I'm a limit convert and thus a NL fish at this point. Please help me out.

I would have made it to showdown in all of these hands in limit.

Live 2-5

Hand 1:

I limper, Villain (seems tight/passive, has me covered) opens to 20 in HJ, I call with 77 in the BB (this is an easy PF3B in limit).

Flop ($65): J52.

I check, check, HJ bets $20, I k/r to $40, limper folds, HJ re-rasies to like $100, I fold. (In limit I would just calldown from here 100% vs an unknown).

Hand 2:

3 limpers to me and I raise AT to $25, LP calls, and a blind and 2 limpers call. Villain here is one of the limpers. Looks like he wins at poker, only hand saw him open limp thus far was 44, sorry no better read.

Flop ($125): KQ7.

Check to villain who bets $125, I call, field folds.

Turn ($375): 7.

He checks, I check.

River ($375) 3.

He bets $175, I fold. This action/board in limit is a snap call on the river in my position.

Hand 3:

There is a limper, I open to $20 with AA, BB (seems tight/passive/straightforward) raises to $40, limper folds, I call (in limit I call with my whole range here).

Flop ($85): KQQ.

BB checks, I check.

Turn ($85): 2.

He bets $20, I call.

River ($125): J .

He bets $40, I raise to $100, He re-raises to $200, I fold.

I'd crying call here in limit. I nearly never get bet/3bet in this spot on the river in limit, I was shocked when it happened here.

Thank you for your thoughts, I obviously need help.

2-5 is too big a game for a new NL player. It is much different than limit. Try 1-3 or 1-2.

H1 - why are you check raising w/ second pair? Call his teeny bet and evaluate turn.

H2 - your line is okay assuming you have IO's to call a PSB. CRAI on the flop is better if effective stacks < $600. Lead shove if your stack < $300.

H3 - 4bet preflop is mandatory. Deny pp's odds to stack you if you can. You should call the river b/c of pot odds (3.25 - 1) and the fact you underrepped your hand on the flop and turn.

I don't ever comment on 2/5 hands (cuz I've never played a single one), but one thing I noticed is that you don't mention the effective stack size in any hands. Effective stack size is crucial to the strategy of playing the hand.

I'd agree with the suggestion above: start out at the lowest NL stakes game available before moving up to 2/5.

GgoodluckG

I think the common mistake you are making on a lot of these hands is making thin raises on scary boards which make you vulnerable to being raised off your hand. For example the 77 hand is just a call as we keep bluffs within their range by flatting and do not get pushed off the pot when our opponent goes crazy with a draw. By raising we are turning our hand into a bluff as we are either winning the pot there or probably not getting I showdown.

I wouldn't play anymore NL for now if I were you, go read basic strategy first.

Or play lower, with a NL player coaching you. A lot of stuff that's standard in limit is like lighting money on fire in NL.

I agree with this. In limit you'd be raising for value with your 77 because people would call you down with A high and such, in NL no one will ever be calling with worse because they have to fear the future bets you can potentially make if they do call. Also, you can raise more than the minimum now so you should probably take the check min raise line out of your arsenal.

I suggest posting fewer hands in one thread (like 1 at a time).

Just limiting my self to hand 1, it is a marginal call pf. You're getting 25:1 (assuming 100BB effective stacks) against a tight/passive player. You missed on the flop, you're crushed by his range, it is an easy c/f.

I think a study in ranges and equities are in order to proceed in NL. Nobody really cares if it is a call in limit getting 12:1 when you're only getting 2:1 in NL.

Paying off the river is perfectly correct in loose low limit games just b/c (as venice mentions above) you often have pot odds of 12:1 or more. In loose limit games you are often committed to show down most decent hands if there's any chance of a bluff. In NL you must be much more circumspect. As someone who learned to play limit (pre moneymaker, 4yrs of respectable vol) playing the river (when playing deep) is by far the most important street in NL and good river play in limit vs NL (even in loose games that appear similar on the surface) is night and day.

Each hand you posted involves different issues. If you really want to transition from limit to NL the biggest adjustment will be deciding when to showdown and when to fold and your reasons for doing so will vary from limit both in terms of on what street you are committed to show down and just how good your hand needs to be.

Tl;dr NL is pretty much an eniterly different game

Thanks for posting your thoughts on what would you do in a Limit game. Very interesting read.

IMHO: H1. Fold flop. H2: fold flop. H3: Call $40.

There are some fundamentals you seem to be lacking by the lack of information you are posting.

For instance, what the hell are the effective stacks behind? I can not overstress the importance of chip stack depth and effective stacks behind in regard to correct play in No-limit hold-em.

The biggest difference between NL and limit imo is that in limit, you have tremendously good direct odds to call and draw. In NL, you have tremendous ability in controlling the odds via no-limit betting. All of this relates to profitability. There are some calls that are insanely profitable due to direct odds and then there are some calls that are insanely profitable due to implied odds and then there are some calls that "look" good but in reality are not profitable because the implied odds aren't there...

I strongly suggest you go to the top of this forum, read the stickies of the Best of LLSNL, read each link in the sticky, and download poker stove. Also read up on Sklansky Bucks, equity, and pot odds.

After all that reading, THEN go back to NL starting at 1/2nl and 1/3nl. Don't play 2/5nl until you grind up at least $2k from 1/2nl and 1/3nl. If you can't grind up $2k from 1/2nl and 1/3nl then you can't beat 2/5nl imo.

To be honest, I would suggest regardless of how much you win at 1/2nl and 1/3nl that you only play 1/2nl and 1/3nl for your next 30 - 40 sessions. Yes, I'm aware that if you play just once to twice a week that is an easy 4 - 6 months...

trust me, it takes a while to get a handle on no-limit coming from the limit world. You will save yourself a lot of money, grief, and pain by learning NL at the 1/2nl and 1/3nl level rather than jumping into 2/5nl. Don't let ego goad you into making a horrific mistake

in any event, good luck.

Ur 100% right, thank you for your thoughts.

Just curious if youd like to wax poetic on something - why are ranges so tight in NL compared to limit. E.g. in limit the standard opening ranges is in the ballpark of 40-45% on the button, 30% in the cutoff, etc. I see in the stats forums here guys are like 26% on the button, 21% in the cutoff, etc.

In limit we 3bet like 16% on the button vs. that CO opener. And have overall 3bet percentages around 11-12%. In NL guys in the stats forum are 3betting like 3%.

At the end of the hand the same cards will be the winning hand the same amount in limit and NL. If you can make money with 40% of hands on the button in limit why can't you make money with 40% of hands in NL?

Thank you for your thoughts.

thank you for your thoughts/advice. I'm sure your right.

I've played limit for 12 years. Of course I have poker stove, I've done more work on it than most for sure. Hands that have enough to 3bet with vs. a 10% opener, 15%, up to a 75% opener (for HU limit) are burned into my brain. I know how much equity you need to peel vs. a resteal, vs. a PF3B, in a BBd in limit and have practiced various hands on various flops to no end. So I have some basics down.

Still will go back to 1-2 though.

Every hand you play in NL has the potential to cost you your stack, therefore implied odds are MUCH higher than limit. However, I have been in live games where it was profitable to open 60-70% of my buttons. Very game dependent.

This is the difference between limit and NL, imo. In NL you can afford to miss a bet, you can make it up later. In limit, you absolutely cannot afford to miss a bet.

Reopening the betting with over aggressive raising also exposes you to rebluffs and can leave you in some tough pot commitment situations