No Limit Hold’em differs from Limit Hold in many ways, one of which is the increased need to concentrate on playing the opposition’s character. Because of the betting structure if you do not do this you run the risk of losing more chips when you should be getting out of pots, and winning less when you are ahead. There are basically 5 different types of players:

• Tight-passive. These players often make the move from fixed limit games where they survive quite well, but will struggle in no limit games as they miss value in their winning hands. Feel free to bluff at the flop against these players especially if you raised pre-flop, but if they stay with you then quickly clam down. They could quite easily be calling you down with the winning hand. If they show aggression by representing a good hand with decent size bets then feel free to fold – they are unlikely to be getting tricky with you and you are probably beat.
• Loose-passive. Similar to tight-passive players, make your money by betting into them when you have a good hand – they will often play weak hands with no intention of giving up on them, but it is not advisable to bluff against them – this is about the only time they will win chips.
• Maniac loose-aggressive. True gamblers, these players like to bet and raise to get the action going. They can be a bit unsettling especially as every now and again they will take down a massive pot against you, and you will often be folding to them even though you know they are unlikely to have a great hand. Don’t worry though, with good reads on them and some well timed play you can expect to make a tidy profit from these players.
• Strong loose-aggressive. These are dangerous players, even though they may seem like a maniac at first glance. They are more controlled, and even though they will suffer big losses at times, they will buy lots of pots and win huge ones.
• Tight-aggressive. This is the style that most thinking players strive for, although as it is so well known other players may easily get a read on, and the tight-aggressive can often be bluffed out of pots.

Tags: poker, strategy

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 16th, 2008 at 3:37 pm and is filed under Poker Tips. Both comments and pings are currently closed.