Allgamer.com

At some point, you will be tempted to play the most popular poker variety – the No Limit Texas Holdem. Considering that it is one of the most challenging and hard to beat poker variety, it would be helpful if you equip yourself with some information that could really help you. For an instance you can try equipping yourself with the common mistakes players commit in No Limit Texas Holdem games that could later spare you from committing them yourself.

Being Very Aggressive

Many players, play aggressively when in a No Limit Texas Holdem game. They call every challenge, bet on every hand, and play a mediocre hand till its conclusion. In real essence, it is not helpful to play aggressively in most No Limit Texas Holdem games. To beat the game, you must know when to hold on and fold up and walk away.

There should not be any signs of shame when folding in a No Limit Texas Holdem game. Sometimes there’s no any better move than folding. Folding can sometimes save you from losing big bucks. But of course you must fold for good reasons.

Playing Loosely

A lot of players play loosely when in a No Limit Texas Holdem game. Eventually, they fail to realize that playing loosely makes them play like hungry crocodile getting everything being laid down.

Well, to beat the game, there shouldn’t be a lot of starting hands being played. Call on the pre-flop in the event there are some decent hole cards such as Kings, Queens or pocket Aces. At times, temptation to call on the preflop with hole cards like 10-9 unsuited hole cards would be strong. Entertaining the temptation once in a while would be fine but shouldn’t become a practice. Stand firm against temptations to beat the game.

Aggressive players are in every poker table. And they will surely knock you out if you don’t know how to play right when you are up against them. Thus, it is very important that you know how you should play and what’s the best defense when up against aggressive players.

Typically, it is best to play reasonable poker. Although you will get tempted to be one of those aggressive players, raise and re-raise often, it is still a good thing that you act with the odds in mind, in short still be reasonable.

Nonetheless, if you are a tight player, playing with those aggressive players can be very frustrating because they are oftentimes unpredictable. You wouldn’t know if they are betting just for the sake of betting or else they do really have a strong hand. But of course, you don’t want to be holding trash at showdown or waste your money on bad cards so you better act right when up against aggressive players.

If up against aggressive players, you can play tight but still be reasonable. Aggressive players tend to play on and on and just don’t know when to exactly quit. Thus, if you only play tight but still reasonable, you can actually caught them up easily.

Try to have good starting hands and provoke an aggressive player with a raise and then go on with a re-raise. That aggressive player will more or less be on tilt and eventually will react unreasonably. As a result, you will get a good pot in the end.

Take note that aggressive players can be a good source of chips if you just know how to play with them right. If by chance you win against aggressive players you will be rest assured you’ll be collecting a lot later part.

It’s important that before you learn some advanced and complicated tips or strategies for winning, you should first master how to deal with whatever kind of starting hands you may have to face along the way. There are some good starting hands worth playing however there are actually some that are just worth tossing aside in pre-flop.

AA, KK, QQ, JJ, or AK

If dealt with an AA, KK, QQ, JJ, or AK, it’s best to get as many chips as possible in the pot through betting, raising, and re-raising. But be careful of tight players and those who are raising pre-flop most especially if what you hold is not AA or KK.

10’s, 9’s, AQ, and KQ

If you have 10’s, 9’s, AQ, and KQ, be more selective. Be aware that although these are good to have, you’ll need the board to win with these. Bet and raise to get people out of the hand when in early position however be more conservative if in later seats.

AJ, A10, KJ, QJ, Q10, or 88

You can’t be aggressive with AJ, A10, KJ, QJ, Q10, or 88. Just play these in late position if before you there have been a lot of checking. Look for suited connectors to get a straight or a flush.

J10, T9, 98, 87, 76, T8, 97, 86, and 75 Same Suit

Hands like J10, T9, 98, 87, 76, T8, 97, 86, and 75 same suit should not be played aggressively most especially early part. Same thing with similar hands like pocket pairs from 7’s to 2’s, A and any same suit card, and K with any same suit card up to 8.

Other Hands

Other hands not mentioned above should be folded particularly if you can’t see the flop without checking. This can be the best thing you can do.

Hello,

First I would like to commend you for this nice site. Keep up the good work.

Well, I’m actually here to ask you something. I’m just a newbie and have actually tried playing small pocket pairs recently. The experience was really intriguing.

