Bob_tiger is/maybe moving to cash games?!

I have been thinking about this for a very long time, but I'm starting to be more convinced that cash games require more of that 10th level thinking stuff, which I have got better at. My monitor is way to small to be playing many tables at once, 1-much overlapping,2-it's hard to see hud and it gets in the way sometimes. So I will be getting a 22" or 24" monitor, probably sometime soon, and starting next month I will be playing cash games, 100 nl 9 handed, and also 50c/1$ heads up, and 50c/1 pl omaha h/l. I do fairly good at all of those and I think I could make decent amount of money playing cash games. Of course I'm not going to quit playing tourneys, I will play few omaha h/l tourneys, also probably some big ones on sunday according to my profit, or can always play satelites.
As for me playing in cash games, I understand how to play, I have played almost 2k hands in cash games, just to try them out and was playing on my private table, in fact today I ran 100$ into 400$ on my private table, I did rebuy once when I was down to 50, so technically 250$ profit, and the session was like 3-4 hours long. Basically what I'm saying is I'm not some noob to the cash games, I used to play cash games hu a lot before until I started playing mtts.
I have been using poker tracker 3 trial version, but I hear many say that hold em manager is better, after my trial version is over, I will try out hold em manager, and also icemonkey9 said told me that hold em manager is supposed to have few big updates. Ok I'm not even sure the gibberish I typed at the beginning because I'm really tired so I will just make an outline of my questions.

1) Should I stick to mtts/or go ahead and try playing cash games more?
2) is 22" screen big enough to play like 6-12 tables on?
3) would you suggest poker tracker or hold em manager?
4) any other programs I should use? (the one that finds the table for you, w/e its called)
5) any thing I should read before starting with cash games, any good articles or anything like that, yes I know the brm articles already don't need that.
6) any extra tips you want to give?

bob_tiger said:

1) Should I stick to mtts/or go ahead and try playing cash games more?
2) is 22" screen big enough to play like 6-12 tables on?
3) would you suggest poker tracker or hold em manager?
4) any other programs I should use? (the one that finds the table for you, w/e its called)
5) any thing I should read before starting with cash games, any good articles or anything like that, yes I know the brm articles already don't need that.
6) any extra tips you want to give?

Click to expand...

1) I made the move to cash 2 months ago and I love it. I very much recommend. It's not just that playing 100 big blinds deep is more intellectually challenging and all, it's also that playing cash allows you to manage the time you spend on poker much better than tournaments where you cannot choose when to stand up from the tables.
2) 22'' usually have 1680x1050 resolution, which should be ok for 6 tables but not for more. Especially if you want the HUD to be readable. I use 24'' with 1920x1200 resolution and it's way better. The real question for me would be whether to buy a single 24'' or two 22'', provided your computer can handle a dual screen.
3) only use Poker Tracker, so can't help you choose
4) For the last 2 weeks I've used TableRatings - Online Poker Table Selection Tool to choose my FT tables and i'm quite pleased with it so far. Otherwise, PT3 has a table selection tool in it.
5) Harrington on cash games comes to mind. Then Fredrick's blog and CC's HA section
6) Play one level below what your BR would allow for the first week. Cash is a very different beast from SNGs and MTTs and playing vastly overrolled will allow you to adjust at a cheaper price.

I just checked out the tableratings site - cool! Thanks for the link.

OK of course I have to chime in:

1) Should I stick to mtts/or go ahead and try playing cash games more?

Thats up to you, both have their benefits. The reason I moved to cash was because of time, I wanted ot be able to play and stand up when I wanted to. It doesnt mean I dont mix it up in the occasional STT or MTT.

2) is 22" screen big enough to play like 6-12 tables on?

6 for sure. More than that it gets a little small and the hud needs to be adjusted to a smaller font, but i can get about 9 tables without any overlap at all. Its up to you. I can send screenshots of what it looks like one 1 22" monitor and 2 22" monitors (I have the dual set up).

3) would you suggest poker tracker or hold em manager?

The problem is that both programs are "out" and neither program is "finished". HEM is by far better in terms of stability (has never crashed) and smoothness (doesnt slow me down). The problem is that it will keep track of hands and display a HUD for STT & MTTs, but it will not keep track of winnings and losses (yet). PT3 is a fine program with a very buggy hud that causes major slowdowns and crashes. It does support both cash and tournament play. Pick your poison.

4) any other programs I should use? (the one that finds the table for you, w/e its called)

The website that Belgio suggested is one that both WVHillbilly and I use for picking tables, but i have found that although it is a great tool, do not htink it is 100% accurate. It is better than nothing! But what I do is bring up 18 tables in Fulltilt based off that website's suggestions and trust my own stats as I am datamining for about 15 to 30 minutes before i play.

5) any thing I should read before starting with cash games, any good articles or anything like that, yes I know the brm articles already don't need that.

Yeah dude ... since we're friends I can tell you that you need to start living a little closer to the BRM rules than you are. You definitely have the skill to compete at 100nl. Read up on ChuckT's article, I think for 25 and 50nl it's solid. Download ALL the cash game videos made here at CardsChat, I have found those to be the best tool of them all.

6) any extra tips you want to give?

Really start datamining on FullTilt. Leave the computer on and sucking in hands with your given program while you are not there. It's allowed at FullTilt and gives you a leg up on those not using it and puts u even with those that do.

1) Should I stick to mtts/or go ahead and try playing cash games more?

I've never played MTT's very seriously so I can't help you there.


2) is 22" screen big enough to play like 6-12 tables on?

If you got the little bit extra to spend on a 24", do so. I can play 9 tables no problems, with no overlap on mine.


3) would you suggest poker tracker or hold em manager?

I prefer HEM. I like the ease of use of the filtering funtions, it seems to be much less resource heavy, and the players report is totally underrated.


4) any other programs I should use? (the one that finds the table for you, w/e its called)

AutoHotkey - Free Mouse and Keyboard Macro Program with Hotkeys and AutoText
Frontend program for using automation scripts

Overcards Home
Site that hosts a ton of poker related automated scripts

These things are lifesavers, ranging from scripts that will automatically top up your stack after every hand, to highlighting tables that require action, to scripts that will bet certain amounts in relation to the pot.

5) any thing I should read before starting with cash games, any good articles or anything like that, yes I know the brm articles already don't need that.

Anything and everything you can get your hands on.


6) any extra tips you want to give?

I don't think I can overstate the value that lies in joining one of the top tier training sites like StoxPoker or CardRunners. These sites are such an extraordinary value, it's ridiculous. Anyone that takes poker with some level of seriousness would be a fool to not take advantage of them.