Online No-Limit Texas Hold'em Poker for Beginners - Part 2

Limit vs. No-Limit

The only things that Limit and No-Limit Hold'em have in common are the number of cards and how they are dealt. That's it. After that, the differences are night and day. There have been many books written about the ins and outs of limit Hold'em.

Limit is the kind of game you see when you go to your local card club or casino. The 2/4, 3/6, 10/20 games. Limit Hold'em is a game of playing good hands, and hopefully preying on "fish". You really need to know your odds tables, your pot odds, and have a good poker face. Limit Hold'em is "great for beginners" and is often referred to as "No Fold'em Hold'em".

You do not see this version of Hold'em on TV. In case you didn't know, at most card clubs, the LEAST expensive table you may be able to get on is the 2/4 table. What that means is the blinds are $1, $2, the pre-flop and flop bets are $2, and the turn and river bets are $4. Each betting round can only be raised a maximum of 4 times.

It can get expensive, especially for a beginner who is playing incorrectly. On the other side of things, you can almost always see all the cards as there is really no way for the other guy to force you out. That is if it's down to two of you. He raises $2 on the flop. You call. Turn card. He raises $4. You call. He raises $4 on the river. You call. There is really no way to bluff a guy out since you can't keep raising.

Or maybe you already made your hand on the flop, want to collect the pot, and don't want to see any more cards. Yet the guy you are up against keeps calling, and can eventually make a better hand. When your hand is made, you don't want to see any more cards.

In Limit, you can't really deter someone from seeing all the cards. This is also why, in Limit, you NEED to play the best hands. AA, KK, QQ, or AK. Suited preferably.

In No-Limit, you CAN deter someone from seeing more cards. You CAN throw money at the pot to do so. In Limit, oftentimes, there is only one way to win. Have the best hand. In No-Limit, there are 2 ways to win every hand. Have the best hand, OR make everyone else fold.

This is done through raising. And raising again. Phil Hellmuth once called No-Limit Hold'em, "Playing chess with a sledgehammer." That's about right.

As I said, there are TONS of books that cover Limit Hold'em. It is said it is best for beginners, because you can learn the ins and outs of the game without losing a “lot” of money. This is a farce, because to the beginner, an Ace-8 off-suit hand looks pretty good. They have an ace! Without some luck, they aren't going to win with that hand.

At a $2/$4 table, that could cost the beginner upwards of $60 if he decided the pair of aces he flopped was the best hand out there and decided to raise each bet to the cap. The beginner is thinking, "It's a wonder this other dumbass keeps raising my raises. Boy is he going to be surprised when I show him my pair of aces."

What Joe Beginner doesn't realize, is most "good" Limit players won't even play a hand unless they have AA, KK, AK, QQ, AQ, AJ, and even A10. What Joe Beginner is up against is someone else that owns an ace, AND the kicker. Joe might get lucky, and catch the 8 and have 2-pair. Or the board could fill up, and there will be a split, but more often than not, he is drawing dead.

In Limit Hold'em, it really comes down to how good your starting hands are. Then after that, it's determining pot odds against hand odds to see whether you should stay in, or get out. You really can't bluff, and it's VERY tough to steal pots.

Most importantly, they don't play it on TV.

No-Limit on ESPN is what got you interested in Poker, and that is why you are reading this. I hope. "No fold'em" Hold'em is a good game. At the higher blinds, it is just as competitive, and that is where most "poker professionals" make their money.

Playing 10/20 or 20/40 is a good way to make money to live off of if you know what you are doing. You absolutely HAVE to play good starting hands if you are throwing in a 20-spot, or more, each bet. You do, because at that level, you KNOW the other guy is playing a good starting hand. There aren't going to be a lot of guys at the table of a 10/20 game that will play 9 7 os, without being in the big blind.

As I said, there are many books about the subject of limit Hold'em. All the big players, Brunson, Sklansky etc. have them out for your reading pleasure. If you are a beginner, ANYTHING you read on the subject of poker will make you a better player. Reading is great, but playing is kind of like on the job training. And it's a lot more fun.

Definitions

I am going to define some terms that I will be using throughout the rest of the book. These definitions will make reading about, and learning poker, a LOT easier. I'm sure you know most of the terms, but if you don't, take the time to read through them, or just refer back to them later if you don't understand something I say later on in the book.

