As anyone who knows me will tell you, I’m a rather avid no-limit texas holdem player, both live and online. I’ve played in local casinos, such as the River Rock Casino Resort or the Edgewater Casino in Vancouver, and have hit up private tournaments such as Sun Poker‘s local Vancouver Freerolls, and participate regularly in the private “Ghetto Poker Tour”.
Recently though, I started tracking how much I was making in tournament winnings vs playing in cash tables. While many will agree that tournament and no-limit play will offer more burst income, over the long run I’ve discovered that cash tables, limit cash tables specifically, have netted me the most money overall. I believe the reasons why can be summed up in two points (Especially Number 2):
1) The swings are lower
2) Lots of donks call trash down to the river
Seriously people, I’ve never seen people call so much with so little. It’s quite ridiculous how far they will take it. Very regularly I will be able to take down a $40-$60 pot at a 4-8 limit table with only a high pair. I think my best example of this was at an online table where I took down a pot with two pair. Not a bad hand, I know, however the fool raised and re-raised me several times all the way down to the river with only a high card king. A bit of an exception, but he makes for a good example =)
It’s amazing really. I’ve seen people get mad at having someone else bet/re-raise them down to the river with absolutely nothing, but I can’t understand why they would do this. Someone who is willing to go that far with nothing is easier to take money from. I say, let them call it, I’ll be taking their money and investing it in a much needed case of beer (or cases of beer if the pot is a good size). So if you see someone being a donk and playing garbage, let them. Make a note of their play and take their money. Choosing your oppourtunities and making your moves at the right time will assure that their buy-in will be your cash-out.
With just how far people will call things down, bluffing is almost non-existent and not recommended unless you know advanced techniques, such as semi-bluffing or determining the necessary odds for a good bluff. This means that you’ll more often than not be forced to play only winning hands, however this also means that you should net more money. Winning only one hand is usually enough to keep you playing for a good hour if you fold every hand.
While I said bluffing is almost non-existent, it still does exist to an extent (almost is the keyword here); it still isn’t recommended though. Most people will call you down to the river with just a high card king or ace which makes it particularly difficult, and if they don’t, then they’ve folded early netting you a very small pot. For the amount of times bluffing has actually worked for me it’s failed tenfold. Fortunately in situations like this, I’m able to pick my spots and only have to win once out of every 9 times or so for the move to be profitable (again, one of the more advanced techniques)
Playing a mid-pair is often play that I see regular limit players do, simply because it sometimes works (Over the long run I’d say probably 50/50, but I guess that’s enough for some people). While it does work half the time, counting exactly how many bets and raises there have been in the hand should give you a good idea as to just how strong your hand is. If you’re finding someone betting/raising pre-flop and on every subsequent round, there’s a good chance they have a high pocket pair, or ended up hitting their flush/house/straight.
No matter what though, if you know what you’re doing and play it smart and figure out profitable moves, you will walk away with money at a limit table more times than not. I’ve found recently that by getting good at limit my no-limit cash and tournament play has gotten tremendously better.
Now if you’ll excuse me I’ll be hitting the tables and funding my alcoholism. If you need me, I’ll either be at the Edgwater Casino or playing on Full Tilt Poker.
Cheers, and good luck.
~Teh Addict
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