Texas Holdem Poker

Many of today’s poker players choose no limit holdem as the first brand of holdem to learn.  They want to play the game that ESPN has made famous and want the thrill of gambling for all their chips.  Before no limit holdem became fashionable, limit holdem was the primary game played in most cash games.   In fact, many higher stakes cash games are still primarily limit holdem.  For a player that wants to transition from no limit holdem to limit holdem, there are a few things they need to know.

First, pushing players out of a hand becomes much more difficult in limit as opposed to no limit holdem.  If a player has a middle or bottom pair, it becomes easy to make a call when the bet only represents 10% or less than their entire stack.  In fact, depending on pot size, it may be incorrect for them to fold their weak hand, even if they are beat.

Drawing to straights and flushes become more commonplace in limit holdem.  Again, this is due to the limited betting structure.  When a player is holding a flush draw or an open ended straight draw, there are very few instances where they are not getting the right price to chase down a draw.

Bluffing at lower limits becomes nearly a non-issue.  It is hard to make a player fold to one bet unless they have absolutely nothing in their hand.  Chances are that if they are in a hand until the river, they will not fold a hand unless they have a missed draw.  At higher limits when the bet sizes are significantly larger, then bluffing can be beneficial, but realize that even at higher limits that bluffing will not have the same power as it does in no limit.

One key skill that you will need to learn in limit holdem poker is the ability to extract extra bets and when to save bets.  Limit Holdem Poker is about winning bets, not taking stacks.  In no limit you can lose for four hours straight and then win a couple of large hands and finish a winner.  If you have four losing hours in limit holdem poker, two hands will not make back your losses.  The key in limit holdem poker is keeping people in and being able to extract extra bets from them when you are ahead.  Also, you need to find spots where you can save bets.  This may sound contrary to an earlier statement about staying in for pot odds.  It is not.  For instance, you have caught a flush on the river but there is four of your suit on board.  Unless you have the nuts, you probably want to check in this spot.  If your opponent bets, you will call and likely lose one bet.  However, if you bet and your opponent raises, then you will lose two bets to the better flush.  Learning to spots scenarios such as this will help keep your losses down and help improve your bottom line.

Not all limit holdem games play the same way, but the above tips should get you started in your transition to limit from no limit.  Good luck to you at the tables.

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