Cash Game Help

Hey there,

I started playing at Pokerstars in December. Deposited 50€ which is about 70$ and lost it all in February. I deposited 50 more, to start for real in NL Hold'em cash tables only, though I do play sit'n'gos every once in a while and a bit of Omaha PL. My playing has gone for mediocre (I wasn't a talented poker player before I started playing online and reading some books and analyzing the game) to alot better, especially at reading hands and analyzing the Villain's hand strenght. My problem is this: I can't get past the 70$. This second time I deposited, I haven't drop below the 70$ nor have I gone past it. I play about 2/3 hours a day, sometimes more, sometimes less, and in Micro Stakes I really can't build my bankroll. Because sometimes I win 0.80, 1$ an hour (and thats already alot for me), others I lose 3$ in 10 min (either when I'm tilting or sometimes its just bad luck).

What I need is some strategies, from those who have passed through micro, that can really help me build my bankroll. One of the strategies, I sometimes (not always) use, is to go All in with the nuts, even if the pot is like 6 or 10 cents, i put in 3$. I've actually been paid from non agressive players, tight ones who held like Ace high on the board.

So if anyone could tell me other strategies to get more money from the hands, I would apreciate.

Props and good luck at the tables

It works better for me to find the table with a high players to see flop average. When that drops or the table is cold, switch.
Good Luck.

I would consider sticking to just one type of game (be it SNG or cash table, and take it further.... ie. just 9plyr sng.. or just 45plyr sng, etc.,). I'm not suggesting to not play all types of games (as this has some benefit as well) but instead to just REALLY focus on one at a time & then put some time in at that game.

Oh yah.... btw, most players are losing so if you're managing to roughly break-even, you're ahead of the game.

It's not that simple, nor that difficult to slowly accumulate bankroll at the lowest stakes. You gotta have patience and hit a good balance between understanding basics and reading players. There's all kinds of good advice in various areas of this forum; Tenbob wrote a pretty simple approach for playing $10nl, for example.

Plus, what Pooffy and PO said above.

Some key areas to learn about when going to play cash games are the deep stack concepts. Way ahead/Way Behind, Big hand/Big Pot, Small hand/Small pot, etc.

Those help to minimize losses more than maximize gains, but obviously that will affect your bottom line too.

Also, once you're starting to get better reads on people a good place to get extra value is on the river. Value bet more aggressively. You'd be shocked how often you can bet 40-60% of the pot on the river and get called by 2nd or 3rd pair, even when the board is fairly scary. Apply this knowledge to your betting, get some extra $$ from your top pair type hands when action says Villain probably has a marginal hand.

Be careful with your 'all-in' theory, sometimes your nuts is second to someone else's NUTS and then you are broke and depositing again.

Also stay on a 9 seat Cash game table till you feel you have gotten better at reading your opponents.
This will give you more time to assess the table and it's players, while not costing as much per round.

When you buy-in to a table, DON'T buy the minimum.
Example .05/.10 minimum is $4, max is $10.
Buy in for $10 if you can afford it, or at least $7 to give you a decent amount of chips to work with.

Go over to the FT academy website and watch the Ferguson Bankroll Management Video and learn this.
This is your Bible! Stick to it! This will help you grow your bankroll.
(In fact there are a lot of good videos over there for the newer players)

Patience is not only a virtue at micro cash tables, it's the only way to survive.

Use your position to your advantage, especially on the button or in late position.
If no one raises preflop, they probably don't have anything.
If everyone checks post flop and the board shows nothing in the way of flushes, straight draws,
make a value bet but DON'T limp. Make them pay to play!

DON'T feel like you have to defend that small blind! You DON'T.
Better to give up .05 cents in a small blind than to call a raise for 20-30 more and lose even more on the next 3 streets chasing.

Wait till you get a good hand and bet it.
Don't try to slow play, a pocket pair should be BET!
Bluffs are very hard to do at micro stakes unless you are a big chip leader at the table.
The biggest problem at the micro stakes tables is the players think..."It's only another .20 cents, I'll chase that straight, flush, two pair, whatever"
So even though that Bankroll of yours needs that .20 cents, someone else is sitting on a BR 3-5 times bigger than yours and is willing to gamble.
And far too often they will hit it against you.

Most micro players, don't know how to set traps or bluff really well.
So if the flop doesn't hit youand someone throws a lot of chips out there most of the time they will have it.
Let someone else make the call, watch it from the side lines and make notes on the players.
On the later streets it maybe a different story. Then they could be trying for a bluff. What do your notes say about them?

Make Notes!
What are they doing? Playing lots of hands? Raising all the time?
When they showdown, do they have top pair, middle pair? Did they check a street that helped them only to bet the next rag that showed up?
Are they always playing an Ace no matter what the second card is?

Notes! This is what can help you become a better and more profitable poker player.

Also beware of the short stackers, those players who buy in for the minimum, wait till they get a decent hand and push all in to try and double up, then leave.

Hope this helps

You know, i've been seeing a lot of the short stackers lately...i've lost a hand to them and thought 'oh well i'll get it back eventually' - next thing they've gone ! really annoying.
I usually make notes but your advice is sound - beware the short stacker - it may look like a small stack that you can easily take by bullying but don't be fooled - some of them will be donks and some will get it in with the goods and then leave. make sure you know which is which - use your notes.

The very first thing to consider is that you need to completely change your attitude towards the game. As long as you play micro stakes, the amounts you win or lose is entirely irrelevant. What matters is that you learn this game.

Also, remember that the huge majority of players are losing, so there's absolutely no guarantee you'll ever be part of the small minority of winners.