Two Plus Two Older Archives - Limit to NL transition

First off, the big NL games will dry up far faster than the 30/60 game - so that's a bad reason to make the switch if you're already winning at 30/60.

That said, I don't think either of the games will dry up anytime soon with the state of poker right now and all the new players coming of age. I think we have a good 2-5 years left of incredibly good games, if not more if asia / europe poker becomes more popular.

I made the limit->NL switch about 2.5 years ago and it went very well. I made a little or broke even at the lower NL games for about 6 months and since then it's been great. Very low variance and high win rates.

Some tips...

1. In limit, you concentrate a lot on the hands you play... like looking at hands by position and EV specifically. In NL, you have to get a lot more creative with your preflop and postflop thinking. There are no set ways of playing hands in NL, and what you're looking for are very good situations. It doesn't matter as much what cards you hold.

ex. You limp UTG w/ 77, a very reasonable play. 3 more limp to the button who puts in a small 2xBB raise. You've seen this player make pot sweetener raises before and he's never had a great hand while doing it. Now could be a good time to put in a pot sized reraise to take down the pot right there w/ your medium pocket.

I know this example is simple, but finding the right situations and knowing how to exploit them is IMO the key to this game. The situation could be to call on the flop w/ position w/ a gut shot because you know you'll have large bluffing equity later in the hand vs. a lot of opponents and will have a well hidden hand if you get lucky and hit.

Remember that the goal of the game is to have your opponents make mistakes against you. A lot of players don't get this simple concept. If you have AA preflop and UTG raises, reraise at least the pot! Give your opponent the opportunity to make a mistake and hope he has QQ or KK or AK and will pay you off or push back.

Really delve into implied odds as this is hugely important. When you make a bet, know what type of immediate odds you are giving AND the implied odds you're giving him. A simple example is that you and an opponent have 1k. He raises to $40 preflop. You reraise to $135 w/ AA. You're giving him 2-1 odds AND if you can't get away postflop, you're giving him about 10-1 in implied odds. That's about enough for him to call you with a pair to try and outflop you. If you raise more and give him less, then you have "locked up" your preflop edge and can get the rest in knowing he didn't have implied odds to outdraw you and if he did, oh well.

Another concept limit players have trouble with is pot control in position. When you make a hand, you should be thinking big pot or small pot. Try to manage the size of the pot with your bets / checks. If you have a big pot hand, build the pot - if not, don't. Remember that aggressive is good, but a lot of times not optimal against super aggressive opponents. Don't believe the cliches of never call, only raise and fold. Calling is a very profitable strategy against many opponents - especially if you give off weakness with a free card check behind w/ top pair to induce a bluff.

Always consider what your opponent will have if you both get all the money in. If you have TPTK and all the money goes in, do you expect to win? Not against most sane opponents you won't (there are always exceptions).

Don't be afraid to put in large bets with nut hands. Also don't be afraid to put in large bets with a bluff if you read a player will fold a winner.

One last thing - don't overplay AK preflop or on the flop. It's just a hand in NL, and not even a pair before the flop. Try limping with it and keeping pots small until you get the hang of playing it well. Also, normal 3-betting hands in limit are sometimes calling hands or even folds in NL - so be careful not to overvalue JJ,QQ, even KK sometimes preflop.

Anyway, good luck! NL is a fun game and is very profitable...

Jeff