05- 3-04, LearnTexasHoldem:

Sklanskys Hand Rankings For No Limit

Question: I've read Sklanskys book and have studied his tables and others similiar. I was wondering how my use of these tables would change if I'm in a no-limit game compared to a limit game. Sklansky made reference to it in his book, but did not elaborate. Would I play tighter or looser in a no-limit game?

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Answer: That's an excellent question. I'm not sure what angle I should take to answer it though so I'll make a few points:

1. I'm not a big fan of tables, especially for no limit games. Knowing that AK is better then AQs isn't that much of a help to me. Or knowing that QQ is in the second hand grouping isn't much help when someone raises all-in preflop. Instead you need to be able to put someone on a hand. Limit holdem is very mechanical and no limit is much more of a player oriented game. And because you can lose your whole stack or double through at any time, your play changes. You aren't interested so much in winning lots of small pots, you just want to trap someone in a big one.

2. I would suggest instead of memorizing tables, look for the underlying concepts. So instead of memorizing that 78s should be played only in X position, you understand the reasons why it does well in certain scenarios. Most of the concepts between limit and no limit are the same regarding preflop play. For example, 78s hand you wouldn't want to call a big bet preflop for heads up play. That's the kind of hand you want a lot of people in on before you call since you need a big flop to continue.

3. For no limit poker, I think there are a few concepts that dictate winning play more then hand rankings. I'm going to put a article together on beginning no limit strategy but a few of them are as follows. Number one is losing a big pot or winning a small pot. Next, is pot odds and knowing when or when not to draw. Another one is deception and getting people to push their money in at the wrong time. Lastly, you need to be able to pick up on peoples play and then use it against them.

As for playing tighter or looser, the hands you value change. For example, cards like KQ, AJ and KJ go down in value but hands like 88, 77 and even 22 go up in value. The reason is if you hit a set, you are almost guaranteed to win a big pot if you are against a preflop raiser. On the other hand with the big face cards that aren't AK, AQ, you are either going to lose a big pot or win a small one.

Check back in a few days and I'll have the no limit strategy article up. Also you may want to check out the differences between limit and no limit here.

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