I’ve read a lot of poker books -- many of them are on Hold Em. A few of them are on No Limit Texas Hold Em. Most of them don’t really apply to the most common version of no limit that folks are playing today. That’s the low limit version of the game – the one that typically has blinds of no more than $1/2 and a maximum buy in of $200 or so.

You’ve all heard about the World Series of Poker final event – where everyone puts up $10,000 and competes for what is now a multi-million dollar first prize. It’s captured the imagination and attention of millions of poker players all across the world. So too has the World Poker Tour – an event that features many such tournaments with prizes of a million or more.

Well all of this recent television attention on America’s favorite card game has spawned a renaissance in no limit interest. But there’s just one problem. 95% of those who want to play No Limit Texas Hold Em have a very limited bankroll. Sure, a few of us out here have enough for a large game like they played in Texas when the game began a few decades ago. But who among us has thousands? Very few.

We play for $100 or $20 or $5.00 a shot – in home games, casinos, bars, and basements. Talk about making a bluff at the pot for $5,000 all you want. But that kind of action is completely out of our league.

What players today, most players today, really need to learn about is how to compete effectively in the minor league game – the game with the $1/2 blinds (or less) and the maximum buy in of no more than $200 or so. These are the games people are playing. These are the games that we need to be concerned about mastering.

But let’s ask ourselves the critical question. Is the strategy for a low limit version of no limit Hold Em any different from the strategy for the game the big boys play in Las Vegas, Texas and California? Won’t the same style of play and the same tactics that work for the World Class players work for me against my amateur buddies?

The simple answer is no – emphatically no. Here’s why. The no limit game that we’re playing is filled with players who really don’t know what they’re doing. They don’t, for the most part, understand hand values. They don’t know how to figure out the play of their competitors. They aren’t calculating pot odds or how their hand will do against the hand they estimate their opponent has. Their betting action really has little if anything to do with the true strength of their cards. Accordingly, it’s often a mistake to make the kind of moves that might work against an experienced or otherwise knowledgeable opponent. It’s often a mistake to credit their action with the same thought or intent as you would credit the move of a good opponent.

These are the same reasons that the strategies for limit hold em and limit stud written about by the excellent authors of books for good and excellent players trying to get better often don’t work for the lower stakes versions of those limit games. Specifically, Seven Card Stud for Advanced Players and Hold Em for Advanced Players, both excellent books for playing with experienced players in tight/aggressive games as you’ll find in Las Vegas, are not the ideal texts for starting out in the no fold em hold em lower stakes games you’re apt to find among the low rollers you play with in casual games everywhere. That’s why some have written texts just for starting players in limit games – because they’re different and the winning strategies for them are different.

There’s another reason why the strategy for these low limit no limit games is different from their larger staked cousins. It’s because of the cap on the initial buy in. With a uniform cap on the starting stack, players all have a limited amount they can lose in one bet – that initial stack. Similarly, many of these low limit players have a personal cap. So even if the maximum buy in is $300 in a casino $1/2 no limit game, many players only buy in for $80 or $100. For many this means that their willingness to risk it all goes way up – since the amount they have in front of them represents only a small percentage of their true bankroll. Compare this with someone who is thinking about wagering everything he’s come to gamble with. It changes the dynamic. And you have to take it into consideration.

So what are the different strategy considerations for these games? The answer to that question is complicated and lengthy. In fact I’ve written an entire book answering it (Winning Low Limit No Limit Hold ‘em). But in short, the difference is that you need to focus on some fundamental concepts of play. I’ll list them briefly here. I’ll cover them in detail in future columns.

1. Adopt a tight/aggressive basic strategy when you are starting out and until you have at least a fairly good idea of the general style of play of your opponents.

2. Recognize the importance of position – and specifically the huge advantage of late position – when deciding whether and how to play your starting hand.

3. Put opponents into simple categories.

4. Adjust your strategy based on the basic category into which you’ve placed your opponents.

5. Make sure you are psychologically ready to play for the stakes you’re planning to play for.

6. Play at stakes low enough to allow you to play with appropriate aggression (in other words don’t play with scared money).

7. Find games with poor players.

8. Until you are very experienced, deliberately limit the duration of your playing session to no more than a few hours – to insure that you are playing at your best.

9. Recognize how your general style of play may be affecting the play of others.

10. Keep careful records so you can accurately determine whether or not you are beating the game.

Again, all of these topics deserve much fuller explanation and treatment. I address them all in my book and will share my observations with you in future articles here.

Ashley Adams has been playing poker since 1961 when he learned it literally at his grandfather's knee. He started playing seriously in 1993 when Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard, Connecticut opened their poker room. He can usually be found there at the $20/40 stud or the $2/5 no limit hold 'em table.

Ashley also runs charity poker tournaments, teaches poker privately and at the Boston Center for Adult Education, is a frequent guest on radio and television programs (having appeared on WBZ-AM, WHDH Channel 7 TV, WGBH-TV, NECN-TV), and has a regular radio show that can be heard 24/7 on www.houseofcardsradio.com.

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