We all know poker is a complex game and there are always areas in our game that we are unsure about and need to work on. Here is your chance to work on those unclear areas and what better way to learn than group discussion?

So heres how this is going to work. You suggest the topics that will be discussed, and at the beginning of the week 4 or 5 of the topics which we think will be suitable for discussion will be voted on. The one that gets the most votes is the one that will be discussed.

This thread will focus on topics concerning cash games. Whether it be NLHE, LHE, PLO, O H/L etc, 6 max, 9 handed, Heads up, deepstacked, ante games etc. If it is a cash game situation, feel free to post in here.

Also, topics should be more advanced in nature, not going to have any discussions on what the correct play for JJ is.

Remember this thread is only for topics, not for actual strategy posts. The first selection of topics will take place on Sunday, the discussion thread would start on Tuesday.

1) The person whose topic is chosen to be discussed will have to kick off the discussion thread.

2) That we need volunteers to help keep the discussion lively and on the right track.
(I'm thinking atleast 2 per topic).

Thanks Marginal - okay cash game players - make some good suggestions!

(dakota runs off to the tournament/sng thread)

This is awesome marginal, I am a cash game player and will definitely have a subject when I donk out of the rebuy tourney I am in because I suck at those.

Thank you for starting this.

cbeting or not cbeting/delayed cbet with stuff like TPWK or decent hands on boards where villains range is likely to have good equity against us.

Barrel bluffing.

Will try to make more suggestions later.
Good idea marginal.

Hand ranges.

Small pocket pairs from the blinds vs an ATS.

As a player who usually plays Tournaments and SnG's I would love to discuss a general strategy of cash games.

How to pick a table
What kind of starting hands to play
Betting and bet amounts (in various positions)

my sugestion to be heard is 3 betting in postion versus just calling!!!
on the same lines making it a 4 bet out of postion..
these are a part of my game I am lacking in and would like to hear the great cash game players talk about..
As when I started playing poker live a 4 bet almost always was KK or AA now I have seen alot looser 4 bets and I might behind on the new ideas of a true 4 bet and what you are trying to accomplish!!!!

In no particular order, my suggestions:

1) OOP play. Pre-flop calling/3betting ranges and post-flop play. Inflating the pot, good or bad?

- I realise that a lot of that is fairly basic, but for a lot of people (myself included) there's a lot of grey area on this subject.

2) Slow playing, check raising and limp raising. Why they're all usually the wrong plays and when is it the right choice?

3) Merits and drawbacks of over/under representing your hand?

4) Optimal BRM - Not talking about 20BI, this is more about what should be considered in figuring how deep an individual needs to be based on standard deviation, risk of ruin etc. I am not very mathematical myself, so forgive me if this stuff is obvious but I figure if it were easy then none of us would keep repeating "20 max buy ins" and say instead "here's how to figure it out".
Knowing if you can get away with fewer buy ins, or needing more buy ins effects your chances of going bust and your winnings so is kind of important.

flopping sets - maximizing value

4 betting

What should I look for when trying to exploit the:

1. TAG on my right
2. LAG on my right
3. Fish on my right
4. TAG on my left
5. LAG on my left
6. Fish on my left

Betsizing considerations in maximizing value:

1. Charging draws
2. Stealing
3. Check raising
4. Raising
5. Thin value betting the river

How to play 12-15 outers on flop? On turn?

Introduction to advance strategies that beginner-advance cash game players should be introduced to.

Bet-fold on river. When to employ it?

As my cash game is complete garbage, I will definately be keeping tabs on this thread. Thanks for the great idea Marginal.

My question would be I struggle between playing ABC poker (tight/ nitty) and trying "small ball" It seems that when the cards are not coming to you preflop, maybe opening up your range, especially in pos. would be the way to go. Or Am I completely back asswards on this?

Originally Posted by slycbnew

What should I look for when trying to exploit the:

1. TAG on my right
2. LAG on my right
3. Fish on my right
4. TAG on my left
5. LAG on my left
6. Fish on my left

Kinda expanding on 5, but id love to get a discusion on adjustments to make to our calling and 3bet range when we have a laggy player on our left with high squeze %, eg 6max, unknown MP opens, where on the btn with TT/AQ/22/TJ whats our move with difrent parts of our range.

table selection

more bumpage.

