if you are playing agaisnt a calling station, keep betting and let him keep calling. This same successful tactic might not work agaisnt a tough player who might fold to a raise but will bet if you check and show weakness.

I play limit poker and no limit sit and goes and the hardest skill I found was controlling the size of the pot and wondering what to do when you have AK but havnt hit the flop.

I really like these articles focusing on the basics of no limit and SNG’s.

It comes back to the size of the pot, I think this is an important point for people who are playing poker through a style learnt in books. There isn’t a textbook play because it all depends on the size of the pot you are playing for.

keep up the good work Ed and hurry up and get that book out

To this installment, I would add the old mantra “Don’t get broke in an unraised pot.” When the pot is not raised preflop, you flop top pair and meet resistance, keep it in your pants, ie control the pot and bail if you feel you are beat. There is no shame in folding a 1 pair hand to pressure in NLHE. Limpers often show you a set or 2 pair when they want to escalate the pot. Same is true of a limper who calls your raise out of position. Insist on playing with an advantage, and don’t be afraid to fold when you are convinced they have an advantage.

Often you should bet top pair fairly strongly, especially against a calling station. If they’ll call three big bets with Q3 or middle pair while you have AQ on a Q-high flop, then go ahead and bet-bet-bet, just like you would in limit.

The trouble comes more when your opponent is tricky/aggressive (or even not that tricky, but just tight and solid), and the stack sizes are awkward such that top pair turns into a win a small pot/lose a large one proposition. In limit, that will never happen because the pots you win and the pots you lose will tend to be similar in size. But in no-limit, you can be winning $30 pots, but losing $120 pots due to the escalation in betting. That’s when you need to be careful.

But there’s definitely nothing “sissy” about checking top pair to keep control of the pot. It’s an important no-limit tool.

there’s a gem in every article. My eye opener in this one is “you don’t actually protect a hand, you protect the pot, because that’s what you’re trying to win. And you also need to protect your stack, because that’s what you’re trying not to lose.”

Coming from limit I auto-bet AQ on a Q-high flop. Now I know why that got me in trouble more often than not. Especially if I raise preflop with such a hand I thought that I needed to continue to show strength (bet – hmmm, no FOLD; bet – hmmm, still no FOLD from this fish; BET – OMG, what a calling station… OOOOPS! Damn, a set! What a suckout!).
Not betting would make me feel like a sissy, but now I learned that I need to protect my stack against unjustified risks which helps me emotionally, too.

Thanks a lot, Ed!

I would like to reiterate that.
My Limit poker success fully due to reading SSHE and your blog and I have stayed about 20 bb/100 for nearly 6 months. Ghough at really micr limits.

I do however seem to hit a brick wall when playing No Limit and am anxious to read your new book, any idea when it is coming out.

Also I would like to apologise for reading and not leaving comments for so long, I have been a lot busier than usual and have been to lazy to comment The blog is great.

I honestly think that your material and content is better and less diluted than any other source including 2 + 2 forums etc.

Keep it up

Peter