Poker Articles

This is an article written by Andrew Wiggins, one of the teachers at www.cardrunners.com, a site dedicated to teaching high level poker skills to aspiring players.

I often hear the argument over whether it is best to buy in for the max buyin or less in a no-limit hold’em game. I am a huge proponent of buying in for the maximum amount allowed. I feel that it gives you the advantage at the table and allows you to play a wider range of styles. You can successfully use different types of (creative, tricky) plays because of the amount of chips in front of you.  I do not believe that the converse is true. If you are playing a stack that is shorter than maximum amount allowed, it is no longer be profitable to play a loose aggressive style (LAG).  I believe that both tight aggressive (TAG) and LAG are both winning strategies in no-limit hold’em.  However, given the choice between the two, I believe a LAG style is more profitable.

One of the most important concepts of a LAG style is utilizing implied odds. Implied odds are the odds you are getting because when you make your hand your opponent will pay you off (on future bets). An example of this is that you have 5s6s and the board is 4s7sQd. If you believe your opponent has a very strong hand such as AQ, AA, KK or a set and you and your opponent both have the max buyin, you are getting very good implied odds. If you make your hand, you will likely win all of your opponent’s chips. Implied odds relay heavily on the caliber of player you are playing. There are players at 5/10 NL who I know won’t pay me off and I will rarely draw on them. Even if I make my hand, my payoff is minimal and therefore in the long run it is not profitable to play my draws. However, the vast majority of players are not that way. It can often be very profitable to invest a small portion of your stack on the flop or turn with the anticipation of winning a monster pot after you make your hand.

Implied odds are very important to consider when deciding if your draw is worth playing, but other factors must be considered as well. For instance, say you have 66 and you raised to $35 preflop. Your opponent then re-raised to $135. You both have $1000 starting the hand. I would likely fold my hand here even though the correct odds are apparently there. I am 7:1 to hit my set, and if I do I am likely, but not certain, to win his entire stack. I have to call $100 more to win $1000. I am seemingly getting 10:1 implied odds. In this situation, a lot of people would call and look for their set based on the calculations I made above. I would not often make that call. You must consider the times that your opponent does not lose his entire stack. If your opponent has AK and the board comes 1065, you won’t be winning his stack.  Also there are times when your opponent will have KK or QQ and an ace will flop.  This will kill the action even when you do hit your set. I would want both of us to have $1400 stacks or so before I call $100 preflop. That will enable me to get a better price on my call. 

When playing a LAG style, implied odds should be a crucial aspect of your decision making process. However, if you buy in for ½ of the max buyin, the value of suited connectors and small/medium pairs decreases drastically because you are not able to get the correct implied odds these hands require to be played profitably.  If you still wish to only buy in for half of the max buy-in or less, you should change your strategy and become a TAG player.  You shouldn’t be raising or playing suited connectors, small pairs, or any marginal hands.  When you do enter a pot you should bet very aggressively.

I play a loose aggressive style of poker.  I strongly believe that this is the most profitable way to play no-limit hold’em.  I strongly encourage other players to buy in for the maximum amount allowed if they wish to use this strategy.  If you aren’t comfortable buying in for a large amount in a game, either move down a level or buy-in for half of the max buy-in.  However, if you buy in for less than the max, make sure you make the necessary adjustments in your play.