Transition from limit to no limit

[sea]

I'm new to poker and I'll be playing in a small but prestigious NLHE tourney in a few weeks. (This is my 10th post - TPI here I come!)

So far I've been playing low-limit O8B ring games. (Pause while you all scheme to start at the same table as me.)

I've never played NL before - does anyone have any links to advice on NL for the limit player?

Thanks!

[Zybomb]

the differences between limit and no limit are HUGE. First off, if you play your made hands correctly there will be far less chasing, unless they have a solid draw (or good odds to draw to). People with hands like 2 overs, or inside straights can no longer afford to hang around for a cheap bet. Secondly there will be significantly more bluffing, both pre flop and post flop, because its easier to get away with (one extra bet isnt much of a bluff). There are SIGNIFICANTLY less bad beats, bc unless players are complete idiots (and there r alot out there) they wont be able to call the large bets while sticking around for their miracle.

If you limp into a pot, dont be committed if someone raises to call a raise (as you often are in limit due to pot odds). Position becomes more important; there will be more stealing from the later positions with raises of 3-4x the BB traditonally.

Play your preflop big hands big (unless you are comfortable enough to know when and how to trap effectively). Reraise when you have the cards, and dont be afraid to push it in when you have the cards.... but realize you wanna be the one doing the pushing, not calling another players all in (unless u have the nuts or close)

Be aware that there will be many preflop all ins especially as blinds increase and short stacks emerge. Understand what cards they may hold....a short stack is liable to push it all in with any ace, any pair, or two pictures cards if they are very short. Try to get involved with stacks that are smaller than you....or if you find yourself short stacks, then try to attack stacks that your all in could do damage do and make them the new short stack if they lose.

If you sense weakness exploit it. If you make a bet on the flop and you sense weakness, make a larger bet on the turn...your opponent still faces a even bigger threat of a river bet if he calls this one. (of course make sure youve got the read and arent being trapped)

You'll also need to learn appropiate betting strategies (specifically how much to bet and when) You'll be altering these bets according to the size of the pot (or sometimes when the blind are high compare to the stack sizes, according to your chip stack)

With little NL experience Id recommend playing realitively conservative... but play a tight aggressive game. If you have a decent hand in late position go for the steal if there isnt any or very little players in the pot (beware of 1st or 2nd position limp ins...they often are waiting for someone to reraise and then they will push in a big reraise...often this means AA,KK, and maybe sometimes QQ and AKs)

If you enter pots with a raise and have a relatively small amount of callers and its checked around to you, fire a bet of half the pot regardless of what you have, this is small enough not to damage you that much but large enough to get the callers to fold if they missed.

Also sustaining strength is more important. You can NOT consistantly check call your way to $$ in NL (and you shouldnt in Limit either) If you fire a bet and receive a call and then check the next street. Your opponent is likely to make a larger bet after your check showed weakness (unless he is on a strong draw and wants a free card....even then he may try and pick it up) The decisions are a lot harder because you arent playing for one bet, you are potentially playing for your entire stack.

Hope this helps GL in the tourny

[Aequitas58]

Great advice. You're a good addition to the forum.

[sea]

This is great stuff - I will definitely be trying to follow your advice in the TPI.

Is there a difference in pot odds between limit and no limit? I'm just starting to use them in limit. In NL, can I still look at the pot, the size of the bet, and the odds of making my hand to determine what play is correct?

Another thing that I don't understand is how to avoid showing weakness. Let's say I have TPTK after the flop, so I bet. Then the turn puts a possible straight or full house on the board. If I check it shows weakness, but do I want to bet?

Thanks for the great advice.

[Zybomb]

Pot Odds are the same regardless of the game your playing. The difference is when you are playing limit and there are many callers, you often will find the proper pot odds to chase the most ridiculous of draws, the NL this isnt the case...like an inside straight for example you will almost never have the proper odds to draw to it, where in limit it may be 50/50. But the way the pot odds work is the exact same

So how do you avoid showing weakness? Its a simple answer but its hard to fully get....you avoid showing weakness by.....betting again. The problem is you have to know when you're beat. The flop hits and you bet your top pair with top kicker he calls, then whatever draw was out hits on the turn....so should you check? It depends what you put him on during the flop. I like to always think about this, based on the action so far, what are some likely cards he might be holding. If you think there is a good chance he made his hand, check, but know full well that since you bet the flop then checked the turn, he's probably going to fire regardless of what he has (which is why the bet on the flop then check on the turn is a very sneaky and good trap move). This is all assuming you are out of position. If he is acting first, a checkback isnt the worst of ideas...but keep in mind you may be giving him a free card to beat you........example if you hold AJ and the flop comes J,6,7 and then a 8 comes on the turn, he may not of made a straight, but say you check back, and a K comes, or a Q, or an A or a 9, or a 5, or a 10, or a 4........thats 28 out of 46 cards that could potentially scare the hell out of you, and make his hand....it depends situation to situation, usually if I think I have the best hand on the flop and get called, I'll fire another bet on the turn even if a draw hits, unless I put him on that draw convincingly....if I am raised, then I will reconsider the situation from there....how likely based on preflop action is he to hold 9,10 (or 4,5) what do I know about this player, does he value suited connectors high and is it a possiblity, or would be throw them away to a raise the size of this pots......etc

Oh yea and Lou thanks for the nice words, its appreciated

[Zybomb]

oh and one other thing i forgot, a good way to to determine whether or not to bet again on the turn is this. Ask yourself, if I check and he bets will I call? If the answer is yes, you are better off betting yourself (assuming you are not a drawing hand) If anything you can find out where you are in the hand, you have a chance of taking down the pot right there, and you dont show weakness and give your opponent a reason to try and make a huge bet to take the pot down with a bluff

[tazmision89]

I beg to differ.........check out my bad beat from last night in the BB section......


But seriously, very sound advice!

[Talking Poker]

No kidding. Kurn too.... These new guys have been making some great posts lately.

[Zybomb]

Hey Im not new anymore my "Fish" status turned into a "Donkey"!!! As long as I can get past the 'calling station' status very fast il be fine.......i HATE calling stations....but in all seriousness thanks for the good words