No Limit Texas Holdem Strategy

1. No Limit Texas Hold'em Tournament Strategy
2. No Limit Texas Holdem Tournament Strategy
3. No Limit Texas Holdem Betting Strategy

Texas Hold'em No Limit (NL) Strategy Although there are different formats of Texas Hold’em, Texas Hold’em No Limit is by far the most popular. This is because you can bet any amount at any time. As a result, you are always at risking of losing every single chip you have – or doubling up. Texas Hold’em Hand Strength Charts; No Texas Hold’em probability has much context without comparing it to the odds the pot is giving you. How to Calculate Pot Odds; In no-limit games you should often also consider the implied odds if you feel you have a strong read on a hand. Solving the Abstract Concept of Implied Odds; More Hold’em odds. Playing out-of-position is undoubtedly a tricky part of No-Limit Hold’em. It will take a decent amount of focused study before we can master out-of-position play. The above 5 tips provide an excellent starting point, however, and are carefully chosen to help showcase the most common leaks players have when playing out-of-position.

NL Hold’em Starting Hand Charts

One aspect of the game of No-Limit Hold’em that causes beginning players much grief is deciding which hands to play and which hands to dump. NL Hold’em is much more difficult than Limit Hold’em because the value of a hand depends on so many factors other than just the cards in your hand. Despite this difficulty, our coaches believe that following some general guidelines and adjusting from these is a better solution than having no guidelines at all. Given that well over half of your profitability in NL Hold’em is based on hand selection alone, we have developed these charts to help you better determine whether to play or fold.

There are no perfect No-Limit starting hand charts. That is because there are many factors that affect your decision, and charts cannot account for all of them. Some of these include:

1. The size of your opponent's stacks.
2. How loose or tight, passive or aggressive, your opponents are.
3. Where these opponents are located at the table – for example, does an aggressive player still have to act after you?
4. Your image at the table – for example, how tight or tricky you are perceived.

That being said, these charts will serve you well in most typical low-stakes No-Limit cash games, such as games with blinds of $1/$2, and home games. These games typically have several loose players at the table, and good opportunities for winning big pots with suited connectors and pocket pairs. With practice, you will be able to be a consistently winning player with these charts as a starting point. As you improve, you'll find yourself making adjustments to these charts based on the factors listed above, and more.

AGAIN: These charts are a good starting point for beginners. Specifically, Chart #1 recommends a significant amount of limping. This is great in loose, passive games but less often seen in tougher games. You’ll find other training material on Advanced Poker Training that may recommend a more aggressive approach for more experienced players.

Note: It would be a serious mistake to apply these hand charts before reading the Frequent Asked Questions first.

No Limit Texas Hold'em Tournament Strategy

CHART #1 ‐ LOOSE, PASSIVE GAME (OFTEN 4-5 LIMPERS PER HAND)
NO ONE HAS RAISED YET

• Raise Always
• Call from Early Position, otherwise raise
• Call always
• Call from Middle or Late Position if the conditions are right (see Frequently Asked Questions)

CHART #2 ‐ TIGHTER GAME (FEWER LIMPERS) OR MORE AGGRESSIVE GAME
NO ONE HAS RAISED YET

• Raise Always
• Call from Early Position, otherwise raise
• Call (or Raise) from Middle or Late Position if the conditions are right (see Frequently Asked Questions)

CHART #3 ‐ THERE HAS BEEN A SINGLE RAISE
(3‐5 TIMES THE BIG BLIND) BEFORE YOU

• Re‐Raise Always
• Call from Early Position, otherwise re‐raise
• Call always
• Call from Middle or Late Position if the conditions are right (see Frequently Asked Questions)

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

For the hands in yellow, what do you mean when you say to play these hands if the conditions are right? The hands in yellow are speculative hands. They should always be folded from Early Position. From other positions, they can be profitable given the right conditions. Some of the questions to ask yourself:

No Limit Texas Holdem Tournament Strategy

1. Are there other players who have called so far (the more, the better)?
2. Are the players who have called playing poorly after the flop? Will they pay me off if I hit something?
3. Is there an aggressive player still to act behind me (you might get raised and have to fold)?
4. If there has been a raise and no other callers, what chance do I have of using my position after the flop to win the hand even if I don't improve (Chart #3 only)?

Why does Chart #2 say to sometimes raise with the hands in yellow, but Chart #1 does not? We have different goals in mind. Using Chart #1, we want to call to encourage additional players to enter the pot. These hands will be immensely profitable when our loose, passive opponents enter the hand, and get trapped when we flop a set, or make a well-disguised straight. When using Chart #2, however, we want to size up the opponents still to act. If they are tight, we can raise. Sometimes, we'll pick up the blinds. Other times, our pre-flop aggression will allow us to take down the pot on the flop.

What's the difference between AKs and AKo? AKs means an Ace and King of the same suit. AKo means an Ace and King of different suits.

What are early, middle, and late position? Early Position is generally the first 2 (in a nine player game) or 3 (in a ten player game) positions after the blinds. Late Position is the “cutoff” position (to the right of the dealer), and dealer button positions. Middle Position is everything in between.