FLOP:

The three community cards that are turned over after the initial round of betting.

TURN:

The 4th community card. Also known as Fourth Street.

RIVER:

The 5th and last community card. Also known as Fifth Street.

SUITED:

Two or more cards of the same suit, i.e. Clubs, Spades, Hearts, Diamonds. In poker literature, suited is noted with a small "s". As in, Ace-King suited would be, "A Ks".

OS:

The abbreviation for off-suit. Also can be abbreviated o. As in A9os, or A7o.

CONNECTOR:

Two cards that are within 4 cards of each other so as to possibly make a straight. AK, JT, A2 are all connectors, as are Q8, 62, etc. The connectors that are "touching each other", i.e., JT, 78, are better to have as they can pick up the straight on the low, and high side. There are no gaps between them.

SUITED CONNECTORS:

Same as a connector, only suited also. 87s for example. These are powerful cards as you have the straight, the flush, and the straight flush in play, pre-flop. These cards usually give you a lot of "outs".

OUTS:

The number of cards that are theoretically left in the deck to complete your hand, or give you "the nuts". Outs coincide with Hand Odds to give you your percentage chance of drawing the, hopefully, winning card.

THE NUTS:

A Poker term for the best hand possible in a given hand. You are always hoping to get The Nuts. You can't lose if you have the "Nut Hand". Unless you fold. Used as an adjective in terms such as "Nut Flush", "Nut Straight", and "Nut Trips".

HAND ODDS:

The odds of getting the card that completes your hand. This is a theoretical number at best, but it gives you something to go by, to see if the pot is worth it to try drawing the card you need.

AA:

Notation for aces as your starting hand. Also known as Pocket Rockets or Bullets. The best starting hand in Hold'em.

AK:

Ace-King or Ace-King suited (AK s). Nickname is "The Big Slick".

FULL BOAT or BOAT:

A full house.

POT ODDS:

The % worth you are getting for your bet. If it only costs you $10 to possibly win $100, you are getting "10-1 Pot Odds". This term is more used in Limit Hold 'em than No-Limit.

SIT'N GO (SNG):

A 1-table game where everyone gets the same amount of chips for a set buy-in. The game is played in tournament format with increasing blinds every 10 hands. 10 to a table at PartyPoker, 9 at PokerStars. Top 3 spots win money.

RING GAME:

A table where the same folks play the same poker for the same blinds all the time. People can get up and leave at any time, and new folks can come in. You can also re-buy in if you are out of money. This is the kind of game most often played at card clubs.

MULTI-TABLE:

A poker tournament that includes more than one table. As people are eliminated, everyone moves down to one, final table.

SATELLITE:

A tournament, often a qualifier, held online to get into a bigger tournament that is held LIVE in a casino. For online play, any tournament can be considered a satellite tournament, as no one is actually playing "together". Each satellite is someone playing from the comfort of his/her home.

HOME GAME:

A game of poker played between you and your friends. Often there is a lot of bluffing; everyone stays in to see every card, and lower stakes. Not exactly "real" poker.

POSITION:

The spot on the table where you are sitting in relation to the dealer "button". To the left of the button are the small blind and big blind. The first 4 or 5 spots are said to be in "early position". The person on the button is in the best position, because he gets to see how everyone else has bet when it finally comes to his turn. On the button and two to the right are said to be in "late position". All other spots, in a 9 or 10 person ring, are said to be "middle position". Playing "In Position" is the single-most important poker skill that beginners lack, or understand. Early position is bad, late position is good.

UNDER THE GUN (UTG):

The first position after the big blind. It is the first position to bet before the flop and the 3rd to bet after the flop. Designated position #3 in this book.

POT COMMITTED:

If you have put a lot of chips into a pot, you are said to be pot committed. Pot committed is a fallacy, and should not be used as an excuse.

TILT/ TILTED:

A player is said to be "on tilt" after they start betting crazy. Usually after having taken a bad beat. You need to learn to control your emotions and avoid going on tilt.

BAD BEAT:

A bad beat is when you lose a hand that you were leading and the other guy catches a card against all odds. Taking bad beats often leads to elimination, or more often, playing on tilt.