Ace Speaks Hold'em: No-Limit Versus Limit, An In-Depth Analysis - Part I

Not too long ago, if you wanted to become a successful cash-game player, your choice usually consisted of limit games only. In the United States, pot- and no-limit live games were the exception rather than the rule, and if they were offered, they usually were played only as side games at big tournaments, and for very high stakes. The aspiring young pro usually had to settle for limit games only, the majority of which were limit hold'em.



Actually, this was exactly the situation when I started playing for a living. Even though quite a few Americans think that Europeans play pot- and no-limit poker almost exclusively, in my hometown of Amsterdam and my second hometown of Vienna, almost all of the games were limit – at least for the stakes that I was willing to play at the time.



Now that the World Poker Tour and other televised events have contributed to an unexpected and unparalleled no-limit hold'em explosion, even young and aspiring cash-game pros don't automatically have to settle for limit hold'em games anymore. Most American casinos nowadays offer a wide variety of no-limit hold'em games, many at relatively small stakes. And on the Internet, many young players play no-limit hold'em almost exclusively. Now, if you come from a limit hold'em background (as is the case with some of the "old-school" players like myself – and I never thought I would have to include myself in an old-school category of people), it is far from easy to make the proper adjustments to the different mindset that is required for no-limit. Conversely, those who started out playing no-limit hold'em may actually be faced with even more problems if they want to make a transition to becoming successful at limit, too. They have to gear down, and have to learn that one single bet is a lot of money here; now, it should be clear that very few big-bet players are capable of doing this.



In this 14-part series of columns, I will focus on the way limit and no-limit hold'em relate. To be more concrete, I will discuss some key aspects of limit and no-limit hold'em, and the things people should take into account when making a switch to either one of them. In this column, I will begin by analyzing things for people who, like me, come from a limit background and now want to make a successful transition to no-limit. In the final three columns, I will analyze things for those who walk the opposite path. Note that I am specifically talking about cash-game strategies, even though lots of things will of course apply to tournaments, as well.



All in all, in the first 11 columns on no-limit hold'em, I will analyze a few key aspects of the game and show you how to use the specific characteristics of big-bet play to your advantage. As I said, the focus is on cash-game strategies, and while most of it is directed at play in a "real" casino, lots of things apply to online play, as well. In fact, in those cases in which online play requires a different approach, I will mention it specifically. One thing to keep in mind is that Internet games often have shallow money, while brick-and-mortar games have deep money. I will discuss this issue in depth later, but please keep in mind that this factor alone makes online play quite different from "old-school" big-bet games, in which people could buy in for as much as they wanted.



Anyway, let's begin with one of the first key aspects of no-limit hold'em – one that continues to cause even experienced players some serious problems: Hand selection is different.



While limit hold'em is considered a big-card game, in which unsuited big cards like A-K, A-Q, A-J, and K-Q are a pro's bread-and-butter hands, in no-limit, these hands can get you into an awful lot of trouble, both before and after the flop. In limit hold'em, it would be a somewhat rare occurrence for you to lay down a hand as good as A-Q before the flop, and while I know good limit hold'em players who have never folded A-K in their entire lives, in no-limit hold'em you will occasionally have to lay down both of these hands. When there is a lot of aggressive action before the flop, your big cards may be in very bad shape, especially when the money is deep. When you put in your entire stack before the flop with A-K and get any kind of action, you are likely to be anywhere from a slight to a very big dog – despite your excellent holding. In no-limit hold'em, the biggest pots are often won when someone holds a small pair or small suited connectors, and is able to outflop someone who holds top pair/top kicker or an overpair to the board. This is especially true if the person holding the big cards or high pair cannot lay down a fairly good hand after the flop even when the action suggests he must be beat. All of this means the following:



• High pairs and suited big cards are very valuable in both limit and no-limit hold'em.



• Suited connectors and small pairs may under some circumstances be more valuable in no-limit than in limit.



• Unsuited big cards (A-K) and especially unsuited semibig cards (A-Q, A-J, K-Q) are not always as good as they seem in no-limit, and may get you into a world of trouble a lot more often than you would think. Again, this is especially the case in deep-money games in which there's enough room to try to outmaneuver your opponents.



On the Internet – where the money is often much more shallow – no-limit hand selection will be more in line with normal limit hold'em requirements. This means that unsuited big cards are still very valuable, and that small pairs and especially suited connectors should be played under the right circumstances only – circumstances that come up a lot less frequently than in the deep-money games discussed above.



Of course, this is not all there is to it. A large part of playing successful no-limit hold'em is taking advantage of specific weaknesses in your opponents. This means that much more than in limit, you may choose to call or even raise with relatively weak hands against some weak players, while throwing away much better hands against people who play at a very high level – people you know you can't outplay. This concept of "outplaying your opponents" is much more of a factor in big-bet play. What logically follows from this is that accepted opening-hand requirements just don't apply to the same degree in no-limit. There are just too many factors that may make a situation profitable or unprofitable, other than the actual strength of the cards. Two of the most important ones are the caliber of the opposition and the depth of the money, but there are many more, and this makes it hard to come up with cut-and-dried formulas when it comes to no-limit hold'em.



Another very important factor in no-limit hold'em is your position. In big-bet poker, it is often correct to enter a pot with rather marginal hands if you are last to act on all streets. So, while in limit poker it is accepted and also correct strategy to play very tight and solid up front, and then loosen up quite a bit the closer you get to the button, this is even more true in no-limit. Especially when the money is deep, you should avoid playing marginal hands from out of position, and should avoid even more playing marginal hands from out of position against strong players. In Part II of this series, I will give you a few specific examples of starting hands, and you may be surprised about the number of hands that I consider to be "marginal."



Rolf's Rule No. 1: One of the most expensive mistakes in no-limit hold'em is playing marginal hands from out of position. In fact, I consider a lot more hands to be "marginal" than most players do.

This is Part I in a 14-part series on limit and no-limit hold'em, created especially for Card Player Europe. The accompanying DVDs on this subject can be obtained through Rolf's site: http://www.rolfslotboom.com/.