New to cash game ?

Hey, I only play tourny and s&g and would like to learn to play cash games. The stradegy is real different or whats the main differences? I plan on playing play money so where should I start and what are a couple good rules to follow when learning, I want to understand what I am doing rather than just fumbuling around and not making any progress in getting better. Thanks!

playmoney will never play like any real money game.
showdown hands are stronger in cash games.
Read the threads in the sticky sections by icemonkey.
Read hand analysis.
Try not to cry when the game crushes your soul.

Lol I agree with not playing with play money. I was recently trying to teach a friend who lives in another state, we jumped on the play money tables and those players are crazy.
When you shove all in ep the whole table calls, and with atc lol.
Use the search feature here and type in cash games, there are some good threads.

So, if I start at the real money tables what level buy in should I expect to see normal play? Is there a high play money table where it is better? Thanks!

you will see pretty normal play at $2nl ($0.01/0.02), If you play good expect a bunch of suckouts, but in the long run you will come out ahead if the suck-outs don't tilt you.

.01/.02 is fine $40-$50 is enough of a bankroll there to tolerate the variance if your winning. If your new to cash games dont expect to have a real high winrate- it takes adjustment from tournaments but is definitely beatable at .01/.02.
Figure 20-25 buyins for whatever stake you are at to be able to deal with variance.

Hi, I played a .02/.05 game started with $4. I get up to over $6 then..... I flop a flush and one other player in is betting the pot, we end up all in and he has a set of 6s and hits the quad on the river. Man my luck had gone way down. I also got beat with a K high flush to the A high at one point for about $1.50 earlier. I have to quit for a bit lol!

o man, if you are tilting already poker might not be the choice, btw listen, the guy with a set of 6's firt off all was probably betting hoping you only have a draw to a flush, he was trying to push you out, plus, if you do already have a flush, 1 out of 3 times he will win by catching quads of making a full house, so the bad beat is not that bad actualy.

and with the guy who had a A high flush and you had a K high flush, ware there 4 cards to a flush on the table? if so you might want to check it down next time, if there ware only 3 cards to a flush and both of you had a flush, well it happens.

i say you keep playing abc poker at these stakes, when poker gets the best of you take a break, and try again later, thats what i do. yesterday i lost 5$, today i crushed them for 35$ and 2nl.

Hey, thanks for the reply, I didn't go on tilt just trying to keep my losses at a minimum, my luck seemed to be on the down swing so I will try another day. I really liked the difference that a cash game brings, a lot more intense when the chips are really what they say there value is. I will try again and see what happens.

You've really got to get detached from that. They're bb's not $, it helps.

With that being said, the flip side of it for me is that my pulse does race as fast in $20 pots as it does in $1000 pots (multiple limits) because I'm thinking in bb's but it's less stressful to think "man, if I lose this it's really going to hurt my winrate" than "this is more than a week's pay at risk..."

They're bb's or whatever other unit you want to call them, just not $. Money too easily triggers emotional responses.

^^ This is good stuff and is something I'm trying hard to do. I've played so many years thinking in terms of $$$ that it's a tough adjustment. It's a slow process to detach from thinking in terms of money and instead in BB. You don't have any tips to speed up the process?

Cash games and tourney games are a bit different...
In fact the approach itself is very different to these both formats...
U can never win consistently in cash games if ur approach is of tourney games.
well to mention there are lot of differences. Here are few...

Getting tilt is far more dangerous in cash games...

U have to be more aggressive and tight in cash games than tourneys...

Remember to get out of the table when u are at the top....

Also remember to stop playing cash games if u had a bad streaks, if not atleast switch to low stakes...

And more important is the table selection depending upon ur bankroll...

Taking player notes is of utmost importance to be successful at cash games...

And try to play a bit differently now and den cause u dont want to give an idea of urs to others at the tables...

Do NOT play K2 suited. Seriously. Best advice I can give at low limits is to not play any 2 suited cards. If they are suited, but aren't suited connectors, then throw them away.

If you want to learn and get better, I strongly advise you staying away from play money games where stacking off with 2nd pair is the norm, you will only learn bad habits there and get crushed once you move to real money.

You also need to understand that cash games, unlike tournament play, is not about protecting your hand and "taking the pot down". (It can be if you're bluffing)...but more about getting the most return on your money.