When switching from tournaments to cash game there are a lot of different nuances to keep in mind. I am not a cash game expert, but have mixed up my play between the two and here is what I have found that you need to consider in cash games more-so than in tournaments.
This first one I’m not including in the others because it is so extremely important. Unlike a tournament, you get to choose who you play against in cash games. If there is a certain type of player you don’t play against very well (maybe LAGers) and there are several of that type at your table then just get up and leave to find another table. You have the power to choose who you play against in cash game, find a table where the people playing are the types of people you are good at playing against.
- If you want a fair comparison of tournament play related to cash game play then think of cash game play like playing at a tournament’s final table where you get a certain amount of money which increases each time you knock someone out. A lot of how you play at a final can be used to play in a cash game. Not everything, but a lot.
- Identifying the type of player becomes crucially important.
- Some cash game players are more willing to chase and/or get involved with marginal holdings. They’ll do this simply because a hit or successful bluff means a lot of actual cash in their pocket as opposed to just tournament chips. It's not like they lose their cash game life so they are willing to get it in much easier than tournament players.
- On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, the TAG players play TAG a lot more TAGgish. The blinds don't go up so they can sit and wait forever until they catch their perfect hand. And if you get caught playing against a TAGer in a cash game you can really lose your lunch money because you know they are only playing top premium hands.
- Pushing people off their hands is much more difficult in cash games than in tournaments. Some players look at the size of your bet as "I could win that much money if I hit." Since you're dealing with cold, hard cash you get people more inclined to just gamble rather than play strong poker.
- With that said, if you pick the right players you can bluff much more easily in cash games. You want to choose a spot where you are pretty sure the opponent has nothing or close to nothing and then hit them with a scary board bet. Just remember, you MUST tell a story with your bluffs. You can’t just bluff an Ace on the river if you haven’t been playing like you have an Ace all along.
- The other way you can bluff is by making the opponent think you are intentionally trying to build the pot. It's risky because you run the chance of them drawing out on you, but if you can convince them you are trying to leach money off them you can get them to fold easier than in a tournament. The way you do this is by under-betting the pot maybe even only betting a few big blinds each street then big on the river.
- Always remember, you're not playing for chips you're playing for cash. Winning a single hand means your opponents have put cash in their pocket. Losing the hand means you've taken money out of their pockets. You need to understand how that is psychologically different than a tournament where people are just trying to survive.
- In cash games people are much more likely to try to push you off a pot with a shove. If you’re 3betting or multi-barrel bluffing know there is a very good chance they may shove at any given moment. Once again, because they can just buy back in.
- You’ll face hands with multiple callers more often in cash games. Even when you put in a good sized raise or even 3bet preflop you need to know you may be playing against 3-5 players much more often than in tournaments.
- The more players who call a raise, the more likely other players are to call the raise. While sometimes true in tournaments, this happens a lot in cash games.
- Cash game players seem to have a different way of calculating if they want to call a large bet or even shove. There’s pot odds, of course, but there is also the pot size. If the pot is large enough, even if you overbet 2x the pot the opponent may call just because of how large the pot is even though they may not be getting pot odds.
- When playing marginal holdings you do not want to build the pot, you want to play pot control with no bets or small bets when necessary. Again, if the pot gets too big you aren’t going to be able to push people off it.
- You don’t necessarily want to play TAG all the time, you want to play the opposite of what most of the table is playing. If you’re at a table where everyone is playing TAG then you want to open up your starting ranges and limp when you do have marginal holdings.
- Blind Stealing is less important in cash games. Remember, there are no ante’s so if you do blind steal then all your getting is 1.5 BBs. Not usually worth the risk. Now, that applies to true blind stealing where you don’t have a good hand. If you have the good hand then yeah, go ahead and do it.
- People are more vindictive in cash game. Yes there is some of that in a tournament, but in a cash game they can afford it if you beat them again so they may go after your bets a lot more if they feel like you’ve sucked out on them or done them wrong somehow.
- In long cash game sessions, table image can be more important because you play against the same people and don’t get moved to other tables. You just have to keep track of new players to the table who may not know what your table image is yet. But in general, you can make use of table image more so in cash games than in tournaments.
- In cash games there are maneuvers you can take to disguise the type of player you are. For instance, if you’re a tight player then straddle when it’s your turn to do so. This makes people think you’re a “wild player” who just wants their chips in.
- If you’re a loose player then fold small blinds and big blinds often if you don’t have hands. It’ll make people think you play a lot tighter than you really do.
That's about all I can think of regarding my own experiences (which are mostly micro stakes to $1/$2 stakes). If you do try to incorporate any of this into your cash game, let me know how it turns out. Learning from other people's experiences is much more valuable then just relying on your own.