You’ll notice that many of your opponents seem to play no limit texas holdem pretty much as they play limit holdem.  That is to say,  they bet by single big bet increments.  OK,  maybe I’m exaggerating.  But if someone raises to $5 before the flop,  they might come out and bet $5 on the flop.  And if they raise a $5 bet they’ll often raise by that same $5.

In general,  you don’t want to do this.  You want to take full advantage of the no-limit betting structure by betting much more aggressively than they.

Here’s what I mean.  Suppose you’re in early position with a pair of Jacks.  That’s a strong hand in holdem.  But it’s not a super powerhouse.  After all,  other players could hold Queens,  Kings,  or Aces.  And even if they just hold one card higher than a Jack  --  K-6 for example  --  they could easily improve to a higher pair on the flop.

So,  in general,  when you raise pre-flop you want to raise by a significant amount,  enough to induce players with many drawing hands to fold to your bet.  You don’t want players with overcards to catch an overpair and send your hand into the sewer.  Alternately,  you want anyone drawing against you to pay dearly for that privilege.

Too many low stakes players think that they want a lot of callers with their strong hands.  They don’t.  Here’s a test:  If you have J-J and you’re called to the River by players holding Ks Qs; Ah 3d; Tc 9s; 2c 2s; 4h 5h; and Qd Td...  what do you think the odds are that you’ll win your hand?  How about if only the Ks Qs calls you down?  How about if no one does?

Your chances of winning against the above-mentioned 6 opponents is 17.3%.  Against just the Ks Qs your chances are 53.3%,  and if everyone folds to your raise before the flop your chances of winning are,  well,  100% of course!  [answer courtesy of TwoDimes.]  Now of course that figure is partially skewed by the fact that in reality,  many players won’t bother calling all the way to the River if they miss the flop.  But you get the point.  Your powerful J-J can easily get beaten if it has a lot of company on the flop.

You want to shake off those calling stations by putting significant heat on them pre-flop.  So don’t raise to $5 in these games.  Make it $10 or more to go.  Similarly,  if there’s been a flop and there aren’t any Kings,  Queens,  or Aces in it,  bet a significant amount again  -–  about the size of the pot or so.  So if pre-flop you made it $10 and got one caller,  go ahead and bet $25 on the flop.  (Don’t waste the time or energy figuring out precisely what the pot is in these games,  just estimate it,  round it off and bet it.)

Generally,  you want to do this until you have a reason to back off.  That doesn’t mean you’ll bet a small amount.  You should usually check if you are not confident enough to bet a significant amount.  Consider this,  for example.  Let’s say that instead of a low flop after you bet with your pair of Jacks,  you had a flop with Ah Ks 2d.  You’re in early position and you had one pre-flop caller.  You have a tough decision to make.  Your opponent may well have caught a pair of Kings or Aces.  You may be behind now.  You should consider checking.

That doesn’t mean you must check or that you should fold to your opponent’s bet if you do check.  The best play may be to come out betting $25.  It depends on how you read your opponent and how you think he reads you.  But it is probably a mistake to bet $5.  It is too small to get him to back off a drawing hand,  small enough that a good player may well read you for weakness and raise a significant amount,  forcing you to fold,  and making it thereby a waste of a bet.

While there are always exceptions in poker,  for the most part you want your bets to be serious.  Even if you are betting  “for information”  (which I generally don’t recommend at this level,  since your opponents aren’t good enough for them to react in predictable ways to your bet),  you need your bet to be significant enough to elicit a meaningful response.  If you bet $5 into a $25 pot,  what information can you really gather that you wouldn’t gather with a check?  Players with weak hands are apt to call the $5.  Players prone to bluffing in this situation if you check will also be so inclined if you bet the small amount.  Few if any players will fold for the $5.  So what will you have accomplished with your small bet?

On the other hand,  if you bet $25 and get raised you’ll be pretty sure that you’re against a strong hand  (unless your opponents are very strong players who can make this move).  Similarly,  if your bet of $25 is called you’re apt to be up against a pretty strong drawing hand or maybe another high pair.  Reasonable people can debate whether it makes sense to bet for information  (a subject for another column).  But it surely doesn’t make sense to bet a small amount.