Ace Speaks Hold'em: No-Limit Versus Limit - An In-Depth Analysis Part XI: Play on the Later Streets; the Depth of the Money

The money in no-limit hold'em cash games is usually a bit deeper than in tournaments, especially in brick-and-mortar casinos (as opposed to online). Of course, there are exceptions, like large buy-in tournaments in which the structure will allow you lots of play, but in general, the size of the blinds in relation to the average stack is much higher in tournaments than in live games. This means that stealing the blinds may be a viable goal in tournaments in order to stay alive. In cash games, stealing the blinds is usually not much of an issue. As a result, defending your blinds is also not much of an issue. Let me put it another way: If, in your no-limit hold'em cash game, stealing and defending blinds are major concerns, I suggest that you find yourself another game. However, they do become a bit more important in online no-limit hold'em games. Because some people buy in for the minimum, and, just as importantly, because there is a maximum amount you can buy in for, the size of the blinds sometimes accounts for a significant percentage of your stack, and has to be factored in when making a decision.



When looking for the optimum play, it is not just the size of your own stack that is important. It is also important to look at your opponent's stack. If he is about to go all in, you can often use this to your advantage by using his all-in bet to maximize the size of the pot; for instance, as a way to get other players in the middle so that you can check-raise. But it is also important to know if someone is playing a very large stack in relation to yours. If you are a short stack, waiting patiently for the right hand or situation to move all in, this big stack may call you rather loosely, because to him, your all-in bet accounts for just a small percentage of his stack. In fact, if there are other big stacks in the hand when you are already all in, you may get protection from one of them, especially those who have a rather loose-aggressive style of play – as is often the case with big stacks in this game. To make things clear for those who don't know, protection means that one of these big stacks will bet another big stack out of the pot who in the end might have won the pot.



Now, if you are the shortest stack at the table, your major concern should be to try to maximize your expectation in the few hands that you do play. In fact, because one single bet accounts for a significant percentage of your stack, you should often employ the simple philosophy, "Play for my entire stack or don't play at all." An excellent way to do this is by check-raising or limp-reraising overly aggressive players on your left. As we shall see later, this is why I recommend sitting to the immediate right of maniacs once you have a fairly small stack, especially if they are playing a big stack. Now, I know this is contrary to the common wisdom that you should always try to sit to the immediate left of maniacs, so that they will always act before you and you can then choose to isolate them with your good hands. But as we shall see later in this series, when playing a small stack in big-bet poker, I recommend the opposite. Anyway, by using the big stacks to your advantage in some of the ways I have suggested, you can win monster pots even when playing with very shallow money, and can create situations in which you have a clear overlay.



Rolf's Rule No. 12: Playing a short stack doesn't always have to imply weakness. There are lots of players, myself included, who have made tremendous amounts of money by using a short-stack/check-raise/move-in-early strategy.



Most people would argue that if you are the best player in your game, you should have the largest stack, so you can break them on any single hand – and that's true. Not only will you take every penny from your opponent once the two of you get into a major clash and you win, but there is also something else to consider. With a lot of chips in play, you will have the opportunity to do two things:



1. Outplay the opposition, regardless of your cards

2. Use your chips as a weapon



The first point should be easy to see. When both you and your opponent are playing with very deep money, not too many pots between the two of you will have a showdown. Or, better yet, not too many big pots between the two of you will have a showdown. This means that you should often be able to make your opponent throw away his cards because of the hand you are representing, whether you in fact hold it or not. You will be using the texture of the board, the tendencies and specific weaknesses of your opponents, and your big stack to lure him into making the wrong decisions.



One principle is very important here, and it is this:



Rolf's Rule No. 13: When playing with very deep money, the threat is usually more important than the execution.


What does that mean? In big-bet poker, if you bet $100 all in on the flop, your opponent will have to make a decision on whether he thinks it is worth it to call or not. He knows the cost: $100. So, if he thinks that his hand may be the best, or has a decent chance to improve to the best, and the odds seem favorable, he may call you; otherwise, he may fold.

But when you bet that same $100 on the flop but still have $1,200 behind, your opponent knows that seeing the hand through to the river may well cost him $1,300 – which could be his entire stack. So, while betting a mere hundred bucks, you basically threaten your opponents that if they call you now, the rest of your stack may follow later. And if this threat is credible to your opponents, they may fold some fairly decent hands – hands that may be better than the one you are betting – simply because they don't want to risk their entire stack.



If your image is strong, you should be able to win quite a few pots without a fight in the manner described here. So, while you are just betting $100, they may think that if they call now, they could be committed to call for the remainder of their money. So, you are betting $100, but they think they will have to call $1,300. This is an extremely important concept in big-bet poker, and does not exist to even remotely the same degree in limit.



Rolf's Rule No. 14: Playing a big stack profitably requires excellent post-flop abilities. It requires using your stack as an intimidating factor to pick up small pots, making plays at your opponents, and taking advantage of their specific weaknesses. If you are not great at reading people, playing the players, and both bluffing and snapping off bluffs, you should stick to playing a short stack.



This is Part IX 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, http://www.rolfslotboom.com/.