Poker has become a very popular card game. Of all the poker games, Texas Hold’em is the most popular. Texas Hold’em is a form of poker that is best played in casinos. Though the rules are similar to other poker games, Texas Hold’em is in a league of its own at the top. There are two types of poker, no limit and limit. Though the rules are similar, the strategies are totally different in these two different forms of poker.
In no limit poker, the amount of money that can be bet on the next hand is not limited. This forces players to take big risks and win big pots. But in limit poker, the amount of money that can be bet is limited. Hence, bluffing can be used in no limit poker to get the opponents to fold. But in limit poker, the players are not allowed to bet more than the pot designated for that particular game.
Bettors in both no limit and limit poker have to front more money than in the other game. When the amount of no limit poker is higher, there is less risk of the losing the entire money that you invested in the hand. When the amount of no limit poker is lower, the risks are less. That is why the stakes go higher in no limit poker.
In limit poker, the amount of money bet is limited. Players are not allowed to raise the amount of betting unless the limit is increased. That means players are not allowed to call big all-in bets unless they have the hand to win all the money that they put in the pot.
In no limit poker, players can bet amounts that they can afford to lose. This is called gamble. Gambling is taking a big risk that could potentially win big money.
But as all good card players know, you need to take chances to win. You cannot stake everything on a hand. You need to take risk and play some hands. If you play many more weaker hands than you can afford to, you will definitely lose the game.
For example, you are playing a $1/$2 game. TheProp bet is $1.5. Jack Pattillo makes a call with his hand of 8 8. You like the hand of 8 8, and you call the bet. Jack knows that he has this hand about 48.5% to win. He has a call and a raise, and he has $2 to come. The bettor bets $3, and you are ready to call-
The flop is and your holding J Q, you decide to bet the pot. Jack looks at his cards and deciding not to bet, he raises to $3. The two other players fold. Jack has $7 to act.
The turn is and J Q comes. You are feeling lucky and waiting for the cards. Jack checks. Now you can’t lose. You bet $3, and Jack dutifully lays his hand on the table. You have won $4.
The river card is and J Q comes. You still feel lucky. Jack checks. So does not bet.
You can’t lose, right?
Wrong! If you made the right move, you still can’t win.
If you made the wrong move, the board paired, and a straight and flush could be on the cards. With the straight and the flush potentially bringing you the entire pot.
That’s the nature of poker. Even if you made the right move, you could still lose.
Why?
Because the board pair can make your mediocre hand into a premium hand.
Sure, you’ve invested a lot of money into the pot, but the money that the pot is offering is still not yielding a victory. In other words, you’ve still got money in the pot, but there’s a lot more money in the pot still.
$1/$2 no limit is the same as $10/$20 no limit. The only way to vastly differentiate the two requirements is to understand the respective strength of starting hands.
In the first case, you need to buy in for more than the cost of the big blind. In no limit, you can play not only the best cards, but all of the possible bets, including the two blinds. If you did not push, you still need to bet. If you pushed all-in, you would be in a lot more trouble if you lost a preset bet.
The strategy should be played in a very similar manner in the second case. There is very little difference. You treat the hand like any standard straight poker, and be extremely careful with the approach you take postflop. Much of the advice you receive will still be accurate: you need to be disciplined, you need to be patient, you need to do a lot of pre-planning before you drop into routines.