No Limit Strategies: the Need for Consistency

Perhaps more so than in any other card game, No Limit requires that players strive to maintain their level of play at all times. If you look at the winners in the big tourneys you will see a lot of the same names, testament to their steady playmaking. To succeed, you will need to attain the same level in the vital areas of the game.

One of these areas concerns your behavior on the table. As every player knows, you need to be able to read tells to win, but an equally important No Limit strategy is that you avoid issuing them yourself. One way to do this to maintain a regular expression, a true "Poker face".

This does not mean that you have to be rigid and stone like, but rather, the term Poker face refers to one who wears the same expression -jovial, serious or whatever- regardless of the hands that he or she is dealt.

If you are new to No Limit Holdem, you should also make it a point to apply the same technique with all your actions on the table. Whether you are raising with the nut hand or merely bluffing, you need, as much as possible, to follow the same patterns. All too often you see players who get big hands scramble to get their chips in the middle, showing everyone what kind of combination they have.

When you are playing online, you can utilize the same No Limit strategy. For example, you should try to raise, call or bet at approximately the same time. Try not to do it too quickly, because when the time comes when you will have to make a major decision, you will definitely need for more time to think. So it is a much better No Limit strategy to take a few seconds every time, even if you already know what you are going to do.

Consistency is extremely important in No Limit Holdem, and the more you strive to attain this, the better off you will be in the long run. Of course, this will not be easy, particularly with the tells, as it is normal for people who are pleasantly surprised or dismayed to display a reaction.

However, this skill can be attained, and must be, if you want to have any success at the higher levels. Although it will take a lot of hard work, you will be able to make headway and thus win more No Limit games and pots.