Switching from Limit to No Limit Holdem Part Two

Continuation Bet More

A follow up to the discussion of blind stealing is to use the all important continuation bet. In limit holdem, the continuation bet (a flop bet made bet the preflop raiser) is used, but it's not exactly standard. In limit games, raising preflop, getting the big blind to call, then betting the flop, means you're offering 6:1 odds for them to call your flop bet, something that can be done profitably with a great many hands and draws. In limit games, a continuation bet with nothing often leads to more trouble than it's worth. In no limit holdem, however, you can generally dictate the odds your opponent gets.

If you are stealing frequently, your continuation bets can be a little smaller, but if you steal less than optimally, you want to make slightly larger continuation bets. The most important thing to remember is that until you are convinced otherwise, this is your hand, and you need to play as if it is.

Finally, if you find yourself getting played back at in a hand, don't be afraid to quietly fold if you have nothing. Our opponents do catch hands sometimes, after all. You can make a show of it, but you should probably just get out of the way. This leads into our next topic:

They're Not Bluffing

Many of the opponents you face are incapable of running elaborate bluffs encompassing more than one street. For those that are, well, good bet, but I'm getting out of your way. When an opponent makes a single bet that appears out of character, you have a decision to make about the value of your hand. When they make a second bet, it means they have the goods far more often than not. Let them have it. The times you catch a bluff and win will be far offset by the times they're not bluffing. If they bet pot and you call as a bluff catcher, you must be right once in three tries just to break even, and bluffs just do not happen often enough. In your limit holdem games, calling one big bet on the river with a 15 BB pot can be quite a good decision. Not so here.

You're Not Bluffing, Either

Don't bluff much past the flop, and rarely past the turn. Pretend it's completely against the rules to bet with anything less than top pair, good kicker. Do that until you achieve two things: 1) you are pretty good yourself, and 2) you recognize the other good players at the table. Never bluff bad players, and rarely bluff average players. The best targets for bluffs, incidentally, are good players (preferably ones who think you're average).

Play Big Pots with Big Hands

The final rule to help LHE players transition into NLHE games is to avoid playing big pots without very good hands. It's true that big pots do get played with mediocre hands, but until you gain a significant amount of experience, don't be involved in one of them. Top pair, top kicker is not the nuts. Your objective in NLHE is to win your opponent's entire stack, and there is no shame in winning and losing a few small pots while waiting for your shot at the big one. When you have a good, but vulnerable, hand, try to control the pot size, keeping it small, so you can at least have a chance.

Following all of these rules won't make you the best NLHE player in the world overnight, but they will make the transition into the game a lot smoother, and with a lot less potential disappointment. Use your common poker sense, your knowledge of the math of poker, and your ability to read opponents, combined with these rules, and you'll instantly be ahead of the curve.