No Foldem Hold'em - Start Hand
Selection And Flop Decisions

It appears that I have come to be regarded as the low limit holdem expert of the forum, so I figure it's time that I try to live up to that in my articles. Low limit or no foldem holdem is a table characterized by being super loose and relatively passive. If you have pots with less then 4 players seeing the flop, it's not a no foldem game. This should be kept in mind when applying the conclusions from this article. For instance the recommendations for start hand selection are not completely valid for tight aggressive games. If some of you feel that you have read some of this before you're probably right. The last half of the article is taken from an old post of mine. But as I couldn't write it any better today, and the game is still the same, I figured that I might as well try recycling this info, and presenting it in a way, so new players get a chance to find it as well. After all, the no foldem table is the first table that most players will encounter.

Start Hand Selection

Most books recommend that you should have a tight start hand selection to beat a loose table. I have a different opinion. You will get to see more flops at a loose passive table than you will in a tight aggressive one, playing optimal strategy in both. The logic behind this is that you know in advance you will get a good price for your long shots. While players often complain about the difficulty of protecting your made hands in this games against calling stations, they often fail to draw the logical conclusion - that you should do a fair deal of sucking out yourself. You want to end up with the hands that are nuts or fairly close. These are sets, boats, straights and flushes. For instance, the odds for completing a flush draw with a two flush on the flop are around 1.9 to 1. In a no foldem game you will always get pot odds way better then that. So in a loose passive game your high unsuited cards go down in value, whereas your suited connectors go up in value. Medium pocket pairs are best heads up (where the chance of winning unimproved is good) or against a field (where you flop a set or get out). Your premium hands do well against any conceivable number of opponents, but will win less frequently against a field then they will heads up. But this is more then compensated by the fact that they will win much bigger pots with loads of people calling down, than when played heads up.

To illustrate; AA is an 85% favorite against a single player with a random hand, and a 49.5% dog against five players (altogether). But as the pot stands to be five times as big with five players involved, you will win more money with AA in a no foldem game then you will in a tight one.

These are the basic considerations when choosing start hands in a loose game. Here are my recommendations:

Early position (first two seats after the big blind)

Pairs AA-99
Suited AKs-ATs, KQs-KJs, QJs, JTs
Unsuited AK-AQ, KQ

Middle position (the three seats in the middle)

Pairs AA-66
Suited AKs-A10s, KQs-K10s, QJs-Q10s, JTs
Unsuited AK-AQ, KQ

Late position (cut-off seat and button and small blind)

Pairs AA-44
Suited Axs, KQs-K10s, QJs-Q10s, JTs-J9s, 109s-108s, 98s, 87s, 76s
Unsuited AK-AQ, KQ-KJ

Some might ask why 33 and 22 are not included. The answer is that they are losers. Even against a huge field you will run into a higher set with them too often to make a profit. You should also make notice that the marginal hands (like the small suited connectors) are marginal, and if you tend to get sucked in with them, you're probably way better off folding them pre flop. If in doubt folding is never the worst option.

Playing On The Flop

Obviously there's a lot more to poker than choosing a tight start hand selection. As stated above, you can take more flops in a no foldem game then in a tight game because you know that you can aim for a good prize if you flop a monster. By the same token, you need to play a lot tighter against a field from the flop and onwards then you do against a single opponent. So making the right decisions on the flop is crucial to success. And the criterion to apply in making your decision on the flop is fairly simple: Either you think you have the best hand, or a really good draw with pot odds to go with it, or you'll have to fold it right there on the flop. Simple as that. Here are a few examples of what I mean.

Flop 1: You hold 1010 in mid position and start raise. You get 4 players taking the flop with you. Flop comes A92 rainbow. What to do?

My answer: Check-fold. With 4 players in there, it's pretty likely that at least one of them has an ace or even a better hand like a set. You've got two outs, and even though the pot is quite big, it's not big enough and it's not yours. Wait for a better opportunity.

Flop 2: You have 5 players calling pre-flop and you limp along with Jh10s. Consider the following situations:

a) Flop comes AhQh2s

My answer: A gutshot draw is normally garbage, even though you do get pot odds for them in a no foldem game on occasions. But with a 2 flush showing as well, you got to get out of there. Always bear in mind that the better opportunity is right around the corner.

b) Flop comes QsJs10c

My answer: Here you have a decent but vulnerable holding. Make sure you bet the hell out of it, until you feel convinced that you're up against the straight. You will probably carry a trail of fish along with all hands including ace, king, 9 or two spades. Make them pay. Even if the turn is a scare card you still have a redraw for the boat. Make them pay early to try and chase you down.

c) Flop comes AhJs9d

My answer: 2nd pair with a weak kicker. A clear fold, no matter how many players you've got in there.

d) Flop comes 9d7c3s

My answer: Now here I'll be inclined to lead the betting. A gutshot draw with two overcards leaves you with 10 outs, which is not bad at all, in a no foldem game. A 10 or a Jack might kill you, but you just bet and call if someone raises you along the way.

