I was watching a $25-$50 blinds no-limit hold'em game recently. Six of the players were relatively deepstacked, with at least $10,000 on the table. The other three players were playing short; each had about $850 in their stacks. An interesting hand developed showing the dynamics between big and small stacks. Dean, with a big stack, raised to $150 from early position. Brad re-raised all-in to $850 from middle position. Anna, in late position raised another $1,000 and Dean called. Both Dean and Anna had about $20,000 left in their stacks.
The flop came [Tc][Qs][Ts]. Dean checked and Anna bet $1,250. Dean immediately raised $3,500 and Anna began to think. Anna had [Ah][Qh], for top two pair, but what could Dean hold? The flop was very dangerous; Dean's range certainly included A-T, KsJs, and Q-Q, though the latter wasn't likely (Dean would probably have just called, and Anna held a queen). Dean was certainly capable of bluffing in this spot but it wasn't that likely. The main pot was $2,600. Anna came to the conclusion that Dean either had a better hand right now or a big draw, such as the aforementioned [Ks][Js], and she folded. After all, against another deep stack her hand wasn't that great.
The hand continued, of course, since Brad was allin. The turn was the [9d] and the river was the [Jh]. Dean flipped over AsKs while Brad held KaKd and Dean took down the pot. Brad muttered an obscenity while rebuying for another $1,000. Did anyone do anything wrong in this hand?
Let's start with Brad. After Dean raised Brad found he had the second-best possible hand. And since he was playing short-stacked he had just one decision to make: when to move all-in. He had a great hand, and it was time to let the chips fall where they might. Yes, he was unlucky that he lost, but if he has a problem with such swings perhaps Brad should consider playing something other than no-limit hold'em.
Anna's actions before the flop were also reasonable. Her re-raise with A-Q established her as the aggressor, and also gave her a chance to play heads-up against Brad. She played this hand quite well. Finally, all of Dean's actions were sensible. He raised with a good hand from early position; his call of the raise and re-raise is standard. His check raise on the flop is a good play given the fact that he flopped both a straight and a flush draw. Had Anna re-raised him he could fold knowing he was likely behind.
Why did I write about a hand that was played at the high limits? Go back and re-read the hand, and divide all the numbers by 10. Consider if this hand had been played in your $2-$5 no-limit hold'em game how the action might have gone. Would the players you face act reasonably? Might the Anna you face just move all-in with her A-Q rather than just make a re-raise?
No-limit hold'em has the same rules, whether the blinds are $25-$50, $2-$5, or 25¢-50¢. The quality of the players tends to improve as the stakes increase, and you can't expect to win in most high stakes games playing "ABC" poker. Still, players who think, consider the actions of their opponents and act accordingly, will win at all levels of the game. And that's true no matter what variety of poker you play.
