When the toughness level of the game starts to change
I am a player who has played extensively at all the levels between 25NL to 400NL. Based on this experience, I have found that the toughness level in no limit hold’em cash games starts to show with the jump from 100NL to 200NL. Here are the differences that I have found between the two levels:
1. There is quite a bit more limping. I have seen a bunch of hands that go like this…. UTG limps, MP limps, CO and button limp, SB limps, the BB raises the pot and everyone folds. I was also at a table the other night where after everyone limped, I raised 10x from the SB and everyone called. It’s definitely weak poker to open limp a hand and it’s also weak to call a big reraise with hands that you would only limp with in the first place. You see this type of play at 100NL quite often. Starting at 200NL, you don’t.
2. There are a lot more passive players. I have seen more players at 100NL who play 40-60 percent of their hands while only raising 5-10 percent of them. Sometimes, you’ll find 2 players like this at the same table. That’s just bad poker.
3. There isn’t near as much 3 betting at this level. In most cases, if someone was 3-betting then they usually had a very strong hand. I did run into a few people who would 3 bet with marginal and garbage hands but they are few and far between.
4. You need to find a way to identify the regulars. There are definitely some good regulars playing 100nl and it helps to keep track of who they are. With many players like the ones that I identified above, there are so many more good games to choose from at 100nl. You definitely shouldn’t have to sit at a table with good or better players at this limit, unless there are some donkeys at the table that you are targeting.
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