Hold'em Variations
This site focuses on limit Texas Hold'em in a full ring game of nine or ten players;
however, there are other variations of the game that players like to play. These
include:
-
No-limit and Pot-limit
- Short-handed games (six players or less)
- Heads up
You could write a separate book for each of these different variations. They all have
special considerations and strategies that you won't find in a full ring game.
Generally you need to be an advanced player to be successful at any of these
variations.
In no-limit and pot-limit poker, you can lose your entire stack on any one hand. This
drastically changes the value of hands. Bluffing is a key component of strategy
since most pots do not go to the river. You also need an excellent understanding of
odds so that you bet the proper amount on each street to prevent your opponents
from getting good pot odds to draw. Players who tend to go on tilt should definitely
avoid this form of poker. On the internet these are played mostly at very low limits
since collusion and cheating would give a player a tremendous advantage in this
form of poker, The overall quality of players on the Internet in these games is not
too good, so an advanced player could do quite well.
Short-handed games are very aggressive games with usually only two or three
players contesting each pot. Suited connectors go down in value and high cards go
up in value since there are not a lot of players who see the flop. Bluffing and semi-
bluffing are again very important to strategy. To play well, you generally need to
have an advanced level of play since a lot of the action is determined by playing
your opponent.
Good players can win a lot of money playing short-handed since there are more
hands dealt per hour to take advantage of each opponent's weaknesses; however,
not all good ring players are good short-handed players and vice versa. Players
who tend to play too many hands in a full ring game can sometimes do quite well in
a short-handed game if they play well after the flop. I do not recommend playing
short-handed games until you have a lot of experience playing the game. Your
winnings will also fluctuate a lot with this form of poker, so be prepared for big
losses occasionally.
An even more aggressive game is heads-up play. To be successful, you need a
very aggressive style and ability to play your opponent. Most of your success
comes from studying your opponent's tendencies to identify when he has a weak or
strong hand. Advanced heads-up players have a tremendous advantage over their
less experienced opponents and can win a lot of money; however, the fluctuations
are brutal, so be prepared if you want to try heads-up play. To get an idea on some
of the considerations for heads-up strategies, refer to the sections on big blind
versus small blind play discussed in the two starting hand chapters.
All of these different variations of Hold'em are a lot of fun; however, I generally don't
recommend trying these forms until you become a consistent winner at ring games.
The short-term fluctuations in these games can be very discouraging to a beginning
player.
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