How much should I raise? As a general rule, raise 3 to 4 times the big blind, plus 1 extra big blind for every player who has called before you. So if there are 2 callers already, raise between 5 and 6 times the big blind.

What if someone raises after I call? Whether you call the raise depends on how much money the raiser has for you to win, how many other players are involved, and what type of hand you have. As a general rule, if you have a pocket pair, lean towards calling. If there are a lot of other players (and therefore a big pot), lean towards calling. In general, fold suited connectors from early position. Fold hands like KQ that don't play well against a raiser.

How do I play from the blinds? From the small blind, play the same hands you would play from late position, plus a few more. But don't call with junk hands like T5o, just because it is “cheap”. From the big blind, if there is a raise to you, play like you would if you had already called from early position.

The chart says to fold KQo to a raise. Really? Yes, this hand performs very poorly against typical raising hands. Against AK, AQ, AA, KK, QQ, you are a big underdog. Other typical raising hands like JJ, TT, 99, AJs, are slightly ahead of you as well. The only time you might call or re-raise is from late position, if the opener was in middle or late position, indicating they might have a wider range of hands.

I was told to fold AJo from Early Position, why do you say to call with it? Folding AJo is not a bad idea in many games. We included it because, at low stakes tables (even tight or aggressive ones), the players are often playing badly enough after the flop that it can be profitable. We used data from millions of hands of low-limit poker to analyze this. The same could be said for KQo, ATs, and KJs – you can make a small profit in the long run at most low-stakes games, but folding would be perfectly acceptable from early position.

Can I use these charts in a NL Hold'em tournament? The charts would be best applicable to the early stages of a NL tournament, when everyone has a deep stack. In the middle and later stages, they should not be used.

Read all our instructional articles

No Limit Texas Hold'em is the most popular poker game in the world, and it is played in both tournament and cash game form. This page links to strategy articles for No Limit Hold'em cash game players, although many of the principles can apply to No Limit Hold'em tournament strategy as well.

No Limit Texas Holdem Betting Strategy

In case you don't know, cash games are the opposite of tournaments: instead of playing with tournament chips, players actually buy in with cash-value chips, and can enter and exit tables whenever they like. The goal at a ring table is to win chips consistently, as opposed to the goal in a tournament where players try to accumulate every single chip. The following No Limit Hold'em strategy articles will get you on top of your game:

General No Limit Hold'em Strategy:

Here are some articles that will teach you the basics of No Limit Hold'em:

• No Limit Hold'em Tips - Read this article to get a quick overview of our best NL Hold'em tips.
• How to Spot Bluffs - Learn some quick tips on spotting opponents' bluffs.
• Buy-In Strategy - Find out if you're better off short-buying or deep stacking at NL Hold'em tables.
• Continuation Betting - The continuation bet may be the most important move in poker.
• Value Betting - Learn all about value betting, which is a great profit move to earn extra money.
• Double Barreling - Learn when you should double barrel on the turn, and when to give it up.

Playing Specific Hold'em Situations:

Also learn how to play specific No Limit Hold'em situations:

• Playing Big Pairs Preflop - Learn how to play Aces, Kings, and Queens in preflop situations.
• Playing Big Pairs on the Flop - Learn how to play Aces, Kings, and Queens on different flops.
• Playing Middle Pairs Preflop - Learn how to play 77-JJ in different preflop situations.
• Playing Middle Pair on the Flop - Playing a mediocre hand on the flop is tough - learn how here.
• Playing Small Pairs Preflop - Learn how to play 22-66 in different preflop situations.
• Playing Small Pairs on the Flop - Most people think small pairs are for making a set or folding.
• Playing Draws - Learn the best methods for playing flush, straight, and other combo draws.
• Making Sets on the Flop - Once you finally make a set on the flop, extract the most money.
• Playing Suited Connectors - Hands like 56s can be tough to play, but also win the largest pots.

Playing Specific Hold'em Opponents:

Now learn how to play against specific No Limit Hold'em opponents:

• Facing a Preflop Raiser - Calling a preflop raise puts you in a tough spot - learn how to deal.
• Playing Against a Maniac - We've all encountered maniacs at the tables. Now you can beat them.

No Limit Hold'em Rules

If you have never played Texas Hold'em before, make sure to read our article 'The Rules of Texas Hold'em' before you dive into the strategy articles. That page will teach you how to play the game, and will help new players understand the rules and structure of Texas Hold'em. After you learn the rules, then you can read the No Limit Hold'em strategy articles above to get some great tips for winning at the tables.

Playing Tight/Aggressive

The best and quickest way to improve your No Limit Hold'em strategy is by adopting a tight and aggressive approach at the tables. What this means is that you wait for solid hands, and then play then aggressively. This allows you to win the most money, because when the money goes in you will have a solid hand, and you also won't be pushed around by other aggressive players because they will respect your aggression.

Play Within Your Limits

Another simple way to avoid going broke is to always remember your bankroll, and make sure to stay within its limits. For No Limit Hold'em ring games, you should keep at least 50 buy-ins for the stakes you play in your account at all times. If you are a $0.50/$1 player, you should have $5,000 in your account to avoid going broke. This may seem excessive for casual online players, but players serious about maintaining a bankroll follow that advice.

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