Which is harder, Limit or NL?

[Cactus Jack]

[Cactus Jack]

Just curious. Why do you think <Your Choice Here> is the harder game? At what stakes?

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

If you find making complex decisions on later streets in multi-way pots difficult, then limit is harder.

If you find making decisions for big chunks of your stack (or your entire stack) more difficult, then no-limit is harder.

Personally, since it combines aspects of both, I think pot-limit is harder.

[Iceman]

To learn the basics of: no-limit.

To get really good at: limit.

[Rudbaeck]

What Kurn said, and it's also very dependent on how well you can read your opponent. If you have troubles getting solid reads on people then NL will be alot harder.

[NickPoker]

No Limit is much more complex. Limit poker is about pot odds, No Limit is about implied odds & reading your opponent. It's easy to lead out a bet when you know someone can't put you to the test for all your chips.
For example you have AK, with an ace on the board. Of course you bet, if some comes over the top of you in a limit game, it's relatively easy call. Now if someone comes over the top in a no limit game, your choice is a little harder. Just my thoughts.

[K C]

Of course this depends a lot on what me mean by "difficult." NL and PL add the factor of variable bets, so they are going to be more difficult to master. Not to say that limit is a simple game, but a lot of decisions that are pretty much straightforward. There's a lot more to consider in the variable bet games, so in this sense they could be said to be more "difficult."

As for NL versus PL, while they are similar, they have their differences as well. Some people feel PL is more ddifficult, since you've got the added skill of knowing how to build the pot for maximum gain. On the other hand, NL offers more flexibility in betting, placing you in situations where the decisions can be more difficult.

Starting out, where cash games are concerned, I always recommend that new players become at least somewhat proficient with limit play before venturing out into bigger bet poker. NL and PL tournaments are also a good way to learn the game, prior to pushing big stacks of real money into the middle.

KC
http://kingcobrapoker.com

[Bulbarainey]

I play mostly low limit, so I find NL a little easier, when I do play it, but that is rarely. I find fixed a little more stressful because its harder to come back after a swing. However, I've seen some discussion on here about NL becoming extremely difficult once you move up in limits, with fixed having fish up into the high mid-limits and low high-limits. So... I guess NL v. FL would be based on the limits being played

[Rudbaeck]

[ QUOTE ]
Of course this depends a lot on what me mean by "difficult." NL and PL add the factor of variable bets, so they are going to be more difficult to master. Not to say that limit is a simple game, but a lot of decisions that are pretty much straightforward. There's a lot more to consider in the variable bet games, so in this sense they could be said to be more "difficult."

[/ QUOTE ]

I've found that I face more difficult decisions in limit than in no limit per hand. Hand protection is a nearly bottomless pit of complexity in limit. (This is also an excellent time to identify nl players who can't play limit, as they will constantly curse that they can't protect their big hands, when there actually is a way to do so.)

[K C]

Keep in mind though that I didn't say limit isn't a complex game. Protecting your hands is one thing that surely isn't straightforward, and indeed, it is more difficult to do with these limited options. However, in NL/PL, you not only have to decide WHEN to bet and raise, you have to decide by HOW MUCH. And you also have to worry about the point where you are exposing yourself to too much risk (overbetting the pot, for instance).

I know a lot of big bet players look down on limit poker as a simpler game. I'm not really one of them, and I understand that there are some very complex and difficult decisions that can arise. My point was more that the average "complexity" of decisions in NL/PL is higher than limit, simply because there's more to decide generally.

KC
http://kingcobrapoker.com