At a certain table, I had 22 with a similar flop of 2 6 T rainbow. Unfortunately, because other players who called preflop had 66, I didn’t win such hand. Also he called post flop. I thought I then bet the river but later on discovered things went differently, also called post flop.

After the flop I was really troubled. I was thinking what if someone started with starting hands like 55, TT, 52s, T5s and even T2s that was being slow played and could eventually beat me with a draw on the turn or else on the river.

Now, is it the nature of the betting scenario that creates the confidence to play small pairs or is it an odds or probability scenario? Any thoughts? By the way, any specific way I should play small pocket pairs? Most of the time, I play limit holdem tournament style.

Thanks and more power!

Regards,
Phillip
Phillip,

Small pairs in limit are usually playable, sometimes to a raise in later position. You still want to hit the flop hard with them. When you do flop your set, bet your hand aggressively. The odds of a player flopping a set is around 11% so don’t worry about another player flopping a set too. It happens and when they flop a bigger set, you will lose usually, but that is just part of the game. Most of the time, you will win a nice pot with your set.

For about 3 months now I’ve been playing Holdem and been referring to lots of materials. Well, I love playing at multi table no limit and most of my time was actually spent at such.

I remember the first time I wasn’t good at playing all calling cards and also in distinguishing good starting hands. Just last month, I believe I played well and have actually learned when to act and eventually make use of my chips. But just last week, I decided to finally try playing at our local casino. I want to try ring games.

Before I have already tried playing in a ring game and the experience was good, well, maybe at the start. I was up and down for several hours, playing hands in right position and keenly watching out who the calling stations were. I started with 150 and quite confident I decided to take risk.

At some point, I was on the button and was dealt AhKh in a 2-4 game. Three callers came in and I raised to $4. After a while, both small and big blind folded. Total call was $19 in the pot. Flop came and brought AcKd9h. Player to act first then checked while the second placed $2 bet. I then raised to $4 after having been flopped top two pair and a back door flush draw. Player who checked then folded and the next one raised to $6. Consequently I called. Pot was $31 at such point. Turn came and brought 7h. He checked while I have the nuts. I then placed $4 bet with my two pair and a stronger draw. He then raised to $8. I stopped for a while and then decided to raise him to 12$. He then called. Pot was $55 at such point. River came and was 10c. Once again he checked and I placed $4 after recalling all his moves. I believe he would have already bet if he has anything. He then paused for a moment and raised to $8. I then called. Pot was already $71.

Later, he showed QsJs while I showed AK to show two pair. I was happy to see no kings or aces but then I figured out that on the river he has pulled a straight. In the end, I went home with a little under $100.

Do you think what happened to me is a perfect example of a bad beat? And do you know of anything I could have done to avoid that going to the river?

Thanks in advance!

Regards,
Calvin
Calvin,

This appeared to me to be limit holdem as opposed to No Limit. In Limit Holdem, you opponent had the odds to chase his draw. If this was No Limit Holdem, then you definitely did not bet enough.

Based on the fact that this looked like Limit Holdem, this isn’t that bad of a beat. He had odds to draw. Not much you could have done differently.

Hi,

I actually understand that pre-flop raising in case you have a good hand has two main purposes. One is to force out second-rate starting hands which decrease your winning percentage and the other one to invite more money in the pot. Well, I know for a fact that there are some hand that oftentimes mandate pre-flop raise for such reasons as well.

Here’s a certain situation that happens quite often: You are in the big blind and the table goes around. Dealer then has his eyes on you to either check or bet as everyone either called or folded. Then you check your hand. Big blind then checks. Everyone at the table has no idea what your hand is and so you have a huge advantage. It’s actually far better than having the best hand.

Now, is there any circumstance that you would feel it’s advantageous to check with a good hand in the big blind than raise?

Hope to hear from you.

Thanks,
Argyle
Argyle,

If I am heads up with a highly aggressive opponent, I may check my big hand. Otherwise, I am probably going to raise.

Hi,

I love watching the pros on TV but I don’t know if the games they play are in such a different stratosphere than the average play who are into small-stakes all-in games and tourneys by which imitating some decisions and strategies would be counter-productive nonetheless. Any thoughts?

