Richard Brodie

Until a few years ago, players interested in learning poker would start out by playing in fixed-limit games. Most casinos and card rooms only offered Limit Hold ‘em or Limit Stud, so players had to get used to the dynamics of structured betting. But now, many players are jumping directly into No-Limit. There’s nothing wrong with this approach, but lately, I’ve seen a lot of players at the Limit tables who are applying big-bet principles to fixed-limit games. They’re making big mistakes that reflect their inexperience with limit betting.

In No-Limit, the biggest mistake you can make is putting money in a pot when drawing dead or very slim. Usually, by the turn or river, you’ll face large bets that threaten your entire stack, so calling on a second-best hand is a huge error. In Limit Hold ‘em, however, the biggest mistake you can make is folding the best hand on the river. By the river in Limit Hold ‘em, you’re often getting odds of 9, 10, or 11 to 1 to make a call. Given these odds, it’s often proper to call on the river with some very modest holdings, even if there’s only a small chance that you can pick off a bluff and win the pot at showdown.

For example, say you’re playing in a short-handed Limit Hold ‘em game and you raise on the button with As-7s. A very aggressive opponent in the big blind calls. The flop comes Jd-8d-7c, giving you bottom pair. The big blind checks, you bet, and are check-raised. On this board, there are a variety of straight draws and flush draws. An aggressive opponent could be raising on any number of hands, so you’d need to call this raise or even consider three-betting.

If the turn brings a scary card, say the Td, you can fold, as there are very few hands you can now beat. However, if the turn is a blank, like the 2c, you’re probably going to be in a position where you’d need to call your opponent down. Third pair isn’t much, but it will win at showdown enough of the time to make the call worthwhile.

In No-Limit, you’d probably want to fold if you were check-raised while holding bottom pair. It would cost too much to figure out whether or not you were ahead. But in Limit, your total liability in the hand is only two more big bets, making the call worthwhile.

The other major error I see from No-Limit players who move to Limit is that they fail to play enough hands from the big blind. In a recent tip, Jennifer Harman discussed big blind play in Limit Hold ‘em in some detail. She suggested playing a lot of hands from the big blind, including any two cards that can make a straight. Jennifer’s an expert player, and you might be better off being a little more selective than she is. But still, you should be playing a lot more hands from the blinds in Limit than you would in No-Limit.

Think of it in terms of odds. In a Limit game, you’ll be getting 3.5 to 1 to call a single raise from the big blind (two small bets from the raiser, your big blind, and the small blind). Plus, in many games, you can count on the pre-flop raiser to follow up with a bet on the flop, whether he hit or not. That gives you odds of 4.5 to 1. If the raiser is an aggressive player in late position, you can’t give him credit for much of hand to start with, so, even a hand like 5-6 off-suit is often good enough to play from the big blind.

In No-Limit, you probably want to fold the same hand and wait for a better spot. But this is the type of adaptation you’ll need to make if you want to master all forms of poker, including Limit and No-Limit. If you’re moving from No-Limit poker to Limit, keep in mind that you’re going to be calling opponents down more often and that you’re going to want to play many more hands from the big blind.

Steve Brecher

In No-Limit Hold ‘em, drawing hands can be very difficult to play out of position. Most beginners take a straightforward approach when they flop something like a straight or a flush draw; they check, then call a bet and hope the turn brings something helpful. But, simply check-calling can present difficulties later in a hand. If you miss on the turn, you’ll probably have to check and, oftentimes, end up facing a turn bet that is too large to call. Any bet of normal size in relation to the pot will be too large because the odds against hitting your hand are typically more than 4-to-1.

The problems don’t end there. What happens if you check-call the flop, then hit your draw on the turn? If you check the turn, your opponent might very well check behind you, fearing that you hit. If you lead at the pot, you’re pretty much announcing that you made your hand and your opponent might fold. So, even if you hit, you may not get paid in proportion to the risk you took by calling on a draw.

Rather than check-call, I often like to check-raise when I flop a draw out of position. This sort of situation comes up most frequently when playing from the blinds. For example, say that I’m in the big blind with Ad-6d and I call a raise from a late position player who popped it to three times the big blind. The flop, Td-5d-3s, gives me the nut flush draw.

After calling from the blind, I’d expect to check the flop almost every time. It’s the natural progression of the hand: my opponent took the lead pre-flop and I’m going to allow him to keep it. I’d expect him to make a continuation bet most of the time, even when he misses the flop completely. Most aggressive players will stab at small pots in these situations.

If he does bet, this is the perfect kind of flop for a check-raise. It’s likely that my opponent raised with two big cards – something like A-K or A-Q – and, if that’s the case, he’s missed this flop completely and will almost certainly fold to the check-raise. Or, if he’s got something like A-T or K-T, he may be worried that he’s run into a bigger hand and he’ll likely just call the raise.

If he does call the check-raise, I can then make a decision on the turn. Sometimes I’ll check and sometimes I’ll lead out, regardless of whether I hit my draw. If I missed, I may continue the semi-bluff or I may check with the hope that my check-raise on the flop was sufficient to make my opponent nervous and get me a free river card. If I hit, I may choose to continue my aggressive play and put my opponent to a decision or, I may check, deceptively representing fear of my opponent’s having the draw.

Of course, things won’t always work out. If the initial raiser has something like pocket Aces or a set, I’m likely to be re-raised and shut out of the hand. But nothing works out every time in poker.

Try varying your play when you flop draws. Look for opportunities to check-raise. It may be the best way to proceed with a draw when playing out of position.