Basic Strategy for No Limit Hold’em
Position and hand value are what separates Limit and No Limit play. The better your position, the more information you will have and the more it will affect your stack. If you trap someone in Limit, you pick up a few more bets but in No Limit, you can easily win their entire stack.
Big cards like A-K, A-Q and K-Q win smaller pots and lose large pots in No Limit, so they are worth less. Pairs that hit a set on the flop can easily double your stack. You can trap a player with large pairs like K-K or A-A for their stack as well.
Stack size is of great importance because that is what you stand to gain or lose doubling them up. It’s okay to risk $25 to see the flop with mediocre cards when the player has another $500 behind but if they are all in, you stand to gain no more and should fold.
You should play the player. Watch to see if they bluff too much, can be bluffed, play weak hands, fold to continuation bets or call big bets. These are all areas to exploit.
Calling should almost be dropped from your arsenal. In most situations, you should either fold or bet/raise. Use calling for trapping or to gain information on your opponent.
Big bets or raises are usually not bluffs, especially on the turn or river and should be respected as a real hand.
Play at tables where you know there are weak players and always play at limits that you are comfortable with.
Playing too many hands will whittle your stack. Carefully select which hands you will play. Your percentage to see the flop should be 20% – 30%.
Preflop you should be playing premium hands and raise around the 3X mark but if there are limpers in front, raise even more. Know the players and if a strong player raises you, know when to lay down your hand. Raise with top pairs (Queens and higher) and top connectors. If the player is weak, call to see the flop to trap them.
The biggest mistakes are not laying down a hand down even when you know you are beat, not raising preflop to put pressure on other players, under or over betting the pot, and calling with weak hands. These are the basics, once you fully understand these and have them mastered; I would look at intermediate and advanced strategies.
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