I'm starting this thread because as I go forward, cash games are something I NEED to grow into as a poker player. I've struggled greatly with then in all prior attempts to play them because when I was learning how to play, all opportunities to play I had were either heads-up with my grandfather (and we didn't usually even play hold'em!) or later on, in amateur leagues, usually in libation related businesses (bars, pubs...if you're from whatever government does that sort of thing, I'll gladly sell the acronym Libation Related Business to you for the government's use in reports or whatever.) These leagues would always, always be a tournament format--qualifiers akin to fast-moving 1 or 2 table sit and gos leading into a multi-table tournament with merchandise related prizes, like a TV or something for the tournament winner, for example.
The nature of my exposure to poker has led me to adopt what I consider to be a "tournament mentality" that unfailingly hampers any effort I make in micro stakes cash games. For now, I plan to focus on single table SNG games, but eventually, I want to go beyond just online play, and SNGs don't...well...exist very much in brick and mortar as far ask I know. Therefore, my eventual goal is to be able to play in both cash games and tournament games on the level of "winning play", but this is one hell of a gear shift to even attempt to make. The purpose I have in mind for this thread is to compile input from as many here as possible about how I might achieve this--everything from what to do different in cash games to how to get myself to do it without losing part or even all of what is really starting to develop into a winning tournament mentality.
I figure I'll start things off by elucidating on what I know of the mentalities between these two formats and the differences between them. In the cash game mentality, a positive "expected value" is utterly paramount--and if this principle is applied judiciously enough, if you accurately make enough plays with positive expected value, you are virtually assured of profit--provided you put in enough playing time so that the concept of the "long run" applies. This, to me, is cash games in their most distilled, simplified or possibly OVERsimplified form.
The tournament mentality is entirely different, for a simple, yet probably not particularly obvious reason: the "long run" does not exist. Each tournament is its own microcosm--you either have chips or you don't, you either make the money or you don't, and there is no dipping into a bankroll to cover the worse instances of negative swings. Rebuy tournaments mitigate this, but by no means extend ANY tournament to a point where the "long run" applies.
What causes the long run to not exist is simple progression--the blinds increasing after every X minutes or hours--in the case of online play, this rarely reaches above 20 minutes afaik. This change is simple to execute, but the fact that the blinds increase in tournaments and stay static in cash games changes, I would say almost literally everything. I remember someone telling me that an amount of BBs that I had bet and been raised into in a cash game, I think it was something like 15, was like nothing to walk away from in terms of a cash game. I cited a different reason--that there really wasn't a lot of respectably sized pots being played at that table--and maybe a couple others, but in addition to them, my tournament mentality tells me to see fifteen big blinds as HUGE, because in many cases, it can be. In turbo tournaments as well as in crucial stages of any tournament like a proximity to the money bubble or the late stages, fifteen big blinds can be MORE than the difference between making some money and making NO money in the whole tournament, or making a lot of money or a little, long run be damned.
Well, that's what I have to say for now, and with that I open the floor.
Cash mentality vs. tournament mentality, first assess the mentality of the opponents in each, for example, I play micro stakes at ACR. $3.00-$10.00 buy in MTT tournaments. 1cent -2cent no limit up to 25/50 cent no limit cash tables. How do people at the level in which you are playing how are they acquiring chips? In each case blinds and money are the value, how much is the table going to risk in X, Y, and Z situations?
In tournaments in which stacks are 100+ blinds deep, are people at your table, throughout the field in the tournament, universally putting in over half or more in pre or post? I see this at my level universally. Is your personal goal to play against or for this type of universal play? I will not look for or try and regularly put myself in these situations. People, whom value their hands or get married to their hands, are what I call thrill seekers. Even though, they are not misplaying their top 10% of their range or draws, they just over value a situation versus the time it will take to make the deep money especially in the early blind levels. So, carefully choosing your opponents and situations are crucial to the long run of a tournament. Knowing information, the situation, is the key versus just playing the hand because of the value of the cards.
