Concepts from Harrington on Cash

T

TheDoc

Enthusiast
Silver Level
Joined
Aug 7, 2007
Total posts
84
Chips
0
I have been reading Harrington on cash, vol 1. Its focus on cash games, and what makes them different, and strategies to employ are, in my view,
excellent. I have to say its been a revelation to me, I have had several 'aha' moments and I want to share some of those thoughts. After reading it
I realised:
  • I was winning overall, but not as much as I should be - I was losing too much on so-called 'solid' hands like TPTK, or overpairs
  • I was making pots too big with my betting with just TPTK or overpair - generally not adhering to a 'small hand small pot' philosophy
  • I was playing the standard game too transparently and predictably
  • I wasn't playing enough speculative hands like small connectors, suited and unsuited
The funny thing was, I kinda intuitively knew some of this in the back of my mind, but kept on adhering to a straightforward TAG style because I thought it was correct play. But, as Mr Harrington elaborates, the dynamics in a deep stack cash game alters. hands become 'normalised' i.e. after the flop, big pairs go down in value and small connectors go up - largely because of the deception value and huge implied odds.

Anyway, I started appling some of his concepts with immediate results. My losses with TPTK are down, and the number of big hands won with speculative holdings is up - I am hitting more hands like those 'unlikely' straights. And my bankroll is healthier.
 
Jagsti

Jagsti

I'm sweet enough!
Silver Level
Joined
Feb 18, 2007
Total posts
5,478
Chips
0
I look forward to purchasing these books in the near future.
 
KerouacsDog

KerouacsDog

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Mar 26, 2006
Total posts
9,410
Chips
0
The DOc, thanks for this summary so far, I have this book, the cash one, and all his tournament ones, and its interesting(Ive only read a few pages of his cash book) to realise that you need a different mindset for ring as you do for mtt/sng, i never thought about it, really.
Im looking forward to reading this book, and maybe learning lots more, I hope.
 
ZZFLOP

ZZFLOP

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Jun 18, 2008
Total posts
239
Chips
0
I have been reading Harrington on cash, vol 1. Its focus on cash games, and what makes them different, and strategies to employ are, in my view,
excellent. I have to say its been a revelation to me, I have had several 'aha' moments and I want to share some of those thoughts. After reading it
I realised:
  • I was winning overall, but not as much as I should be - I was losing too much on so-called 'solid' hands like TPTK, or overpairs
  • I was making pots too big with my betting with just TPTK or overpair - generally not adhering to a 'small hand small pot' philosophy
  • I was playing the standard game too transparently and predictably
  • I wasn't playing enough speculative hands like small connectors, suited and unsuited
The funny thing was, I kinda intuitively knew some of this in the back of my mind, but kept on adhering to a straightforward TAG style because I thought it was correct play. But, as Mr Harrington elaborates, the dynamics in a deep stack cash game alters. Hands become 'normalised' i.e. after the flop, big pairs go down in value and small connectors go up - largely because of the deception value and huge implied odds.

Anyway, I started appling some of his concepts with immediate results. My losses with TPTK are down, and the number of big hands won with speculative holdings is up - I am hitting more hands like those 'unlikely' straights. And my bankroll is healthier.

What does TPKT mean ?
 
Dwilius

Dwilius

CardsChat Regular
Silver Level
Joined
May 5, 2008
Total posts
7,584
Awards
34
Chips
0
You don't need to quote a whole page to ask that ZZ, it means top pair with top kicker. Try to cut a quote down to what's important to your comment ;).

btw there is also a thread about starting a discussion on the Harrington tournament book...but people have some time to get a copy first.
 
Last edited:
R

Ranger390

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Dec 4, 2007
Total posts
217
Chips
0
I completely agree. I was shocked at how different cash game play is from tournament play. I had read Harrington's 3 volume tournament books. But, I always wondered why the pros on High Stakes Poker played such "raggity" hands, compared to tournament play. Now I know. If you play ring games, Harrington's 2 volumes on Cash Games are worth their weight in gold.
 
TheNoob

TheNoob

Visionary
Silver Level
Joined
May 2, 2008
Total posts
540
Chips
0
I completely agree. I was shocked at how different cash game play is from tournament play. I had read Harrington's 3 volume tournament books. But, I always wondered why the pros on High Stakes Poker played such "raggity" hands, compared to tournament play. Now I know. If you play ring games, Harrington's 2 volumes on Cash Games are worth their weight in gold.


I asked this once here and was told that's more because they play much deeper stacks.
 
S

Styrofoam

Visionary
Silver Level
Joined
Jan 14, 2006
Total posts
635
Awards
1
Chips
3
They also play with an ante, which automatically puts everyone invested in the pot... which encourages action for the TV cameras. a small raise to 2400$ and a caller behind it almost always gives you the odds to call with the antes out there. You'll be making nearly 3-1 on your money right away.
 
R

Ranger390

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Dec 4, 2007
Total posts
217
Chips
0
Noob: Yes, the deep stacks are the main reason. And, given the deep stacks, hitting raggity hole cards may win an opponent's entire stack.
 
Real Money Poker - Real Money Casinos
Top