No Limit VS Limit

[AaronBrown]

I agree you wouldn't play a medium pair, for the same reason you often wouldn't play two medium pairs against strong pre-draw betting. If you did play them, you would do it as a bluff with some chance of winning, by not drawing at all (I don't call that a semi-bluff, since I think that requires a chance of improving).

The common situation to throw away a pair is when at least one of the pairs is high. Say you open with Q's and T's and get four callers. Drawing to three to Q's seems wiser than drawing one to Q's and T's in no-limit.

[BigSlickNJ]

Indeed, Limit strategy versus NL strategy, an objective question with subjective answers, and fodder for endless lively debate.

I love both, with the understanding that limit games are vastly different for their multi-way action, and oft-tilted pot odds. Hard core NL players despise the call-to-the-river mentality often dominating the lower limit games, BUT, 'drawing out' in limit poker is not about getting lucky, but, about putting yourself in a postion to get paid big, when you do hit. Pot odds become the paramount consideration, a dynamic often 'mutated' in NL, within the decision making process as relates to calling an all-in raise.

NL mandates tighter, more aggressive play, whereas isolation is much tougher to accomplish, pre-flop, in limit games, allowing for a slight skew in strategy towards less tight, and less aggressive play, generally speaking.

Post flop becomes even more intriguing, as I find that betting on the turn becomes KEY, in terms of turning up the heat, and becoming more aggressive. Aggression on the turn should beget information, and under the right circumstance, should facilitate 'command' on the river round.

Moreover, choosing the limit to play is critical, in my opinion, as casino ring games offer different 'balances' between loose-passive players who are myopically focused, and tight aggressive players who know what they are doing. The higher the limit, the more skewed the table balance towards tight-aggressive.

Yes, profits can be greater playing NL, provided patience can be maintained. One error in NL, one instance of brain freeze, can mean big losses, whereas errors in patience made during limit games can be costly if repeated over time, but are not nearly as likely to bring the hammer down in one fell swoop.

In the casino, I prefer mid-level limit games, or NL tournaments. I do not enjoy low-blind NL table games.

Personally, I'd love to see Atlantic City offer more limit tournaments.

At the Taj next Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday .. to play, bet, raise, fold, observe, and LEARN MORE.

[Louie Landale]

Standing pat with 2-pair is an option reserved for openers against a weak-tight 3-card caller. Raising and standing pat is rediculous unless you are SURE you can induce a suspicious one-big pair call after the draw. But if you can do that you might as well draw one and THEN bet big.

3-queens is no silver bullet against 3 opponents who aren't playing pairs less than AA and aren't playing 2 small pair. The only hands 3-queens beats that QsUp doesn't beat is trips and AcesUp, and we can discount trips since there was no raise and nobody is drawing 3 to a pair of 9s. So you are trying to beat AcesUp, which I admit is a realistic goal. But you are also losing one way or another to the likely straight and flush draws out there (with 3 callers, how many of them can have AA?), in which case I think you are a LOT better off drawing 1 hoping to either show down for nothing or snag you big full house against the flush. That gives you about a 20% chance to win the show-down, 6% to win with an after flop bet, and 3% chance to make a lot of money, and 1% chance to lose a lot of money. Not too bad I'd say.

And like I said, you wouldn't play QQ against 3 callers in any jacks or better game, so why play QsUp figuing to draw 3?

- Louie

[wildwood]

Jennifer Harman gave, I think, the best description of the difference between limit and no limit. Limit is all about value betting. No limit is all about trapping. fwiw

[BluffTHIS!]

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Jennifer Harman gave, I think, the best description of the difference between limit and no limit. Limit is all about value betting. No limit is all about trapping. fwiw

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And winning with nothing or very little.