No limit hold-em is considered the Cadillac of poker. This is the most popular form of poker and for good reason, it gives you the needed freedom to comeback if your in a pinch or instantly super stack your chips. Many players complain that limit hold-em is too slow and throws off their strategy of playing the player. The slow paced nature of limit does lower the chances of any dramatic (and exciting) lead shifts. The obvious limitations in limit hold-em are apparent. No-Limit hold em, however, has taken off as one of the most popular card games out there. The advantage of playing a No-Limit game is the fact that you can go all in (placing all your chips on one play) and significantly increase your stack size (depending on how many people are in the hand) and may even make you the chip leader. That would be a near impossible task in limit hold em. That is another downfall of limited bet games, they take painfully long and the power shifts are slower as well. So, grab your cards and go all in, just make sure the timing is right.
While many seasoned players will tell you that poker is a game of skill and finesse, new entrants sometimes act like a “donkey.” A donkey is a term used to describe poker players who call anything, play loose and generously haphazard. They are the newbies at the table and are doing a bit too much experimenting with play and playing a careless game. These players are easy to spot and beat at their own games. Donkeys are those players who are new and haven’t yet developed the innate sense of playing a good game of poker, so they will just play wild to the dismay of other players at the table. The best way to deal with these players who call loose and bet heavy is to wait til you get an above average hand and to ride out the wave with the donkey. Nothing is guaranteed, but this strategy will allow you to feel out the this players game (or lack thereof) and appropriately match their style. It also teaches them a good lesson when they get busted betting big with their 9-4 off suit. Good luck and be careful when dealing with donkeys, they can be (unwittingly) dangerous at the tables..
Slow playing a hand is so often not properly executed by many rookies. But, the pros know how to slow play and that is part of what gives them an advantage over the donkies at the table. It is through experience that the newbie will actually appreciate the slow played hand. Basically, the slow hand is best played when you are fishing. Play your hand by checking to the player or only matching their bet, if they bet. The reason for this is to wait til you hit your hand then check to them. They will inevitably bite and bet, you can at this point raise them and most likely win the hand. Another good time to slow play the hand is when you have hit the high nut flush, straight, or full house and you keep checking to the other player. They will naturally assume you did not hit and try to force you out of the hand by betting big. Once they do, you can raise the stakes and take them for a good chunk! Be careful though, as with all strategies, it is best not to exhaust this play and use it when necessary.
Many poker players will tell you that if you want to be successful, you must bet big and bold. The reason they say this plays more into the psychology of poker rather than the strategy. This strategy is what separates the greats from the outright losers. Johnnie Chan, one of the greatest poker players in the WSOP, is quite famous for his ability to “play the player.” The idea behind this is to play your hand like you have the winner, in turn, fooling the other player, who may have the better hand, into thinking you have the winner and folding the hand to you. This methodology is quite effective, but it must be used sparingly for best results. This strategy is also best used with a big stack. The big stack player has the advantage and can actually bully the players at the table with his largess. They can also play the player a lot more than the smaller stacks. If you have a smaller stack, it is probably best to wait it out for the good hands and go all in. This strategy will work for smaller stacks unless the blinds have gotten so pricey that it will force you all in anyways. In this case, just wait for a halfway decent hand and go all in because you can’t afford to be choosy in this situation. Next time, you are struggling for a new strategy to play, try playing the player, you might be amazed at the results.
Poker is more of an art than a game. The reason is because of the advanced techniques that you can possibly employ. These techniques give you that necessary advantage over your opposition. Take, for instance, a situation where you have the double Aces (arguably the best pre-flop hand to have). You are going up against a guy who has a Jack & a Queen. He hits his straight on the river and your busted. Statistically, you should win that hand, but sometimes what happens to players, even the best, is a “bad beat”. A bad beat is when you have the better hand all the way through the hand until the river, where your opponent flops his lucky river card. It is always better to play your hands as you feel them, but sometimes you have to play the player in order to avoid the inevitable bad beat. Sometimes, there is nothing you can do. But, be aware when you sense the player is fishing by betting him (or her) out of the hand.