Flop 3: You hold a pair of 8s in mid position and limp in along with 4 others. Flop comes 974 rainbow. What do you do?

My answer: Well here's what I'll do. If someone bets, I'll fold it right there. If it's checked to me, I'll bet and keep betting all the way, or until I'm raised (in which case I'll fold).

Flop 4: You hold AcKc and raise from EP and get 4 callers. Flop comes Qc9s3s. What do you do?

My answer: This is an easy check fold. You have no hand against 4 opponents and you're out of position. Furthermore you know that these players will stay until the showdown with any piece of the board (which in this situation happens to be a better hand then yours!!!). And finally you know that AK goes down in value against multiple opponents. Don't chase with overcards only in a no foldem game!!!!

What most players seems to get horribly wrong about no foldem games is that it's not a river game - it's a flop game. Don't delay the tricky decisions. They're usually not going to be easier at the river, when you've thrown even more money after a weak hand. Legitimate hands to play from the flop and onwards are top pair; open ended straight draw, flush draw, gutshot straight draw with two overcards. Obviously these rigid rules are not always right, but as a general rule, you'll do all right by playing this way. Most no foldem players tend to believe that underpairs and 2nd and 3rd pair in the flop are legitimate calling hands. No way Jose. You've got 5 outs, and might be up against a better hand even when you make one of your 5 outs.

If it's a passive game (which games at most online sites are below 3-6$) you'll have to bet and keep betting whenever you decide to play a hand from the flop and onwards. You know that most of your opponents are in there with weak hands. Also you know that these guys won't raise unless they have 2 pair or better (you should therefore always fold your single pair for a flop or turn raise in this type of game). In short - they wont bet your hands for you, and if you don't do it yourself (even when the board looks a bit scary), you will end up being a sure loser. Most low limit players have the typical betting sequence of call-call-call-fold. Have a good look at your game and see how often you have this betting sequence, because it really sucks.

In some cases you might want to re-raise a drawing hand early in the hand. If you get good pot odds, you are actually raising for value here, as you will end up completing your hand more often than the odds the pot present you. So you will be betting for value, even though you cannot expect to win the hand more then i.e. 1 in 3 times. There are however a few limitations to this. In a no foldem game there will often be more than one player with a flush draw. This takes away two of your outs, and might cost you a lot when you make your flush, just to lose to a bigger flush. Therefore, I prefer betting early with a draw when I have over cards to the flop along with the flush draw, or both a straight and a flush draw. Also, keep in mind that this strategy will increase your fluctuations quite a bit, but it is a winning play, if performed in the right spots. Personally, I don't do it very much, as I think it make me tilt too easily. Also, this play is NOT to be considered a semi bluff when against multiple opponents. You cannot bluff 4 or 5 players. But if you have bet it really hard early on, and end up with a single opponent on the river, you should bet the river, unless you're absolutely positive that he will call your bet.

A final bit of advice would be that you play with a stop loss. For instance, you always leave the table when you've lost your original buy in. This serves multiple purposes:

a) You don't stay around longer then necessary when you don't see the fish at the table (read: YOU ARE IT!).

b) You get a chance to calm down your emotions and get your A-game ready before you give it another go. Tilt control is a major issue in poker, not the least in no foldem, where you will suffer some tremendous bad beats (but also will be generously rewarded on your good hands most of the time).

c) You make sure that you actually take the time to think through your game, when you're most motivated to learn (who wants to analyze the game when you've just won a zillion - I, for one, cannot get my raised arms down again in this spot, and generally feel unbeatable). Take the lesson you've just paid for, and use 10 minutes to write down some notes.

d) When you move up a limit, decide in advance how much you're willing to lose, and don't go back up there before you've regained the loss at your normal limit.

e) Go read Lee Jones - Low limit poker, Bob Ciaffones & Jim Brier - Middle Limit poker, Matthew Hilger - Internet Texas Hold'em and David Sklanskys complete works. Read them and re-read them, and use this forum to ask some good question to get the rest.

Good luck with it.

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