Running cold in poker is never fun, and it’s usually costly. But in the No Limit variety of poker, running cold can put a super-sized dent in a poker bankroll.

Until about 18 months ago, No Limit cash games were a rarity in Vegas. Back then, limit Hold’em was where all the action was. These days however, the landscape of the Vegas poker world is different. The most popular game in most card rooms today is No Limit poker, and lately this game has been kicking my ass.

I’ll admit it. I’m certainly not a No Limit poker pro. I learned the game of Texas Hold’em years ago, back when only LIMIT cash games were offered, and all the books available taught the same basic tight-aggressive strategy. In limit poker, with a tight-aggressive strategy, if you could calculate pot odds, you could play some pretty decent poker. I’m definitely feeling like this isn’t necessarily true in the No Limit cash games.

Until the past year or so, my only live exposure to No Limit poker was through the few poker tournaments that I regularly played. But, No Limit tournaments are a lot different than No Limit cash games. In No Limit tournaments, notwithstanding a possible re-buy allowance, once your chips are gone, they’re gone. By contrast, in cash games a player can bust out and continue to reach into his pocket over and over again. In essence, No Limit cash games offer unlimited re-buys. This changes the texture of the game. I believe it causes cash players with $1,000 in their back pocket to be more aggressive, and make more high-variance plays than in poker tournaments.

During the past few weeks, I’ve been trying to improve my strategy by playing a lot of No Limit poker cash games. I mostly play the various $1/2 No Limit games with buy-ins in the $200 range. Unfortunately, I’ve been taking a lot of beats. These have not all been truly “bad beats”, like a full-house getting rocked by quads, but they definitely still sting. Most of the players beating me have been the type of players with $1,000 in their back pocket.

I’ve been getting into pots with the best of it pre-flop, deliberately destroying my opponent’s pot odds, yet still getting called and then beat. Or, if I flop top pair, top-kicker, my opponent flops two-pair or a set. Or, if I flop trips and bet-out big, thereby again ruining my opponent’s pot-odds, he still calls me down and turns a flush. In limit poker, these inevitable suck outs will definitely cost you, but in No Limit poker they can cost you your whole chip stack. I’m tired of losing all my chips on one stupid hand, especially when I had the best hand when I put them in the pot.

I guess that’s my problem with No Limit poker. It really stings to lose your whole stack when you make the right bet at the wrong time. In No Limit poker, the variance is just so high.

Of course, they say if you can’t handle the big swings, then don’t sit down at the table. Perhaps it’s time for me to find my old seat at the limit table.