Let's play some No Limit

I took a small break after losing in the $10/$20 game. I finally booked a win at limit hold 'em when I took a trip to a neighboring casino and won at their $3/$6 game. I had avoided playing the $2/$5 no limit game at my local casino because I feared running into better players who would eat me alive. What I realized is that I was not an experienced limit hold 'em player and after talking to some people who were playing the $2/$5 game, I figured I'd take my chances. I played tight aggressive (more tight than aggressive at first) and managed to walk away a winner in my first session. In my second session I had A-A up against K-K and A-J suited. I took down a huge pot with my aces holding up. I thought I was back on track to get my bankroll built up, but then I soon learned how dangerous a no limit game can be.

I had just bought in for $200 in a $2/$5 no limit game and picked up A-7 in the small blind. There were about 4 limpers into the pot, so I saw flop that came 7-6-x. I had just flopped top pair with the top kicker. However, I knew my hand was vulnerable as all I held was a pair of 7s. I decided to change up my play a bit and bet the minimum $5 into a pot of about $25. I got raised by the big blind to $15 and everyone else folded. I called the bet and another 7 hit on the turn. I thought this was my gin card. However, I was wrong. I led out with another small bet--this time $15 and I got quickly raised to $75. While my gut reaction was that I was beat, I managed to convince myself that my opponent was trying to bluff me out of the pot, so I moved in and got quickly called. I didn't even need to see the cards--I knew my opponent had filled up with his 7-6. I bought back in for another $200 and was a bit on tilt after that loss. However, I managed to get away from A-Q when the board came Q high. I bet and got raised. I had a suspicion that my opponent held a big pair and I was pretty sure I saw K-K fly into the muck after I folded. Needless to say, by the end of the night, I was down another $400. I did this again about a week later and after looking at my records, I saw I was down about $1,600 in my brief poker playing career (you should always keep good records of your play).

I decided that the $2/$5 game was a bit too high for me, so I started playing the $1/$2 no limit game as my local casino had just began to spread that game along with the $2/$5. What I liked about this game was that there was a maximum buy in. On the $2/$5 game, I could buy in for as much as I wanted. I lost about $100 in my first two sessions of $1/$2. I had my A-A cracked and a few other unlucky things happen. I told myself that if I ever lost more than $2,000 playing cards, I should just quit playing for money. The next time I played, I picked up K-K twice and won huge pots both times and left the game a $300 winner. Over the next two months, I managed to win about $800. I also switched casinos and found the $1/$2 game at another local casino easier to beat. I had found the game I could beat on a regular basis--$1/$2 no limit hold 'em.