Pot Limit vs No Limit

[DRKEVDC]

After reading several posts, books and talking with friends, there is a general consensus that Pot Limit requires more skill than No Limit does. Why is that? I would think that people being able to shove all of their chips in will wreak havoc with pot odds and make certain calls much tougher to make. Am I missing something here?

[JaysonWeberFCP]

Pot-Limit would be much better in Large tournaments for the pro's because it cuts down on the luck factor that is so evident.. over the long run I'd say both are equal but day-to-day play, Pot-Limit is a more skill based games because there are less all-ins and you will see a flop nearly every-time...

[DRKEVDC]

I would think that this is the ideal game for players who can get away from flops that don't help them. I know that I want a table full of limpers when I am playing premium hands. At the Party 25/50 level do you think the better players are playing PL?

[Deamon2]

I think you'd find more fish at a 25 or 50 NL table- it's what people see on TV. Hell, even during the pot limit events people say "I'm all in" as they bet the pot. So, while there may be less luck in PL, you're going to be more profitable in NL simply because more fish are attracted to it.

just an example- I showed up at a home game full of horrendous players over xmas break. I proposed playing pot limit, but no one wanted to play. Why? Because "No Limit is more fun". I think the word limit when it is not associated with the word no scares off people who don't know how to play very well

[PokrLikeItsProse]

One significant facet of pot limit is that you can't price someone out of a draw by going all-in. Because there is a limit to how much you can distort the pot odds, it becomes more correct to occasionally play speculative hands like suited connectors.

Since there are more playable hands, you are more likely to see multiway flops. Since you are seeing the flop more often, you are also going to see the river more often. You are going to face more decisions than in no-limit, with mistakes being more costly than in limit.

In no-limit, flops are often seen by just two players and if your opponent misses the flop, you can muscle him out with brute aggression. In pot limit, you just can't do that. There is a reason that pros prefer tournaments where the starting stacks are deep relative to blinds which escalate slowly; the game play resembles pot limit.

[tek]

Sometimes going all in gives players pot odds to call instead of "wreak havoc with pot odds".

Also, in NL cash games the play fluctuates between pot limit (where a pot bet takes its) and no limit (and also below pot limit) depending on the players and the way the cards are running.

I would say that to play NL well you need to know both areas.

[steaknshake925]

At party the PL25 games aren't any tougher than the NL25 games. I don't know about PL50 or 100.

[MyMindIsGoing]

*Post deleted by MMIG*

My mistake.

[felson]

You can't overbet the pot preflop with big pairs in PL, which makes them more difficult to play.

[PokrLikeItsProse]

[ QUOTE ]
Sometimes going all in gives players pot odds to call instead of "wreak havoc with pot odds".

[/ QUOTE ]

When does a player have the pot odds to call an all-in overbet of the pot but not a smaller bet?

[bobbyi]

It is easier to go all-in early in the hand in no limit than in pot limit. Thus, people are all-in more often preflop or on the flop. When you are (or your opponent is) all-in, there are no decisions to be made for the remaining betting rounds. Making decisions is where the skill of the game is involved, so less decisions means a less skillful game.

[pzhon]

[ QUOTE ]
At party the PL25 games aren't any tougher than the NL25 games. I don't know about PL50 or 100.

[/ QUOTE ]
I disagree. There is a simple tactic that works much better at NL25 than PL25: When you have a good hand preflop, open-raise to 6 BB ($3). That's much larger than the pot. You get called by fish with garbage. In PL, you can't offer people the chance to make such a mistake preflop on a regular basis.

[DRKEVDC]

So if I understand this correctly Pot Limit tends to have more people seeing more flops since you can't force them out like you may be able to in NL. With this being the case, does it make sense to loosen up a little bit and play more speculative hands, like one gapped connectors, small pocket pairs, etc? If the flop hits you hard you play it, if it misses you dump it. I would think that with lots of multiway action this would be +EV.

[tek]

Flush draws for one. If you just call, they may not have the pot odds to continue. But if you pump the pot, they have to continue their draw.