Tournaments to cash games

I normally play sit n go's and smaller MTT. I have been decently successful, and I want to start to really grind the small stakes cash games. What are some good tips from transferring to ring games? Play tight like the early stages of tournaments, or loosen up a little bit and try to hit flops? Thanks.

Don't loosen up. If you're looking for micro I'd suggest fixed limit hold em to start with. Like I am doing now. Trying to make similar transition as yourself. Reading "Small Stakes Hold Em" and seeing my post-flop play isn't nearly as good as it could be. You're looking to get your money in coin by coin with the odds in your favor. If you're not sure which hands you should be playing from which positions, I seriously reccomend the above book as it was reccomended to me tonight and I am quite pleased with its content.

This is one of the most interesting questions to me. I have been playing these Double or Nothing single table tournaments and have been doing pretty well in them (well, I've been making money, but very slowly). I really would prefer to be a cash game player, but the few times I have tried sitting in on a low limit hold'em (not no limit), I have lost money faster than water through a spaghetti strainer.

So you experienced people, tell us what's the difference between tournament and cash (in my case, I'm curious about limit cash games)?

I have even saved several representative hands that show what usually happens to me. Is there somewhere to post them for where I can get some unrestrained constructive criticism, too?

My tips are for No Limit.

Tip #1 - Table selection is very important. Choose tables with the highest percentage of players in the pot. I get on the waiting list for games with a high see-the-flop percentage, that are full but have nobody else waiting in line.

Tip #2 - Play tighter. Your stack to blind ratio is a whole lot bigger, so you need bigger hands (or better than average reads) to justify stacking.

Tip #3 - Don't sit at tables if they have a bunch of soulless short stacking scum. They just mess things up. Try to sit at a table with a lot of full stacks.

Tip #4 - Play those small pairs, against full stacked nits who raise in early position (unless the bet is too big). Because you're playing deeper, hitting flopping your set will pay off big time when he has an overpair or TPTK.

Tip #5 - Leave the table if it sours. That is, if stacks get too small or people get to smart or if you have bad position, etc. then move on to greener pastures.
Ditto if you find yourself on tilt or too tired to play.

step one: take a look at the learning poker forum (just below this one)
step two: read this and this by icemonkey (in the abovementioned forum) - in this order.
step three: participate actively.
step four: profit.

good luck!

M33K3R said:

I normally play sit n go's and smaller MTT. I have been decently successful, and I want to start to really grind the small stakes cash games. What are some good tips from transferring to ring games? Play tight like the early stages of tournaments, or loosen up a little bit and try to hit flops? Thanks.

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I feel that you have to be alot tighter in cash games then you do in tourneys. But as far as what its like compared to tournaments I personally feel that comparing the two is like comparing omaha and holdem or fixed limit games. there are some very large differences.

To get a feel for cash games play low limits and play tight. you'll run into a ton of callboxes and extremely loose players so it should be easy with proper BRM to crack these games.

In cash games, I prefer fixed limit for the variance control. It is a different game than NL, so you need to adjust if you don't play fixed much. In limit holdem, drawing hands are more valuable, and, with a good draw, you can often simply call it down till you get there; if you have AA or KK, that feels frustrating, but that is limit. And, no, you can't push the drawing hands out of the pot-- but when you have one, you like that. (I have been playing NL low/micro to do the Academy challenges, and that has sometimes been profitable even at those levels, but those nasty beats get painful in NL.) You can survive a horrible beat in fixed limit and move on. The beat can be only cards, and can be relatively light on your stack, so it can be a lot easier to deal with.

I play tight out of position, and slightly looser in position. Never call preflop -- if you want to play a hand, either raise or fold. Never limp with AA. (I hate saying never, but, seriously, don't do it.)

Position is huge. Getting a sense of the other players' ranges and willingness to fold is huge.

I strongly suggest playing the FT Academy challenges. PreFlop Play is hugely helpful, as, if you complete the challenge the permitted 10 times, you will have learned a lot about the value of the standardized raise, and of raise-or-fold. You will become trained, like it or not. And you will see how well it works.

Leave your ego and emotions somewhere else. If you tend to go on tilt, cash tables can gut your bankroll.

Practice solid, disciplined bankroll management. There is sadness in moving down in levels, after a bad string, and the potential profits are sadly diminished. Screw it-- the potential losses are also diminished. Never put your whole wad on a table. Never. It helps immeasurably with tilt is you have a good cushion to land on when the inevitable nasty beat hammers you. Say you lose $10 (your stack) on one hand. If that's half your bankroll, it's like a punch to the gut. But if your overall bankroll is $500, it feels like barely a scratch. Yeah, the beat registers, but it does not kill you. It's a blip.

I started this thread, I have been playing 5NL. I have noticed playing tight and and agressive is the way to go, as some of the players are very bad and will stack off with terrible hands.