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JUMPING TO NO-LIMIT

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  1. #1

    Default JUMPING TO NO-LIMIT

    I know that after reading, practicing and talking to inviduals I have found that in order to play LIMIT at a succesful pace I would need to gear down more often, play the "Tight Experts Playing List", let hands go more often and for the most part play most of these wild and weak players straight up. This would allow for about and average earning pot of say... 3-5 pots an hour. This would require a great deal of PATIENCE and SELF-DISCIPLINE; which is not a bad trait to have as a poker player.

    So my two questions are:

    A.) should I put some more time into LIMIT play; test my training/reading/etc, better my skills.

    Or

    B.) Should I ditch the swings and bad beats that LIMIT seems to take out on your bankroll and just play the way I describe above on a NL table.

    All in all how does one know they are ready to move to NO-LIMIT??? Should they have to put some time on the LIMIT tables first?
  2. #2
    pokerStudent Guest
    Should I ditch the swings and bad beats that LIMIT seems to take out on your bankroll and just play the way I describe above on a NL table.
    It depends on what you expect to gain from switching to NL hold'em. Just because you are playing no limit doesn't mean you won't get people making bad calls and outdrawing you. In fact, when you do get outdrawn, it is likely you till take a bigger hit on your bankroll (eg if you bet enough to give them bad pot odds on their flush draw but they still call and hit it, you lose more than if you were playing the same hand in a limit game).
    All in all how does one know they are ready to move to NO-LIMIT??? Should they have to put some time on the LIMIT tables first?
    I don't think you 'graduate' from limit and move to NL, making the switch is almost like picking up a new game. Playing a lot of limit games won't necessarily make you a good NL player. The only thing I can think of that you may want to prepare is an appropriate bankroll. The general concensus on this seems to be a minimum of 10 times the buy-in.
  3. #3
    Some of my mates play limit and makes a greater profit than I do at the NL-tables (higher stakes than I play though). I think it's more about what suits you. I got tired of the lotteryfactor when there were 10 peoples in every pot. On the other hand you can win some big multiway pots that way. And if you play higher limits it aint all like that. But I guess if you are new to the game you will struggle on the 0,5/1 tables. I would consider trying out pot limit. You get rid of the maniacs capping every pot pre-flop and you can still get a lot of chips in the pot and punish drawers if the flop/turn suits you. I played two tables yesterday one $50 PL and one $50 NL and the pot limit table was what saved my day. The game was much softer there and since I didn't have the greatest run of cards on the NL table I ended up a $100 down there ( got KK broken by Ax, AK by KQ etc. very frustrating). Luckily for me I won about $150 on the PL table. This might have been a coincidence but I felt the standard of the players at the NL table were a bit higher as well. And besides that some of the best players thinks a good player has a greater edge in PL than in NL. Anyway just try it out and see what suits you. Most people are having a hard time the first months. About moving to a higher limit. I think you should do this before switching to HIGHER limits (nothing to do with fixed/NL/PL):
    A) Build an appropriate bankroll
    B) Make sure you can beat the limit you are allready on. That can't be done in less than at least 300 hours because of the "luckfactor" in the game. If you decide you are a winning player at that limit then move up but be prepared to move down again if you get your ass kicked. These are advices given to me and others by better players and I think they are accurate.
    What ever way you choose:
    Good Luck and Have Fun!
  4. #4
    Coming from a home tournament background, I much prefer NL games. At PP I started at the 1/2 Limit tables, and found a bigger bankroll variance then the .25/.50 limit games. I probably play a bit on the conservative side, but I am winning after appx 1500 hands, and would be up much more if it weren't for my foray into limit. In fact, I switched to limit to try to get my 500 hands in for the $100 bonus, figuring it would "cost" less to play limit vs. NL. YMMV, though.

    Never played much PL, seems that it's a NL-lite, limiting your possible gains if you get a monster. But I can see where it might be a compromise between NL and limit if you wanted to try NL but have a ceiling on losses.

    Following the strategies on this site should bode well for NL(or PL) play.
  5. #5
    I'm not crazy about PL..

    If your in early position and get AA you can't raise big to protect your hand. Also if youv'e got a big hand and nobody else it raising you may end up with a small pot that you cna't raise much with.
  6. #6
    mike - You hit the nail right on the head. I was playing PL a couple weeks ago and was dealt AA in early position. I was only able to bet $1 and could only get 2 others out of the hand and ended up getting my AA cracked by someone who was on a draw that I most certainly would have been able to bet out of the hand pre-flop had it been no-limit.

    That was the end of my venture into PL!
    "The urge to gamble is so universal and it's practice is so pleasurable, that I assume it must be evil." - Heywood Broun
  7. #7
    I definitely don't think PL is a NL lite. I think a skilled player has an even greater edge in PL since weaker player can't move in at you all the time. I have to agree about the AA though but you can't get everything. On the other hand that is the curse of position. I think for heads up play PL is the only choice. But taste is different. I like NL as well and I play more NL than PL but I get so tired of the inevitable coinflips that appear when you are on a table with loose aggressive players. Then picking up KK is not a guarantee that u will win...cause the loose player allways calls with Ax off and gets an ace on the board and takes it down. Where is the skill in that? Don't even start about the odds and that stuff. I know...but it still sucks when you have to give your whole buy in away to a lucky git who thinks he played terrific. And before you can get it back he loses it to someone else. :P
  8. #8
    for what it's worth, i'm kind of liking PL. i've had a rough week, even tried some limit (i broke even but it was just aggravating).

    i don't know about calling it "NL lite" - but i do like the idea that i can still bet enough to protect my hand (post flop), yet (as a new player) not get so stressed by so many all-in calls. i feel like it allows me to focus a little more on my hand. at least last night i showed a profit. also as a new player, it keeps me from getting into a preflop all-in pissing match trying to protect my pocket QQ from some maniac who may or may not have a real hand. of course, the first time i get AA or KK cracked because i couldn't bet enough preflop to protect them, i may change my tune.

    i'll be spending the weekend with PL.

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