Poker Strategy: No Limit Hold’em
What are the two most powerful words in poker? I’m all-in.
You can win or lose entire stacks in a single hand of No Limit Hold’em, and this excitement accounts for much of the popularity of the game. It’s not just a contest of having the best hand when all the chips go in the middle though. Well before that point, you should have created a plan for every street of the hand and formulated – in advance – your responses to every action your opponent takes. This isn’t magic but rather a science, and we’ll show you how to do it right. The articles below cover starting hand selection, the advantages of being aggressive, the stack-to-pot ratio, preflop three-betting, and the other concepts that you must master before you can truly become a proficient practitioner of NLHE. Once you achieve a certain level of skill, you’ll find yourself with numerous opportunities to practice it because No Limit Texas Hold’em is currently the most commonly spread form of poker in the world.
Featured No Limit Hold’em Articles
Most Recent No Limit Hold’em Articles
How to Determine Whether or Not to Call an All-in Bet
A tricky spot in poker tournaments is deciding whether to call when your opponent has gone all-in. You need to carefully consider the pot odds to determine how much equity you need to proceed. Then compare your hand against his range to find out if you have the needed equity.
NLHE Foundations #03: Calling to Close the Action in No-Limit Hold’em
This is the third installment in the No-Limit Hold'em Foundations Course. Before you read this lesson, you should have completed lesson 1 and lesson 2, and this includes doing the exercises and posting them in the forum threads for each lesson. Also make sure to sign...
Preparation in Poker
In the context of poker, preparation could mean a number of different things, but we're going to focus specifically on a few instances here. First, we're going to look at how to and the advantages of preparing when you make a bet or raise. Second, we'll expand this to...
Blind Stealing 101
A few people have been posting stats threads lately and I've seen a trend that really needs to be addressed. Most of the people I've seen stats on are not stealing blinds nearly enough, and aren't defending their blinds nearly enough. I've decided to type up something...
Developing a Feel for Equities in No-Limit Hold’em Part 4: The Basics of the Turn
This is the fourth part in a series dealing with the key ideas that can be used to accelerate the process of gaining a feel for equities in different spots. In this week's edition, we're going to discuss some major cases for when the turn comes and how you can use...
Developing a Feel for Equities in No-Limit Hold’em Part 3: Hitting the Flop
In last week's article, we looked at some of the reasons why equity isn't the end-all, be-all of evaluating how two ranges will perform against each other. With that out of the way, we're going to be able to get into the nitty gritty aspects of the things you can work...
A Post About Bluffing
Bluffing is an integral, exciting part of poker. Defending against suspected opponent bluffs is no less important to your overall strategy. But becoming too focused on bluffs to the exclusion of other considerations can lead you straight to the poorhouse.
Exploitation and the FTC Theorem
Progression through the micros naturally trends us toward unbalanced lines. We start playing basic TAGG, then learn to steal blinds more, to cbet more. Hey, it works. When we face better competition at 100nl or higher, the lack of balance is very exploitable. Trust me...
ISF – Predicting the Future and a Hand For Analysis
We are on the river with 97s on a JJ922 board. Our opponent has bet 3/4ths the pot into us, and we are put in a tough spot. We know from the past streets that our hand look weak and our donk opponent, who seems to never fold (ever), could easily have a J, 2, overpair,...
Brush Up Your Semi-Bluff, and Bring Home the Bacon
Knowing how and when to semi-bluff can increase your poker winnings. The advantages of semi-bluffing include you being able to control the pot, force your opponents to fold, slow the action and win big pots. With so many benefits, semi-bluffing needs to be incorporated into your playing regime!
Advanced Value Betting in Simple Scenarios With Game Theory
In order to value bet successfully on the river, you need to analyze your opponent’s calling range. Thinking about unexploitable bluffing and calling frequencies can be helpful. Be sure not to value bet hands that will win less than half the time that your opponent calls.
Adjusting to PokerStars Buy-in Levels
Recently the world's largest poker site, PokerStars, announced the way they were handling the minimum/maximum buy-in amounts at their cash game tables. This mainly affects NL/PL Hold'em as well as Pot-Limit Omaha games as shallow/deep stacks in limit games means next...
ISF – There’s No Such Thing As a Made Hand: Part 2
In an article from a few months ago, I explained the real differences between draws and made hands. In summary, draws and made hands weren’t simply names for hands, but actually each of them have certain equity qualities versus different ranges. Made hands were then...
Essential Examples of Blockers in Poker
A good place to start working with ranges is looking at blockers, why they matter, how they work and what you can do with them.
Developing a Feel for Equities in No-Limit Hold’em Part 1: Draws in Your Range
In order to become a top No Limit Hold’em player, you need to learn to consider how different flops affect the equity of your range and your opponent’s range. It turns out that adding draws to a range on the flop doesn’t drastically lower that ranges equity.
