No limit ring games are the bread and butter for many of the wealthiest poker players in the world. Tournament poker gets most of the attention, but no limit ring games are where the real money is made. There are ring games players out there right now earning several million dollars a year playing both live and online.
Ring games are difficult, but they are also rewarding. In no limit ring games, you have the freedom to take risks, develop a table image and play against weak players for extended periods of time. Poker tournaments have their advantages as well, but they do not give you as many opportunities to exploit your opponents.
One major advantage to no limit ring games is that you can play against the same opponents for extended periods of time. If you win an opponent’s entire stack, there’s a good chance that opponent will buy in again and continue playing. In tournament poker, you do not have the same opportunity.
No limit ring games also let you punish your opponents more severely. In fixed limit poker and tournament poker, you can only punish your opponents so much. In a ring game, an opponent’s entire buyin is always on the line. One mistake from one of your opponents can result in an instant payday for you.
Ring Game Strategy
There are a few ways to approach ring game strategy. For most players (especially new players) I recommend the tight-aggressive approach. The tight-aggressive (tag) approach is the most basic proven winning strategy. Many of today’s top ring game players use a simple tag style to make a killing in no limit ring games.
I will explain the tag style more in depth later in the next part of this poker strategy guide. For the rest of the guide, I’ll explain a variety of topics that all revolve around no limit ring games. There’s a lot to learn, but don’t let that overwhelm you. The complexity of poker strategy is what makes it such a fun (and profitable) game.
The strategy in this poker guide is written specifically for online ring games. The strategy will work for live games as well, but some of the things we talk about deal specifically with online poker. And plus, we figure that since this entire strategy guide is all online, most of you will be playing online ring games anyways.
If you do play live poker, that’s OK too. The general level of play in online ring games is much more skilled than at live games of equal stakes. If you can make a little money in online ring games, you’ll make a killing a live ring games.
And finally, remember that no poker strategy is guaranteed to make you a winner. If you apply the strategy you find here, you’ll be a winner of the long run. But in the short run, things can happen and you’ll go through ups and downs along the way. The key is to always play within your bankroll and to be able to take breaks when the going gets rough. Keep at it, though, and you can make a lot of money.