Limit to No-Limit | Nolimit or Fixed Limit |
If you are like me and like to play fix limit poker, sometimes you need the betting controlled, when you jump back to no limit table , the bets can throw your game off. It is easy to get used to small bets on big cards so when you see a large number of chips being tossed around and all you have is maybe a face card, it can unnerve you. Remember where you are. For instance, you have been playing limit hold’em and the average bets have been $1 a card with pots around $6, do not be surprised at $5 preflop bets when you move to a no limit table. Do not be so quick to fold that K-10. The bettor maybe holding Q-8. On the no limit table that bet is not big.
Take a few hands to get readjusted to the game. While the rules are the same, the way it is played is different. Bluffing is like flirting with death on a no limit table. A large chip stack can make that sort of a play , but on a good table anyone that is scraping the bottom or hanging out with a medium stake is not going to be so quick to make a foolish play. Watch the players and adjust your game to the table. If after a few hands, about 4 or 5, you still are not comfortable, leave. At a table, as apposed to tournaments, you can always get up and walk away at any time.
At on line rooms, a lot of times, you will sit down and someone with a good stack has to test you early. Remember your cards and think of what the board can be giving the other player. To help with this, I watch a table for a few hands before I put my chips on it. Doing this lets me see how the players bet and what kind of cards they are betting on. Any pro will tell you that the more information you have about players and their styles will help you play them better.
For most beginners, the thrill of the “all in “ play in a no limit game draws them to poker but they quickly learn that to sharpen there game and learn, fixed limit tables are a lot safer. This is even truer for those with very limited funds. Nothing hurts more than to have a good hand and have a large stake raise you out of it. That is a strategy some players use and it works. Even with middle of the road cards are all they are holding, a semi bluff bet of good size will win it for them. It’s more of a transition period for beginners going from fixed limit tables. The next step, as outlined in the book “3 9 Off Suit”, is pot limit. There you get a feel for bigger bets and raises and eventually graduate to a no limit table. After that it is higher and higher stakes.
When choosing the NL table, you may want to make sure it has a limit buy in and that no one seated has a stack very far above that. If the maximum buy in is $10 and you have a couple of stacks there with $20 or more, you may want to skip it and find another table. The two most important things to remember are know where you are and be comfortable. The rest is just poker.
Take a few hands to get readjusted to the game. While the rules are the same, the way it is played is different. Bluffing is like flirting with death on a no limit table. A large chip stack can make that sort of a play , but on a good table anyone that is scraping the bottom or hanging out with a medium stake is not going to be so quick to make a foolish play. Watch the players and adjust your game to the table. If after a few hands, about 4 or 5, you still are not comfortable, leave. At a table, as apposed to tournaments, you can always get up and walk away at any time.
At on line rooms, a lot of times, you will sit down and someone with a good stack has to test you early. Remember your cards and think of what the board can be giving the other player. To help with this, I watch a table for a few hands before I put my chips on it. Doing this lets me see how the players bet and what kind of cards they are betting on. Any pro will tell you that the more information you have about players and their styles will help you play them better.
For most beginners, the thrill of the “all in “ play in a no limit game draws them to poker but they quickly learn that to sharpen there game and learn, fixed limit tables are a lot safer. This is even truer for those with very limited funds. Nothing hurts more than to have a good hand and have a large stake raise you out of it. That is a strategy some players use and it works. Even with middle of the road cards are all they are holding, a semi bluff bet of good size will win it for them. It’s more of a transition period for beginners going from fixed limit tables. The next step, as outlined in the book “3 9 Off Suit”, is pot limit. There you get a feel for bigger bets and raises and eventually graduate to a no limit table. After that it is higher and higher stakes.
When choosing the NL table, you may want to make sure it has a limit buy in and that no one seated has a stack very far above that. If the maximum buy in is $10 and you have a couple of stacks there with $20 or more, you may want to skip it and find another table. The two most important things to remember are know where you are and be comfortable. The rest is just poker.