I wanted to speak about this low stakes no limit Texas Holdem example in simply because it highlights a flaw that many weak tight low stakes players have. In fact with nearly all of these hand examples, you tend to find players at higher stakes poker equally guilty of the mistakes that I am pointing out here.

This was another hand example sent to me by a student of mine who held the 8c-6c on the button. There had been a limper before it got to him and my student folded his hand. He admitted to me afterwards that he could never make his mind up in situations like these on whether it was better to fold his hand or to call.

I simply told him….. “why don’t you consider a raise?”

I think that it is very instructive here to take a look at the mindset of the average low stakes no limit hold’em player. Most have received some form of poker education either as a result of reading books or visiting numerous websites or watching poker on television or whatever. Most of them understand hand values and many of my students fold hands like the 8c-6c in situations like these and that is no bad thing. Playing tight poker is an attribute in games like these but another mistake that many low stakes players also make is to also limp along.

Many players at these levels are trying to make a big hand on the cheap when they limp along like this. They are trying to make a straight or a flush or something but the bottom line is that they are trying to make a big hand cheaply. What many fail to realise is that the hand that they were hoping to make will come along so rarely that the expenditure is rarely worth it. Plus they are dependent on a weaker hand paying them off and also the other players have stacks that are not always deep enough for their play to get amply rewarded anyway most of the time.

Many low stakes poker players pay little or no attention to their opponents stack sizes but this is crucial at all levels of no limit play. So in this situation, if limping along is rarely the correct play then is folding the right play?

Well first of all you need to remember one thing. If you are the best player on the table or you perceive that you are and this table is full of weak tight poker players then where do you think that the money is going to come from to provide your earn rate?

You won’t make big hands often enough and many players will not be committing sizable amounts of money to the pot unless they have a big hand in games like these. I think that being able to multi-table has something to do with this along with rakeback schemes simply because players can afford to fold more hands in an attempt to wait for strong cards. The rest of their playable hands, they limp in with them trying to make a big hand. Look out for part two of this article coming soon.

Carl “The Dean” Sampson
Author – “Winning Cash Game Poker”
Why not come and try your hand at Sit’n go tournaments on bwin?

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