3 random things you can do to improve your no limit game

1. Watch Ripptyde play an SnG. When he's on his game it's a riot to watch and will open your eyes to just how closely most hands run in value, how many pots are up for sale even against fairly call-happy opposition and that tourney poker is as much a game of stacks and blinds as it is about cards. One of the great moments in my Vegas trip was watching Eric (a move-in specialist) in utter shock as Rippy kept moving-in in front of him. Eric's brother was also in disbelief.

2. Learn to play limit hold'em. It will given you a far greater understanding of the odds and quickly beat you into learning to cope with bad beats. Also, it's far easier to find a live cash limit game than a no limit game.

3. Read Mike Caro's section on 5 card draw in Super System, and/or his section in Super System 2. Lots of great stuff on value and thinking beyond just cards + action. Consider that Mike mastered a game with very little action to base his decisions on.

actually, in my town, it's much harder to find a limit cash game than a NL game (cash or tourney) nowadays. which is why i'm starting to get into NL.

i absolutely agree that playing other variants of poker will hone skills useful to your personal game of choice. let's not forget good old 7 card stud! i started as a stud player and found it unbelievably easy to read the board when i switched to hold em. because in stud you have to read 4-5 at the same time.

ChezJ

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2. Learn to play limit hold'em. It will given you a far greater understanding of the odds and quickly beat you into learning to cope with bad beats. Also, it's far easier to find a live cash limit game than a no limit game.

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OH GAWD

When you begin to realize that post flop play is more important than starting hand selection in NL, you're on your way.

Of course, playing the premier hands mechanically wins money, but taking a gamble with 45s and hitting a monster flop, does as well.

If someone like Daniel Negreanu wrote a book on position and post flop play, the world of poker would be changed.

Is it easier to convert to NL from Limit or Limit to NL? I'm a limit plater mostly (but i do play NL SnGs). Have a friend who has never played limit that is trying it out for the first time. I guess a solid player can do both... but I dunno. I never seem to do well in NL cash games...

I say you should stick to either NL or L unless you have a gigantic bankroll and can afford to pay for your tuition or you have mastered either to a world-class degree. Otherwise you're gonna stunt your own growth in both.

Two great points made above that bear repeating:

1. Learn limit. It does help and you can win far more than 2BB/hr when you get a live table. And the beats you take are a real hoot but usually not for your whole stack.

2. Post-flop play is just as important, if not more important, than starting hand selection

I switched to limit for a few thousand hands over the last few days, and I just got finished winning a few shorthanded NL SnGs in a row. One thing I feel that limit taught me is how hands hold up over multiple opponents, and when a smooth call is o.k. Previously, if I hit top pair or two pair, I would immediately come out betting hard and raising big. Conversely, opponents smooth calling me was the way I bled a lot of chips. However, when you are the heavy favorite, sometimes the amount you can win by playing it a little slower is worth the slight risk of being drawn out. In limit, you have no choice but to drag a few hands along to the river. Bad beats definately happen, but if you think you're ahead you usually are. How valuable do you guys think the smooth call is in NL against very aggressive opponents with good hands and non-scary boards?