A NO LIMIT Lesson from Las Vegas

Playing 1-2 NL with a bunch of young guys.

Dealt T 8s on the button and theres 3 limpers to me. I call, the sb folds, and the bb checks.

Flop is a T 8 8. UTG limper bets out (pot size) 10. Two folders to me, and I am looking at my hole cards. Showing him -- hmmm, do I have a T or an inside straight draw? I call, bb folds.

Turn is a 5. He bets 30. I look at board and call.

River is another 5. I am shaking my head no and looking at my hole cards. He goes all in for 45-ish and I call. He shows KK and leaves in disgust.

Game is now 6 handed and the worst player just left. One other large stack - and he seems a good player. Other players are very short stacks on the table. I play around to my bb and leave. Game is now 5 handed and it breaks up.

So ---- whats the No Limit LESSON here? Well, its the same no limit lesson thats been extensively written about in the '80s and '90s. Its been discussed on many online discussion groups and by knowledgable "old timers" in poker matters.

In NO LIMIT, the money moves (quickly) from the bad players to the good players. The good players are NOT going to put this money back into the game. The bad players will leave the game (sometimes rapidly) when they run out of money. The games will then die out - or decrease in number. Sometimes this takes a little while as the games get tougher and the prior winners become losers. As the games become tougher, even the good players find it less worthwhile.

No Limit games are good for everyone. The losers lose their money quickly - and oftentimes think they've been cheated. The winners get a worse and worse game. The people running the game get less and less of a game to run. Everyone has known this for years - except the young guys who are nowadays running and playing the no limit games.