Limit Versus No-Limit Hold'em - Part V Play on the river

This is the last in a series of columns comparing limit hold'em to no-limit hold'em. It is aimed at experienced limit players who have decided to make the switch to no-limit. In the first four columns, we covered some of the general differences between the two games, as well as some of the differences in play preflop, on the flop, and on the turn. In this column, we will focus on some of the specifics of play on the river. This is not meant to be an instruction guide on how to play no-limit hold'em. Its purpose is to point out some of the profound differences between the two poker forms. My assumption is that we are dealing with big-stack hold'em, in which you and your opponents have at least 50 times the big blind in your stacks.



1. Calling Big River Bets

In limit, your opponent cannot make a big river bet. In a game with $2-$5 blinds, he can bet only $10. In no-limit, he can bet the size of the pot or even his entire stack. Unless you know your opponent very well or your opponent is short-stacked, you should not call a big river bet unless you have a strong hand. I believe that most players are overly concerned about being bluffed out on the river, so they call with weak hands like one pair. Making big river bets or calling big river bets with mediocre hands should be the exception, not the rule. Here is an example:



You are in the big blind with the 10 8 and take a free play after four players limp in. There is $25 in the pot and five players. The flop is J 5 3, giving you a flush draw. It is checked to the cutoff, who bets $20. The small blind calls, and you call. There is $85 in the pot and three players. The turn is the 2. The small blind checks, and you check. The cutoff bets $60, and the small blind calls. With more than $200 in the pot, you call for another $60, since your current pot odds and your implied odds if you make your flush seem to indicate that you should play. There is $265 in the pot and three players. The river is the 10, giving you a pair of tens. The small blind checks, you check, and the cutoff bets $200. The small blind folds. What now?

In limit, you would expect to lose to at least a top pair of jacks, but you might reason that the cutoff could have been betting a draw that went south on the river, and he is trying to win the pot because he cannot survive a showdown. In limit, you would be getting 8-to-1 to call. Most of the time, you will lose a bet by calling, but the pot odds are good enough to merit "keeping him honest." But in no-limit, you cannot afford to think this way. In no-limit, it would cost you $200 to win $465, which is only a little better than 2-to-1. Furthermore, most no-limit players do not make continuation bets on both the flop and the turn into two opponents with just a draw.



2. Getting Raised on the River

In limit, when you are raised on the river, you almost always call, since the pot odds you are getting are so high. You have to be right only a small fraction of the time to be correct overall. But in no-limit, the situation is totally different. Not only are the pot odds much less favorable, but if it is obvious that your opponent has a hand that's worth calling but is raising instead, he is almost never bluffing. Here is an example:



You are on the button with the 5 4. It is a $2-$5 game and you have about $1,000 in front of you. The under-the-gun player raises to $20, and he has about $1,000 in front of him. Two players call, you call, and the blinds fold. There is $85 in the pot and four players.



The flop is A 5 4, giving you the bottom two pair. The under-the-gun player bets $50, and the other two players fold. Since there is no draw on the flop and your opponent raised from under the gun, he probably has an ace or at least a big pocket pair. You figure that your hand is the best, so you raise to $100. Your opponent calls. There is $285 in the pot and two players.



The turn is the 7. He checks, you bet $200, and he calls. At this point, you reason that he must have either pocket aces or a big ace. There is no draw on the board for someone who raised from under the gun. There is $685 in the pot.



The river is the Q. He checks. You now figure that you have the best hand, but you don't want to make such a large bet that your opponent will fold and you will fail to get paid off. So, you try to "sell your hand," and bet $250. This gives him some decent pot odds to call in case you were bluffing. But instead of calling, he raises all in for $430 more (making the total bet $680), which would put you all in. There is more than $1,600 in the pot and it costs you $430 to call. Despite the almost 4-to-1 pot odds, you should fold. He must have either pocket aces or A-Q. With A-K, he would just call.



In limit, this would be an impossible laydown, since the pot odds would be better than 11-to-1. In short-stacked no-limit, all of the money would have been in the pot before any raising on the river would have been possible.



3. Value Betting on the River

In limit, making thin value bets on the river is an important part of a limit player's annual win rate. These fractions of a bet add up over time. But in no-limit, value bets on the river have to be made much less frequently. When you "reopen the betting," you allow your opponent to make a large raise or check-raise, putting you in a quandary. Here is an example:



You are in middle position with the A Q and limp in behind two early-position players. The cutoff, blinds, and limpers all call.

There is $30 in the pot and six players.



The flop is A 8 5, giving you top pair with an excellent kicker. It is checked to you, and you bet $20. Only the big blind calls. There is $70 in the pot and two players.



The turn is the 3. Your opponent checks, you bet $40, and he calls. There is $150 in the pot.



The river is the 2. Your opponent checks. What should you do?



In limit, I would bet, since I think my hand is the best and I figure to get paid off by an ace with a weaker kicker. If my opponent had two pair or better, he probably would have raised me on the flop or on the turn. My opponent could have a straight if he has a 4, so my bet will cost me something extra when I get check-raised and then call. But overall, I think I gain a fraction of a bet over time by betting the river.



In no-limit, I could try to "sell my hand" by betting a nominal amount – say, $50 into this $150 pot. I would be trying to give my opponent some pot odds to call with a weaker ace. If I bet too large an amount, he may fold his weaker ace. The problem is that I have now "reopened the betting" and allowed my opponent to check-raise. With $200 in the pot, what do I do when he raises another $200 or decides to push all in for an even larger amount? Remember, this is a deep-stacked game, with you and your opponent each having about $500 in front of you. If I always fold, I run the risk of getting bluffed out. If the guy is a loose-aggressive player who I know is capable of big-bet bluffing, I could mistakenly call and lose my entire stack. Since I don't know what I would do if faced with a raise, I would simply check.



In no-limit, protecting your interest in the pot and your stack outweigh trying to finagle an extra bet on the river.

Jim Brier can be reached at [email protected], and would welcome any questions or comments. He has co-authored a book with Bob Ciaffone titled Middle Limit Holdem Poker. It is available through www.CardPlayer.com.