Some Common No-Limit Hold'em Mistakes

One reason no-limit hold'em is such a profitable game is that so many players make serious mistakes. Here are a few that I have seen that really stand out.



1. Post-Flop: Losing it All With One Pair



I see this quite frequently in $1-$2 and $2-$5 no-limit games. Here is a typical scenario: It is a $2-$5 game with everyone having about $500 in front of them. Our hero is in middle position with the K Q and decides to raise to $20 after the under-the-gun player limps in. An unknown player calls from the button. The small blind folds and the big blind calls. The under-the-gun player calls. There is $80 in the pot and four players.



The flop is Q 6 4, giving our hero top pair, excellent kicker. The big blind and the under-the-gun player check. Our hero bets $50. Only the button calls. There is $180 in the pot and two players.



The turn is the 2. Our hero bets $100, the button moves all in for $430, and he calls. The river is a blank and the button wins with the 5 3, having made a straight on the turn. "How can you cold-call a raise with 5-3?" he cries. He walks away having lost all of his money, convinced that he played well and his opponent just got lucky.



I will not debate the merits of the button's preflop play, but our hero had a clear fold on the turn after the button moved all in. Unless he knew the button to be a big semibluffer or just a total maniac, he has to realize that his hand is no good. Raising preflop and making two big continuation bets post-flop very much defines his hand. His opponent knows all of this and wants to play for all of his money. Obviously, his opponent has made two pair or something better, and our hero has few, if any, outs.



I think there is a certain mindset that comes over some players when they play no-limit. They have a pathological fear of being bluffed out and feeling humiliated. So, they call big bets and raises with one-pair hands when their common sense tells them they are beat with very little chance of improving to the winning hand. They are always hoping that their opponent does not have what he is clearly saying he does have.



2. Trying Too Hard to Win Small Pots



Consider the following hand from a $2-$5 game. Our hero limps in from under the gun with the A 10. Everyone folds to the cutoff, who limps in. The button and small blind fold. The big blind checks. There is $15 in the pot and three players.



The flop is J J 10, giving our man two pair with an ace kicker. The big blind checks. He bets $15, figuring that his hand may be good. Only the cutoff calls. There is $45 in the pot and two players.



The turn is the 7. Since his opponent did not raise, he figures his hand still may be good and his opponent may be on a flush draw or a straight draw. He bets $30, and his opponent calls. There is $105 in the pot.



The river is the 2. He checks. His opponent bets $70. He calls, hoping his opponent has a weaker 10 or a busted draw. His opponent shows him the K J for trip jacks.



Where did he go wrong? His flop bet is OK since he has only two opponents, his hand may be the best, and it doesn't cost him much to take a small stab at the pot. However, when he gets called, he should be done with it. It is too easy for him to be playing with no outs. Even when his opponent is drawing, that opponent will frequently draw out on him. He is out of position and it will cost him too much money to try to see the hand through to the end.



He wasted an extra $100 trying to win a $45 pot. In fact, there is nothing wrong with checking the flop and folding if anyone bets. So what if he folds the best hand when there is only $15 in the pot? He should save his money for a better opportunity when he has a clearly defined edge with better position. Players who insist on gambling in these situations are thinking like a limit player, not like a no-limit player.



3. Raising an Insufficient Amount



Frequently, I see players open-raise to twice the big blind when they hold a big pocket pair. I believe these "pot-sweetener" raises are usually a mistake. For a no-limit player, the primary purpose of open-raising from early position is to protect his big pocket pairs by eliminating opponents and forcing those who call to qualify their hands. Raising to only twice the big blind merely invites many players to come into the pot with virtually anything. So, a big pot gets created with a large field with a one-pair hand. Big pocket pairs want a small field with most of the money going into the pot before the flop, not after the flop. Furthermore, as more players enter the pot, it becomes critical to increase the amount of the raise to reduce the size of the field. After the flop, you do not want to have to play a big pocket pair against a large field when there is a large pot at stake.



Here is an example from a $2-$5 game in which all of the players have about $500 in front of them. Bill is under the gun with the A A. He raises to $10. He gets called by a middle-position player, the cutoff, the button, and both blinds. There is $60 in the pot and six players.



The flop is 6 5 3, giving Bill a big overpair. Both blinds check. Bill still likes his hand, but he is now concerned about the large field. He makes a deliberate overbet of $100 to reduce the number of opponents. Everyone folds to the small blind, who raises to $200, and the big blind calls. With $560 in the pot, Bill calls for another $100, sensing that he is in trouble but unsure about where he stands. There is $660 in the pot and three players.



The turn is the 9. The small blind bets $100. The big blind folds. Bill knows he is beat, but he is getting almost 8-to-1 pot odds, and if the big blind is betting two pair, Bill has eight outs, which is a 5-to-1 shot. Bill calls. There is $860 in the pot and two players.



The river is the A. The small blind now bets the rest of his money, which is $190. With more than a grand in the pot, Bill calls, having rivered top set. The small blind wins with a flopped straight, having the 4 2.



Preflop, had Bill raised a decent amount, like $20 or $25, some of these players might have folded, including the small blind. Bill was right in recognizing that he needed to reduce the size of the field. But, the time to do this was before the flop.

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 Card Player.