Starting hands in No Limit Hold Em
Part 1 – Hands that decrease in value in No Limit Hold Em
High picture cards go down in value in No Limit Hold Em
The starting value of hands differs quite a lot between No Limit and Fixed Limit Hold Em. The prime reason for this is something called implied odds, which while a factor in fixed limit, becomes much more important in no limit. Hands like KQo and ATo in particular decrease in value for a number of reasons. One is they are simply not strong enough to take the heat in the form of bigger bets and raises that occur in no limit hold em, and also even when they hit the flop they make two many costly second best hands.
Example of a trouble hand in No Limit Hold Em
For example, say with KQo, the flop brings you the pleasant site of a King. However, this flop may have in fact done you no favors at all. Bear in mind that you are still behind many potential holdings of your opponent, two pair, a set, or even AK. Even if you are ahead, you could lose the hand eventually to a draw. If you are getting any serious action on this hand on the flop and the remaining stacks are significant, you will almost always have to let it go.
Win small or lose big with trouble hand
With these big card type hands, you generally want to take the pot there and then on the flop. So really all they are usually good for is to win a small pot or lose a big one.
Exceptions to the rules
There are always exceptions of course, perhaps you have reason to believe that you have a loose player outkicked, something like AK vs. KQ with a King on the flop, or if the flop hits your hand real hard, like KKx when you have AK. In these cases, the aim should be to win money off your opponent little by little, either by betting moderately so as not to scare him off or perhaps even giving a free card so as to give him a chance to catch a little something to pay you off.
In Part 2 of Starting hands in No Limit Hold Em we will take a look at the hands that increase in value in No Limit Hold Em.
