Learn Texas Holdem

Question: Ive been playin 2 months now, no limit texas holdem with my friends. What are some tips for winning more money? Answer: My next article on here will be about beginner no limit holdem starting. My focus will be on home games and also small buyin games online. I'll include a few tips here though that should help out (You may also want to check out the section on limit versus no limit if you have experience in limit poker already):

1. Learn Some Odds - to play no limit well, you need to understand what implied odds are as well as the odds for catching draws (straights, flushes, etc). That's not much of a tip but I'll mention it here since it is so important. One key point is the implied odds question in no limit. The max you can make from someone on a hand is the amount of chips they have or you have (depending on who has a bigger stack). Because of that sometimes it is correct to make plays you wouldn't in limit, because you can put someone in a trapping situation where they will blow their whole stack to you. Calculating implied odds in no limit also has to take into account how obvious your hand will be and how much someone might pay you off. A flush draw is blatant so your opponent will have to have a very good hand, or be a bad player, to pay you off huge if you hit. Straights are more disguised and sets are the best.
   
2. Learn To Vary Your Play - what makes money in no limit holdem is when you can put a player in one of two situations -- they are trapped and can't fold their hand or you've been playing deceptively so they have to call you even though they think there is a good chance you do have what they suspect. That is how you get paid off. Varying your play means that you don't only raise preflop with AA, KK, AK, etc. Varying your play also means that you know the difference between a tough game that requires you to play good cards and a weak passive game that allows you to play garbage hands preflop.
   
3. Don't Get Trapped - this is the biggest no limit tip I can give is to not lose your whole stack when you get a good starting hand. When I look down and see AA or KK the first thing that goes through my mind is that either I'm going to win a small pot or lose a big one. You don't want to consider your cards and anchor pulling you down to the bottom. Many newbie no limit holdem players think that AA is the end all hand. It isn't! AA is the best STARTING hand. After the flop anything can win and always going down with your good hands guarantees a losing player. The best case scenario for you if you have AA or KK is that someone else has a good starting hand too and you can put them all-in preflop and then play heads up. One thing you will notice at lower limit no limit games is that people are very unlikely to give lots of action after the flop with only one pair. They will call you but to raise, reraise and go all-in is rare (and if they do this often you'll be able to pick up on it). If you have AA and have some guy going all-in against you after you have raised preflop, it is likely that you are beat. That doesn't mean fold everytime but it does mean that you shouldn't consider AA or KK a hand that you'll always showdown.
   
4. Play In Good Games - there are plenty of games available these days so why pick a game that is tough with no action? Pick a game where everyone is the same skill level you are and the limit is comfortable. You do not want to constantly think about the money you lost or won so play in a limit that your bankroll can take. Progress slowly and build a nice fat bankroll so even you get hammered a few days or even weeks you'll be fine.
   
5. Watch Your Players Play - this is another big tip, especially for no limit holdem. You need to remember what people did on previous hands so you it can clue you into what they may have now. The worst thing you can do is read a book or watch tv while the game is going and then only enter it when you have a hand. The best thing you can do is be attentive and watch for when people raise preflop and what they have, how they play it afterwards if they have a good or bad hand, if they bluff, if they are capable of folding a decent hand to a bluff, etc. No limit is more of a person to person game then limit holdem and the ability to play your opponent takes precedence over the cards (sometimes). Knowing when to push hands makes you a tough player and paying attention to the game signals you when the opportunities arise.
   
6. Know Your Table Image - in no limit holdem you are setting people up with your play. You need to know what your table image is so you can better milk your good hands, push some bluffs, and steer clear of getting trapped. When you are in tune with the game you can often times make moves that other people will misread and then misplay because of. Here is an example of that... When I play, people consider me to at least know my way around the game. Because of that I sometimes mix up the amount I bet into them or raise which throws them off. They assume that if I really had what I am trying to make them think I have, then I would have put in more money; because of this they reraise me and I trap them. For example, let's say I have a drawing hand and I know that they have a big pair. I catch it on the turn or river. I check raise or bet a relatively small amount into them. They consider that a weak play -- as if I'm trying to bluff them but I don't have the balls to put all my chips out there. They go all-in trying to snap off my "bluff" and I gleefully call. I can do that because I know how he sees my play (table image). A lessor opponent might not think on so many levels but you would be surprised how often things like this work.

That's about all I will list here since the next article will cover no limit tips in depth. I tried to list some common tips as well as some less talked about ones. Happy hunting!