By the way, about one of the basic strategies you’ve mentioned before, I believe it mirrors what most players of any type do with starting hands, fold most likely. I was able to watch Gus Hansen play one time and he typically throws convention to the wind. With just about anything, he will play. I can’t believe he can act out with negligence and yet can still play so great. Maybe I can learn something from him.

Hope to hear from you in no time.

Truly,
John
John,

What you must remember is that Poker on TV is heavily edited. They only show hands that have high entertainment value or are relevant to the outcome. What you don’t see is that Hansen uses this unconventional style depending on his table and his position etc.

Most of what you see on TV is at another level, especially games such as High Stakes Poker. Most of the strategies you see on TV will not work at low limits. They usually just lead to long term losses.

Besides, when was the last time you saw Gus Hansen win a bracelet?

Hello,

I remember you once gave an advice all about being tricky, deceptive, aggressive, and tough. In particular, I don’t understand everything about being aggressive. What is playing aggressive? And I want to become a tight aggressive one, what should I do then?

Thank you in advance.

Best regards,
Mirt
Mirt,

Being aggressive means controlling the action in betting and putting players to the test for their chips. As far as being tight aggressive, that means waiting for solid starting hands and then betting your hands strong. Also this means betting your hands strong on the other streets as well, especially when you hit. Sometimes being aggressive means pushing out weaker players that have weaker holdings with bluffs etc.

Hello,

Thank you very much for your prompt reply. It was very much appreciated. But I just want to clarify something. The game I mentioned was a 5/10 structured Low Limit Holdem and not a No Limit one. Well, I play No Limit but only friendly home games with some close friends way back then. Most of the time, I can hold my own as I can actually protect my strong cards when they hit.

In casinos, usually I get run down until the river and then lose most of the time. Do you think I should just stick with my game plan that involves playing only premium hands in early position and drawing hands in the back when I can actually see the flop cheaply? And for a looser table, loosen up my starting hands?

By the way, I typically buy-in with $300 for the structured 5/10 table, do you think this is already fair enough? Do you have any suggestion or piece of advice for me about how I can improve my skills and earning potential?

Before I forget, is it bad to play cards like A,7o? If I were to consider it in theory, it’s a poor starting hand, however I oftentimes win with such hand.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Many thanks,
Lance
Lance,

Your strategy sounds like a good on for most scenarios. If you have a particularly loose table, you may want to modify it a bit. Part of the problem with you being run down is that you may be encountering a player that is chasing you down with proper odds etc. If you hit a pair or flop a draw, it is improper to fold in many cases since the pot is laying such a big price in most cases.

You can pick up a copy of Ed Miller’s book Small Stakes Holdem to try and improve you Limit Holdem game.

A-7 offsuit is a poor starting hand, but if you can see it cheap, such as in the blind or in a table with several limpers, sometimes it can do well. It is easily dominated, so don’t fall in love with playing the hand.

Hello,

Other players see me as a tight player but I feel differently as I oftentimes loosen up a bit by playing most connectors and most hands with two face cards, etc. I figure out maybe they see me as tight one when I have two aces.

On better side, I do usually end up winning money and I believe it’s because I oftentimes take some nice pots at the turn or river with a sizable re-raise and little bluffs. Lately, I’ve been trying to be more loose and aggressive however my attempts were not that successful. Some players force other players out of pots on a regular basis with relentless heavy betting which later on leads to lots of missing hands.

I tried Super System and I discovered almost the same stuff. There was just one idea that caught me, it was about pros and amateurs. Well, the difference between most of the pros and amateurs on TV is that the amateurs wait for good hands and the pros force the action and put the hard decisions on the amateurs. That’s why maybe pros are typically on top.

Now I want to know if you have any piece of advice for me? I want to be on the right track but I don’t know how will I do it when most of the good starting hands don’t seem to come along very often.

Your help will be much appreciated!

Thank you.

All the best,
Daniel
Daniel,

You need to work on loosening up your requirements for late position. Also, you need to work on identifying which players at the table you can steal blinds from when you are playing tournaments. What you are seeing on TV many times are players that are taking advantage of the inexperience or the tightness of other players. Pushing the action as they do can be beneficial in tournaments but in cash games, it can cause problems because the blinds never go up and people can just sit back and wait for hands to punish you with. You don’t have that luxury in tournaments.