NO-LIMIT AND POT-LIMIT POKER
In no-limit poker, the bet size is limited only by the number of chips you have on the table.
You can bet all your chips at any time.
So, typically, the bets on later betting rounds are much larger than the bets on the early rounds.
This makes no-limit poker a game of implied odds.
If you can see the flop cheaply, many hands are worth calling a small pre-flop bet because if you get lucky with the flop, you can get a very large payoff.
I’m going to point out a couple of major strategic differences.
You need to think about things a little differently in no-limit.
DON’T CALL
In a limit game, whenever I’m faced with a decision about a call I always first think about raising.
In a big-bet game, whenever I’m faced with a decision about a call, I always first think about folding.
That’s the main difference between the two structures.
Am I Beaten?
In pot-limit or no-limit, you always have to ask yourself, “Am I beaten?” Do not ask what are the odds that I’m beaten; ask, “Am I beaten?” There is a huge difference between those questions.
I started playing casino poker in no-limit games. When I later played limit games.
I didn’t start being a consistent winner in them until I stopped asking myself the “Am I beaten?” question.
If you move from limit games to no-limit, you won’t become a winner until you do ask that question.
POT-LIMIT
A related form of betting structure is pot-limit.
In pot-limit you can bet any amount up to the size of the pot, so you can’t make a really big bet in pot-limit unless you’ve first made the pot large.
That puts slow play as a premium tactic in pot-limit.
Other than the extra importance of slow plays, pot-limit and no-limit are very similar.
Pick the Right Table / Picking a Seat / Theories of Poker / Betting Theory: The Odds
A Theory of Starting Hand Value
A Theory of Flop Play: Counting Outs and Evaluating Draws
The Dynamics of Game Conditions / Table Image / Player Stereotypes
Women and Poker / Spread-Limit Games / Double Bet on the End Games / Kill Games
