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But what i've seen is that there are several players that are in that limit day-in and day-out. They play multi tables and always show down winning hands. So i'm guessing that they basically wait for a hand and try to trap. Now my question is, "do you think that this is a good strategy"?. " and if this isn't a good strategy what is a good one to beat this type of limit?" I've seen these players and they are usually up 1k ,2, sometimes 3 or 4k depending on the cards. I'm only 18, been thinking about playing holdem professionally for about 4 years now. So any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You.

Jay.

Answer:

Let me answer your questions before I get into some general tips/concepts.

I like the fact that you are watching the games. You'll learn a lot of what works and what doesn't just by doing that. Keep your eye on the players who are there day-after-day. They will most likely be the winners.

Yes, playing solid cards is the way to win. It doesn't matter how well you play, even if you are a world class player, in the long run you can't beat a bad player who only plays good cards -- ate least not for much. What you'll notice with the winning players is that whenever they are involved in a big pot, they have a solid hand. Winning poker is a matter of waiting for good hands and getting paid off on them. The bigger you play, the harder it is to get paid off on the hands, so you have to do some things to mix up your game and become less predictable. So if you notice a weird hand here and there from an otherwise good player, that is the reason. He/she is most likely raising that only to mix up their game. You wouldn't want to over do that. Next, I'm not sure in every hand they are trying to trap. Usually you'll have a some trapping hands, but most of the pots will be played with them as the aggressor.

If you are serious about playing and willing to put in the time to learn, there is no reason why you can't do it professionally. Start slow and play within your bankroll. The number one reason why players don't make it is because they play outside their means, take a run of bad cards, and lose it all. I've done that so many times it isn't even funny. Ego is hard to manage too. The more you win the more confidence you have.

The problem with that though, is that it can put you games where you shouldn't play. Try to always pick juicy games with some fish, where you have a big edge. Don't sit in a big game with players just as good as you and flip racks. Also, realize that your game is a constantly evolving, changing thing. You'll never just have everything figured out. It will always be a battle where you are learning and adapting.

Next, I'd play more than one game. Playing more than one card game really changes your perspective on games you already thought you had wired. Along with this, learn to play full tables, shorthanded, threehanded and heads up poker. Even at middle and upper limits, some players don't like one or the other, and being able to do both is a real asset. And the last tip before I get into the specific no limit holdem advice, is that you should understand that as you move up the ranks in limits, you'll need to learn some new skills. I didn't know that before and it was a long time before I learned. I was frustrated because what worked at the lower limits didn't work at the middle limits. Then that happened again from middle to upper. The game stays the same, just some parts of it are different -- important parts. Key Traits For Beating Bigger No Limit Holdem Games

I'm just going to list these in my normal rambling way -- no order.

1. Avoiding paying off better hands. This involves laying down big hands now and then. This is easier to do if you are thinking clearly and not on tilt. (To avoid tilt you need to get plenty of rest and know yourself...don't play when you aren't playing your A game.) A good hand isn't a death sentence. You aren't the captain going down with the ship. At any point in any hand, you can fold. Remember that it is just as important to save bets on hands that you'll lose as it is to win a pot. If you notice that, over a long period of time, you're just winning pots and then giving them right back, you are probably playing too many hands and paying off other player's good hands too much. A good player is both aggressive yet capable of folding.

2. Not playing just your own hand anymore but also the opponent's hand. What this means is that you aren't just basing your moves on how your cards match up with the flop. You are basing your actions on what you have and what you think your opponent has, and even what you think he thinks you have. Why is this important? Because it means that you don't always have to have the best hand to win. Your opponents are thinking and you can exploit that.

3. Position. Good poker players use position. Position isn't a replacement for good cards, it just supplements your game. Position is important because you can see what your opponent does before you do something. This coupled with playing your opponents card's and not just your own and you can leverage it with careful but aggressive bets at the right time to steal. Many no limit holdem pots are won solely because one player has position on the other player. Think about someone who raises preflop with a hand like TT-QQ. Someone else calls from behind. The flop has an ace.

This is a situation where an expert player might win the pot with any two cards. It will be very hard for someone to bet again after the player called the initial flop bet. Now I'm not advocating playing any two cards. All I'm saying is to beat bigger games, especially no limit games, one of the best assets you have is exploiting position to help you with reads. When you get a read, then you can use a measured, aggressive bet to win the pot. So this tip is about both position and bluffing. Bluffing becomes a bigger part of the game the higher you play. The main reason is that the players are thinking more, which makes it easier to get them to fold. Don't overdo the bluffing, just learn when and how to do it.

The start of that is using position. It is much easier to get someone to fold after they have checked to you, basically saying, "I don't want to bet this round (for whatever reason)." Likewise, many pots can be won if you are the last person to act in a multi-way pot after everyone checks.

4. Bankroll. It's common to be in for multiple buy-ins and still have a winning day at these games. If you just try to test the waters without enough money, usually that alone will be a big enough factor to guarantee you losing. Poker has variance and unless you are really lucky, the natural ups-and-downs will wipe you out, if you don't have enough cash.

