Welcome

On this hallowed ground I obsess my new hobby, No-Limit Texas Hold 'Em, the Cadillac of poker games that's become so popular in recent years. The blog is aimed at new and intermediate players, those who are comfortable at the table but wonder why they don't do better. I wonder that myself, so let this be an interactive process.

I've never played limit hold 'em and have no wish to -- I jumped right into the world of big risk. Limit is straightforward and mechanical, no-limit brutally psychological. Limit is a science, no-limit an art. Or as Crandall Addington said, "In limit you're shooting at a target, but in no-limit the target comes alive and shoots back at you." And the legendary Doyle Brunson thinks no-limit is the only pure poker game left. It demands considerable skill and intuition. It can be cruel. You can lose your whole stack in one hand. But the risk is what makes it so fun and rewarding.

As for the blog title? A bit of self-recrimination. Everyone knows you don't chase flush draws in no-limit (unless you can pay cheap for the privilege), but it took me a while to appreciate why. But we'll discuss chasing later. Tomorrow we'll look at the four playing styles and consider which is best. I don't think the usual answer is the right one.