no limit

I only play limit but I'm trying to learn the no limit game. here's a hand i got beat down on in limit, and i'm trying to figure out, had this been a no limit game, how i'd keep from losing my entire stack.

 

I was the big blind with QJo. Flop came QJ9 rainbow. I bet out, get called down to the river where I get checkraised. The turn and river were low rags with no flush possible. Obviously dude flopped king high straight. I pay him off for the extra bet on the river.

 

Now had this been a no limit hand, he probably would have limped in in late position with the K10.

 

How could I have avoided disaster had this been a no limit hand? Or are there times when you just get destroyed and its inevitable?

 

It would have been REAL hard to lay down top 2 figuring he flopped a set or straight.

 

Ps I would appreciate some realism in your responses, I know when giving hypothetical poker advice, everyone's an expert, and it's "so easy to see your opponents cards". I'm heading to vegas this weekend, probably won't play no-limit, but I am just curious as to how a good no limit player could avoid disaster in a hand such as this.

i played limit for a long time before nl became the hot game a few years ago.  I now pretty much just play nl.  I was successful at limit for years.  I made the transition to NL and i think the biggest thing i had to keep in mind was knowing what is in the pot at all times(should know in limit also but easier to figure as i just count bets) and knowing what the stack sizes where of everyone in the hand.  Betting is the whole game in nl.  you need to know how to control the pots and how to extract the most you can when ahead.  A lot of that comes with experience.  I think the big thing I learned(and I play live only) is that I do not need to bet the pot to take down some hands on the flop.  Sometimes a smaller bet is just as good maybe 60-70% of the pot.  If a small bet serves the same purpose it helps limit my exposure and gets me less committed to a pot so i can fold easily if need be. 

 

Now in NL there will be times where getting it all in with a big hand only to find you are up against a bigger hand is inevitable.  Coolers are going to happen.  You need to be a much better reader in NL then in limit.  That said table position is much more important as well.  Dont get yourself stuck in bad spots oop.  Its hard to comment on a hypothetical situation because we dont know the way the betting has gone nor the stacks etc.  When it happens to you you have to just let it roll off your back.  If you play in a game that is in your comfort level you should be able to withsatnd these types of beats and move on.  If you play over your head you will have a hard time shaking it.

 

Thanks for the response. I realize that no-limit is a game with very fluid situations. I'm not going to jump into the game anytime soon, that's for sure. To be honest I'd rather grind it out in a limit game against people I know will lose in the long haul. I'd like to be a good no limit player someday but I know it takes a lot of work. I'm a decent tournament player, nothing special.

 

It's just when I get hit with a hand like the aformentioned, that's the kind of hand I'd have a hard time laying down. Even though I know a check raise on the river means at least a set, folding is hard for me with top 2.

 

Incidentally, the few times i've ventured onto no limit tables on fulltilt, I've done very well. Probably because I hit and run on the tables before they figure out I'm a novice at no limit.

in no limit, the guy w/ the straight would probably try to trap you and get you to commit a lot of your stack. This is a tricky flop. You have to know when you are beat. It just takes years to feel this. Sometimes I have a flush but I know someone has a boat. You  can't get too carried away. In limit I am gonna just call, in no limit maybe have to chuck the hand.  If there is no 9 on the flop, but instead a 3, you have to go hard, seeing the straight you have to slow up. If you run into a small straight what are you gonna do?

Just remember you can avoid a lot of tricky situations by how you play preflop.  In most live games you do not need to do anything fancy.  You can play tight and push it when you have the hands and youw ill get paid off.  Its a good way to play when you are just learning.

I get what you guys are saying, and thanks.... but just for shits, what would most likely go down in the hand I mentioned? lights out for the top 2? or at least lose a few bets if you can fold late?

yeah you are SOL w/ top 2 on that hand, limit, no limit, whatever.

so you guys play no limit almost exclusively now... I took a beatdown in 3/6 limit last night (actually not that bad, just lost 100 over an hou to some guys who didn't know what they were doing, just caught absolutely no cards at all and 2nd bests and enough to calls which made it feel like i got my ass kicked)...

 

my 2nd question is...

 

how much does the idiocy of any limit game (i know its all the same no matter the limit) have to do with your decision to just stick with no-limit? cuz to be honest i'm feeling like vomiting every time i play limit now, its such a crapshoot

limit you have to make bigger hands. You are looking to get straights or flushes, or sets. 2 pair at a min . or else you can't feel too strong on the river. If you have QQ or lower pocket pair you often need a set to win. Too may overcards will be out there. And people overplay AK and like hands, as if you don't flop anything what do you have? There will be people with pairs and draws ad they aren't going anywhere