No-Fold'em Hold'em

By Michael Wiesenberg

My turn to say a few words about low-limit no-fold'em hold'em, a game many beginners find themselves in. I don't play high-limit hold'em, so most of the hold'em games I've found myself in have been of the no-fold'em variety, mostly $3-$6 and $6-$12.

I keep hearing players saying they can't win in these games. They're right about that. They say they win at higher stakes. I'm not so sure about that, but I'll have to take their word for it. They say the reason they lose is they can't "protect a hand." Neither can they "put someone on a hand," and they can't "represent a hand." Well. Three potent weapons stolen from their arsenals.

As I say, I have played mainly in these smaller games, getting to higher stakes only in tournaments. I don't have a lot of fancy steps, so I suppose I'm ruined for higher stakes. I don't know. When I want to play higher, I'll learn the way I have small stakes: by reading the good books on the subject and by using the simulation software on my PC. (And here's a plug: Wilson Software's Turbo Texas Hold'em is the best I have ever seen for every aspect of the game. You can analyze hands and situations. You can test your own strategies without risk playing against players just like those in the games with which you're familiar, including, yes, no-fold'em hold'em. You can just have fun playing against a tableful of players, almost as much fun as the real thing, lacking only the smoke, the noise, and, oh yes, the money.) I may never play hold'em much higher, because if I want to play moderately big, the lowball games are still pretty good.

My point is that I have a good track record in these games, averaging more than one big bet per hour. Fluctuations are pretty high, so I probably need a larger sample to determine whether I'm good or just lucky. I know, but a statistician would want more hours. As many authors have stated in the august pages of poker publications and on line, you make most of your money in poker not from the cleverness of your play but from the bad play of the others. I would much rather play anytime against a bunch of drunks who have no conception of what they're doing and wouldn't know a semibluff from a Mack truck, than a tableful of experts against whom I can prove my prowess. I know I'll beat the idiots in the long run for more than I can get out of the knowledgeable players.

What's my strategy, then, if I can't make any fancy plays? Easy.

In aggressive, loose games, open early only with top-expectation hands. You know what they are, big pairs, AK, maybe AQ. Come in late if there's no raising with hands that play well against a large field, like suited connectors and small pairs. Get out on the flop if I don't get a good piece of it. Raise or otherwise push the betting whenever I think I have the best of it. This means I raise the opener, even if he's in first position, when I have AK, and I still get the same six people seeing the flop. Sure, I'll start with a large pocket pair, flop a set, and get drawn out sometimes by the clown who hangs in there all the way with 2-7 suited. So what? He'll lose more than he wins with those cards over any reasonable length of time. If there's aggressive betting, as there often is in these games, I fold whenever I think I'm behind. I rarely bluff. Both because it has a negative expectation--someone always calls--and because there's no need to advertise. They'll call the tightest player at the table all the way when it's obvious to smart players that he has pocket aces. Save the fancy plays for those who understand them, and those folks are rarely in these games.

In the passive games, I come in early with more speculative hands, because I know it won't get raised as often, and I don't want to waste those hands that play well against a large field. I still get out if the flop doesn't hit me.

Anecdotal evidence: I played in one of those games where this one player was in almost every hand, and he always raised when it was his turn. So I opened only with quality hands (I didn’t play a lot of hands), and reraised when it got back to me, or raised behind him, and then rereraised. If he had any kind of a draw, he would be in, raising on each round, till the end. If he missed, he'd bluff, and I picked him off a few times. Of course, if he made his hand, he also pushed it all the way. I got lucky, though and he didn't make any big hands when I was in. Three times I had pocket kings, the betting was capped before the flop, and two or three raises every round, against several players, some of whom exited as their hands failed to materialize. Two of the times the kings did not improve, but they stood up anyway. One time a pair of fours hit the board. Not really much of an improvement, but no one had a four. In two hours I made $400 in a $3-$6 game.

In another game, a drunk raised every hand before the flop without looking at his cards. It was almost always capped before the flop. He always made at least one bet after the flop still without having seen his cards. He made some monster pots by beating big hands. So did I, by choosing my hands carefully. No one else was gambling it up. They didn't have to. This guy made up for them. But they were staying in there on much lesser holdings than they normally would, so the game was still essentially no-fold'em. Same size game. I made $300 in an hour.

Sure, I was lucky both times, but I figure to make a lot more in such a game than I can lose.

I've also played in some pretty tight small games, where all the players figure they're world champions. Can't make anything there. I can make plays against them. I can bluff them. So what? The drop, one small bet per hand, is too much to overcome. Nope. I'll take no-fold'em hold'em any day.