Ace Speaks Hold'em: No-Limit Versus Limit - An In-Depth Analysis Part VI: Differences and Adjustments; the Bluff has a Much Higher Chance of Success in No-Limit Than in Limit, but the Costs of Failure are Also Much Higher

When you hear people talk about no-limit hold'em as opposed to limit, you will always hear them say the same things: "It is much easier to protect your hand." "You cannot bluff in limit, but you can in no-limit." Both of these statements are only partially true, in my opinion. Yes, it is easier to protect your hand when you can choose to bet any amount that you wish, but you should be aware that protecting your hand is not always your main objective in poker. Often, your goal should be to maximize your winnings on a hand and at the same time try to minimize your losses. Now, those who focus too much on this "protect your hand" idea forget that rather frequently, it is actually great to have four or five people calling you – especially when you have either a very strong made hand or a premium draw with lots of nut outs. The same holds true for the other adage that you cannot bluff in limit poker, but you can in no-limit. Again, this is only partially true. Yes, it is much harder to bluff in limit, but you should never forget that in the few cases in which you succeed in making better hands fold, the reward is enormous. If you are able to steal an entire pot while putting just one flat bet at risk, it should be clear that from a risk/reward point of view, your bluff does not have to succeed very often to make a significant overall profit. And, yes, in no-limit, you may indeed be able to bet your opponents off fairly decent hands simply because of the size of your bet (an option that you don't have in limit), but the downside is that when the bluff fails, you may lose a whole lot of money. What's important is that you should correctly analyze (in both betting structures) the chances of getting away with a bluff versus the costs. In addition to this, you should try to find the optimum betting strategy when bluffing in no-limit, taking into account the texture of the board, the tendencies of your opponents, and your own image. In some cases, with certain boards and against certain types of opponents, a small bet in no-limit may have just as much chance of successfully stealing a pot as a large bet does. You will have to find the situations in which this may be the case, in order to minimize your losses because of failed bluff or semibluff attempts, and to maximize your long-term expectation in the game with bluffs that are successful.



Let's analyze a few examples. Let's say that you have raised preflop, and the flop comes A-Q-Q. If you are heads up, a bet of about half the pot, and probably a bit less, may be just as successful and just as scary as a full-pot bet. So, when trying to pull off a bluff, it may be better to come out with a bet that seems to imply "please call me" than a big bet that shows a lot of fear – a bet that good players may find "suspicious."



Here's another example: You have called a decent raise before the flop against what very much looks like a big pair. I will leave your exact hand for what it is, because it is not extremely relevant in this example. Let's say the flop comes J 9 3, and your opponent has bet the pot and you have called. The turn brings a very scary-looking 10, and your opponent makes a fairly small bet that you have analyzed as a feeler bet, but it could also be with the ace-high flush, for example. In this case, just doubling his bet may be your best option, rather than making a large raise – assuming that you don't have much. If your opponent's bet was indeed a feeler bet, you know that he is not going to call you, especially because you are making a bet that seems to be wanting a call, a bet that shows a lot of strength. At the same time, if you raise big, you will probably get called when you are beat. So, this is a situation in which you can make a "cheap" bluff or semibluff, because the texture of the board makes these kinds of bets look very strong, rather than weak. If you raise big, you will get called only when you are beat, and the likelihood of pulling off the bluff has not increased a lot because of this much bigger bet.



Now, please note that this is the kind of play that will often work against good players, thinking players. With all of the experience they have, they usually expect people who hold monster hands to try to "sell" them. They have a tendency to give you credit for what you are representing when it seems that you are "milking" them. At the same time, they tend to become deeply suspicious when you come out with a huge overbet in an either-or situation; that is, either you have the hand you represent or you don't – and if you do, you almost certainly hold a winner. The boards that present these kinds of either-or situations are paired, especially with two aces, which screams for a slow-play, or with three or four of a suit, and if you really have what you are representing, your opponents won't have a chance.



But these plays won't work well against weak players. They often fail to see the strength that these minimum bets and raises represent in these situations. Or, they just don't have the guts to fold a decent hand now that calling seems so "cheap" to them. Against these kinds of players, you will have to do the obvious: bet or raise big when you want them out, and bet or raise small when you want to keep them in. But against good players, you can often use reverse psychology. You can sometimes pull off a bluff against good players by making a small bet, and at the same time, you can often get them to pay you off when you have the nuts, just because your massive overbet looked suspicious to them.



So, always know your opponents. Try to figure out how they are thinking – and use this knowledge to your advantage by luring them into making mistakes, either by making them pay off when they should fold or fold when they should call.



Rolf's Rule No. 9:

A lot of poker authorities say that it is easier to bluff a good player than it is to bluff a weak player. They are only partially right. The best players to bluff are those who think their reads are good, but don't think on a deep enough level about the implications of the board, and about how you would play the hand if you really had what you are representing.



This is Part VI in a XIV-part series on limit and no-limit hold'em. This series was created especially for Card Player Europe. The accompanying DVDs on this subject can be obtained through Rolf's site, www.rolfslotboom.com.