5. Reading player types. In a no limit game winning players come in different forms, unlike limit holdem. The game allows for more flexibility and trickiness. The starting hand range that players play preflop can vary a lot, for one. The better the opponents, the more difficult decisions you'll be faced with. How you deal with these tough tests is to rely on your knowledge of that player. You want to get in their head. For example, one player may be willing to play big pots with you without much of a hand, while another player may only put in that much money when they have a monster. Generally speaking players are predictable and they work within their player type. If a guy plays too many hands and bluffs too much, he'll generally continue to do that.

6. Being the bettor and not the caller. I harp on this point throughout this site. Initiative, being the person leading in a pot, has more and more value the bigger you play -- especially structures like no limit. Take an example like 99. Say you raise with 99 and someone else calls with the same hand. The flop comes back AK4. You bet at it once, hoping to represent an A or K. Now, what does your opponent do? Can he even call once? Probably not. This is what we call a "marginal situation." In these hands, which there will be plenty of, the person who bets at the flop first generally wins. For him to overtake you in the hand he would have to not only call the flop but also bet into a scary board. Now, this isn't to say you never call, it just means you would prefer to be the bettor if possible. There are plenty of pots that you'll make calls in. Most of the preflop hands you play though, should start with you raising, not calling someone else's raise.

7. You need to be capable of making a big laydown. No limit holdem isn't a game that you can win in if you just take the approach you'll pay off hands that beat your good cards. The flop, turn and river can change everything. It is important to remain objective and remember that the overall goal is to win, not win this specific hand. AA and KK can turn to crap after a bad flop. I see this a lot, even with good players. It is obvious that another tight player has them beat to be reraising an uncoordinated, low flop, yet the player still pays it off with the big pair only to lose to a set. You'll lose some hands no matter what you do, the important part to learn is how to avoid losing the obvious ones.

8. Along with understanding player types, you need to also be in tune with how they are feeling. This is harder online than offline. A player's emotional state directly affects how they play. Let me give you two examples. If in a live game I notice that a good player is really off their game or running badly, I'll be more likely to bluff or push hands against them. (That sounds mean but it isn't. Poker is about mind games and manipulation is part of that, by definition.) The reason this works is because the person is already so pessimistic that they are thinking about what could beat them, not what you actually have. Secondly, if I notice a person is really on tilt, I would bet more money into them in a no limit structure. Overbetting does a couple things. First of all, you will most likely get paid off more on the hand. The guy is much more likely to make a bad call if he is on tilt. Secondly, if you are already upset and someone is betting big amounts into you, that seems personal, which furthers his tilting. (Again sounds mean, but isn't...)

9. Learn some tricks. You need to be able to play hands in some ways that you may not know how to right now. Three examples of this are defense, information and deception. An example of a defensive bet in no limit would be if a flush, straight or any other scary card hits you bet some, so that if the person does actually have that hand they have to at least double your original bet to win the pot, at which point you could fold. This helps you to prevent getting bluffed out by checking. Say you have KK and someone calls until the river and an Ace hits. Instead of checking, a bet would be better. It doesn't have to be huge, just enough.

If that person doesn't have the Ace, flush or whatever, they will be just as afraid of it as you are and not raise. It may appear to them that you have that hand and are just trying to get paid off. If they do have that hand, then you'll know when they raise. If they can raise you in this pot as a total bluff, good for them. An example of a bet for information would be if you have a hand like 99 and the flop has one overcard. If the original raiser bets into you and the flop is Queen, Jack or Ten high, then sometimes a raise is your best play to "see where you are at." Your play is for information only. If the player reraises you can fold.

Lastly, playing a hand deceptively could mean you overbet a hand, underbet it, check when you should bet, bet when you should check, etc. An example might be that you just cold call (just call) another player's preflop raise when you hold KK or AA, with the intention of raising later. Another example of deception might be doing the opposite: playing a hand fast instead of slow. Say you call with a small pair and hit a flop. Instead of raising later, you may come out leading into the opponent with a bet on the flop.

This generally is viewed as a "test the waters" kind of bet. Your opponent, hopefully with a big pair at the time, will most likely call the flop bet and raise the turn or raise right then, at which point you can nail him. I enjoy no limit holdem because of the deception part of it. I like limit and pot limit too, but for different reasons. No limit allows you to play with your opponent's mind more.

10. Multi-tabling is good in some ways but bad in others. The good point about it is that you are seeing more hands per hour, which means you get to play more good hands more quickly. The bad thing is that doesn't necessarily translate into making more money in a no limit game. When you multi-table your game usually becomes mechanical. You wait for good hands and bet them. You don't spend as much time on each decision and you aren't watching the table as much. As a general rule, consider a player who is playing multiple tables to be tighter than someone only playing one.

So those are ten tips to help you out. Read as much literature as you can -- books, websites, magazines, etc. Also, talk with other players as much as you can and get their take on things. To play winning poker once in a while isn't nearly as hard as doing it day in and day out. To do that you'll have to figure out where your strengths and weaknesses are and try to work within those. Learn how long you can usuallly play before you decision making goes down hill. Learn what games you play best in and what is the hardest. If it is hard for you, try to understand why and how you can learn from it.

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