Changing Your Thinking from Limit Game to No-limit Game
Those players who decide to extend their list of poker games often tend to make mistakes when they start playing any new poker game without having any experience. Here in this section we would like to help you to adjust your thinking and your strategy when you start playing no-limit holdem in order to make few mistakes as you can in the first no-limit tournaments or cash games you play.
We believe that the players who are experience in playing limit holdem often feel scary to play in no-limit holdem game. We feel safe when we know the limitations within which we can control - and that is the reason limit-players feel much secure in playing limit games. Without the structure of limits, you may uncomfortable. Limit holdem lays down exactly how much you can bet and how much other people can bet against you, so you know beforehand how much you might risk on the hand. However, there are no such kinds of restrictions in no-limit holdem games.
In limit holdem, the amount of bet is stated by a predetermined limit, the only limit on how much you can bet in no-limit holdem is the amount of chips you have in front of you. You can bet all your chips or part of chips - and so can all the other players at your table. This freedom of options makes many players who are accustomed to having limited choices feel uncomfortable. They worry with every betting decision. In a nutshell, limit holdem has fixed betting limits with both a minimum and a maximum bet but no maximum bet. In no-limit holdem, there is a minimum bet but no maximum bet. In no-limit poker you can bet all your chips at any time.
The important to feeling comfortable in no-limit poker is getting a feel for how much you should bet rather than how much you can bet. We shall give all the relevant guidelines and instructions on how much to bet so that you can overcome your fears and feel comfortable and capable enough to play in no-limit holdem poker. The betting chart will help you on how much to bet at every stage in a tournament.
Let's discuss at some basic changes in thinking and strategy that you need to make in order to make your way from limit holdem to no-limit holdem. You need to think a little bit outside the box. For example, in a $5-$10 limit holdem, you will think within the box that "I can bet $5 on the flop and $10 on the turn". Whereas in no-limit holdem, you need to think outside of it, "I can bet a few chips, a lot of chips, or all of my chips."
The size of the game in limit-holdem is determined by the limit on how much you can bet. Whereas the size of the game in no-limit holdem is determined by the size of the blinds. A no-limit holdem game with the $5-$10 blinds can be bigger game than a limit-game of $5-$10 blinds because you can bet all the chips at one time.
Any time you play a hand in no-limit holdem, you could be putting all your chips at peril. You have to learn how to manage the amount of chips you put in jeopardy. There is no shame in going broke on a hand. It is common in no-limit holdem game than in limit-holdem poker game.
Some hands that you play in limit-holdem game should be avoided completely while you are making your way to no-limit holdem game. Hands such as 6-5, 8-7 and 10-9 suited drawing hands where you have to call with a large percentage of your chips to try to make the draw are examples of hands you should avoid playing, particularly in raised pots.
Pairs lower than Jacks has to be played for as few chips as possible before the flop. With less than premium pairs, you are expecting to make a set on the flop. If you make a set, you will then have a hand that needs to be played strongly All the while taking into consideration the other hands that could be out against you.
In no-limit holdem game, you can often win the pot before the pot as compared to limit holdem game. For example, you are on the button with two Aces. The blinds are $25-$50. The first player in the pot makes it $100 and three players call before it gets to you. In limit holdem, all you can raise the pot to is $150. Everyone will then call the extra $50, making the pot much bigger. On the flop, there is lot of action because the size of the pot is giving players who have picked up draws the proper odds to call bets and raises.
In no-limit holdem, you can defend your hand by raising enough chips before the flop to eliminate some players who otherwise might have called a smaller bet. In doing this thing, you thin out your field and give your Aces a better chance of holding up. In limit holdem example where four players had put in $100 each, you could raise only $50 more.
However, in no-limit holdem, you could raise to $400 or more. Now your rivals are distressed as to whether they want to play with you with a somewhat average hand. Whereas the pot was giving our limit holdem players good enough poker odds to call before the flop to try to make their drawing hands, you can force your rivals after the flop to fold their draws by making enough bets and making it unprofitable for them.
The bluff is more important in no-limit holdem as compared to limit holdem game. The ability to make a large enough bet to make your rivals fold All but their strangest hand is an important factor in your no-limit holdem success. In limit holdem, since the most you can bet at one time is limited, your rivals will call your bluff bets more often. Learning when to bluff -timing your bluffs correctly - can mean the difference in winning or losing.
It is difficult to understand your rivals in no-limit holdem games. It is even more important than it is in the limit holdem. If you make mistake in a limit holdem tournament, you may lose a few extra bets. In no-limit holdem, you can lose your entire stack by making one wrong move. If you can read your rivals correctly, you can make very good calls when you know that someone is out of line, or fold a hand when you are sure that you are beaten. Understanding your rivals Also helps you decide when is the correct time to bluff and identify bluffs that you suspect from your rivals.