When facing a raise with a non-monster hand, how to relate implied odds (player read, HUD stats, stack sizes, both positions, etc.), pot odds, and hand strength to each other throughout the hand (PF, flop, etc.).

IE: When is it worth cold calling PF with su-conns? Axs? Kxs? Small pairs? Suited rags? When is it worth calling down TP Mid Kicker postflop? (Raising is always preferred, but I mean strictly "value to proceed" or "peeling".)

(Great thread idea, btw.)

Originally Posted by MrSticker

When facing a raise with a non-monster hand, how to relate implied odds (player read, HUD stats, stack sizes, both positions, etc.), pot odds, and hand strength to each other throughout the hand (PF, flop, etc.).

IE: When is it worth cold calling PF with su-conns? Axs? Kxs? Small pairs? Suited rags? When is it worth calling down TP Mid Kicker postflop? (Raising is always preferred, but I mean strictly "value to proceed" or "peeling".)

(Great thread idea, btw.)

i want. Super interested in this.

Originally Posted by BelgoSuisse

table selection

def interested in this

So, when does this start again? Looking forward to it.

The pot size: Implications of bets and bet sizing on early streets on the size of the pot on the river. Implied odds. Setting yourself up for river value bets.

Turn play after a continuation bet.

Most likely the flop has missed us and we cbet, if villain(s) call even if we do have a made hand what determines whether we fire the second barrel. This can apply to player types, IP/OOP.

I think this is going to have to be done monthly/ bi-monthly, just not getting enough interest.

Has this fizzled out? Where do I find the weekly topic?

luck and the cards is just 50% of the game you have to be able to bluff aswell do be a good poker player

Originally Posted by MrSticker

When facing a raise with a non-monster hand, how to relate implied odds (player read, HUD stats, stack sizes, both positions, etc.), pot odds, and hand strength to each other throughout the hand (PF, flop, etc.).

IE: When is it worth cold calling PF with su-conns? Axs? Kxs? Small pairs? Suited rags? When is it worth calling down TP Mid Kicker postflop? (Raising is always preferred, but I mean strictly "value to proceed" or "peeling".)

(Great thread idea, btw.)

like this a lot. Also how important is a 3rd party poker program (PT, HEM) and at what levels do you want o use them? Is HUD a must have, can "old school" playing ie. taking notes and just paying attn to villains be enough?
And is this thread actually advancing, seems to be cooling off...... be a shame

limit holdem 6-max

I would love a full-spectrum breakdown comparison of cash players on the different sites. It would be really cool to see daily/weekly updates on statistics from cash players on a whole on the different sites. I know certain sites' levels are different for example playing .50/1 on Carbon is different than playing the same on Pokerstars. I'd love more information on this if it is "getable". I'm sure there is someone here that can.

Stix

Just attempting to kick start some interesting discussion around here..

Anyone still interested in bringing this thread back to life?

Maybe change the rules a bit to involve less organising, something like a whole bunch of ideas get suggested and whoever has put up their hand to do the thread that week picks what they want to discuss (most popular suggestion probably, but without the polls)?

We've got no shortage of suggestions in this thread, so the problem was clearly in putting them to use.

I think part of the problem is that this thread is up here in the stickies. I know I dont look there too often. Also the title doesnt change with every new topic.

I've always liked the idea though. Id be stoked started up again.

Also, where is Marginal these days???

marginal's kinda busy this month - I'll try and get something going here, but I'm going to need help - I'll post something later in my day...

OK, so here's a suggestion - which is really thepokerkid's suggestion 3 posts above - part of the problem imo is simply getting someone to kick off the discussion on a given topic. I agree that simply having someone volunteer to kick off a topic is the way to go, and also agree that there are a ton of topics that could be kicked off.

So, howzabout anyone who wishes to volunteer a topic simply posts in this thread that they're going to do it within a week, and which topic they'd like to kick off?

Any other suggestions on how to get this going again are welcome!

P.S. Note that thepokerkid has done a great job of introducing some really interesting topics for discussion over the last couple of months - thanks for that!!!

Kick off with the topic of fold equity and how much you love playing against players like me. lol