.
Limit: If you were at a $1/$2 game in limit hold'em, you could make a poultry $1 bet and hope to scare your opponents. However, how scary is a table minimum bet? Even if both lack aces, it would be easy enough to call the bet for information's sake.
No-Limit: Ok, now we have some control over the situation. You look at the pot and see $7 sitting there. Since this is a $25NL table, it's an ok pot and perhaps one that ripe for the picking. After thinking about it, you fire off a $3.50 bet (1/2 pot size bet) and put it on your opponents. This is a sizable raise and you will now have a greater possibility of stealing the pot or finding out what your opponents are holding. After thinking about it, both your opponents fold and you take down the pot with nothing in hand.
On the flip side, one of the opponents could have been bluffing and now comes over the top, but that's poker. The better you get, the more you will like no-limit poker.
We talked about the buff side, now let's talk about getting people out of the pot. One important function in poker is reducing the number of players. No matter how great your starting hand is, if you let a lot of people hang around, you can get beat. In limit poker, it can be very hard to get people off of hands. Let's look at an example of why this is. Again we will use our $1/$2 limit table and $25NL table.
Example Hand:
You were dealt pocket aces and for the purpose of this exercise we don't care if you raised or not, because there will be two other players in the pot either way. Let's say the pot is $10 on the flop.
FLOP: Kd 4d Js
This flop can be troublesome to your pocket aces, because you have a possible flush draw out there and two cards left to get it. There's also a straight draw on the table. Let's look at how this stacks up on our two tables.
Limit: You know that you need to try and flush out anyone on a flush or straight draw. You don't mind a player with top pair because you have him or her beat. However, none of this matters, because the only bet you can toss out there is $1. This is highly unlikely to get someone chasing the flush off the hand.
No-Limit: You want to get anyone chasing a flush or straight out of the hand and that's easier to accomplish here. If you can't chase them out, you at least want them to pay to see a card. Looking at the $10 pot, you decide to bet $7.50 (75% of pot). After thinking about it carefully, the next player to act folds and the last player to act calls.
Turn and River: 2d 7c
In the limit example, the other player hit his flush and now has you beat. However, in the no-limit example, the large bet chased out one player. That player had a flush draw, but could not justify the overwhelming bet. The player that stayed in had top pair (Kings) and you beat him for a nice pot.
Sure, the player with the flush draw could have stayed in the game in our no-limit example, but that's a big call to make. Even if you lose, you still win by making players pay to see cards and setting them up for next time when that flush does not come in.
Conclusion
The game of no-limit Texas Hold'em is fun and exciting. It truly gives players the most control over their game. If you are just learning how to play poker, it's recommended that you try low limit Texas Hold'Em first and then graduate to no-limit poker. Take the time to read more about no-limit and how to play before jumping out on the higher limit tables. The best poker professionals in the world are no-limit Texas Hold'em masters.
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