Cash games are not that different because of the value of your money versus your opponents play. Tournaments are based on the value of my blinds versus my opponents play. How your opponents are universally putting in their money pre or post, are they regularly putting in most or all of their money when they have a hand they value? Are they pre-flop or post flop players or both? Are they one pair or top pair players, whom only occasionally play for straights and flushes? The partial amount information just listed is applied in tournament play as well. This information prepares my opponents to let me stack them off, just like I would in a MTT tournament. So, I believe there is not much difference in what I look for and my play that my opponents are seeing has the same reactions in cash game or an MTT tournament.
So, keeping things simple is key in both because I am looking to stack off or get a big portion of their stack when I know I have them at second best,
bluffing or semi-bluffing as a couple of examples. Both mentalities are the same for my game. Keep my decisions easy, make my opponent’s decisions hard, look for small pots, and stack off or get a big portion of my opponent’s chips. Doing this while not putting myself in a situation for all my chips or money without knowing or willing to accept the consequences of getting my chips in when I do not have my opponent covered or all of my money is in the middle because of the situation. So, being patient in each and carefully looking for opportunity for maximum profit is the mentality for both games, both of my approaches are not much different mentally.
The brain has a hard time figuring out similar situations this will encompass many decisions from situations in poker that are mentally universal in cash and tournaments. Making proper, consistent, over a long period of time is hard for the brain to figure out the proper decision. For the brain to work optimally the approach has to be similar with skewed plays both ways good and bad. A complete difference in each mental approach the brain then would have to be able to remember both as individuals, and then understand the skewed play from each. I believe the brain will not make proper decisions consistently when having to understand and make critical decisions with information from two different mental approaches. Two different approaches mentally that have more information to think about will not allow the A game focus to be consistent over a long run for longer periods of time. The more the brain can repeat the better decisions from the same information from a smaller size of critical, and skewed decisions the A game focus will run consistently for a longer period of time.
To stay focused and make critical decisions; the situations have to come from knowing information about your opponent and less about the cards you hold. That is why I have combined limit cash game experience, no-limit cash, MTT tournament experience, reading many books new and old school, as some examples then meshing the right information together then applying this consistently at the table, this process then feels and plays the same mentally in both cash and MTT tournaments because adjusting to my opponents is the focus that is key to getting continuous proper information to either exploit or stay out of the way in a situation. The brain however, does recognize a skewed difference in play either my own or my opponents.
My approach is simple and I have refined what information to use in any game. This helps from getting mental fatigue from having to over think and make tough decisions for an extended period time in either cash or tournament play. The skews in my play or my opponents play are then easily recognized good or bad in both. Turbo sit-n-go’s however, this short blind structure, smaller starting fields, for example, turbo’s on demand at ACR. Using more information here can be better because of the shorter time it will take to complete. So, focus from long running cash games or MTT tournaments can with stand additional critical thinking because of using all the information and experience from the mental approaches from cash and MTT styles. Routinely making good decisions should help counter the extra situations that I put myself in because of the structure. The brain can work harder for a shorter period of time and potentially make few mistakes over a short run but expectations from doing this for ten hours will result in bad decisions and cost money or chips over the long run mentally.
My default strategy that has skewed sub-strategies in cash and MTT comes from Sklansky and his cash game strategy pre flop when facing either a table with a lot of action pre flop that raising will not limit the field pre or loose players who will call all of my pre flop raises consistently with minimum re-raising pre.
Just like in tournaments in early blind levels and in cash games alike, I see the above situations pre. The post flop play has many universal situations from table dynamics just like the above example of table dynamics pre. I apply a weak approach, this also gives the wrong information about my ability, style and image, this allows me to disguise my play better, and also straight forward approach then becomes an additional option. The play at my level, opponents play without much thought to board texture, my play, what I may hold, but recognize weak play, folding to raises pre or post, looking like a fish. Because they understand how to use aggression against what they recognize for sure and that is weakness, aggression will eventually win out against weak players. When beaten at cash or MTT by this image, style, tilt will follow because of ego and emotion, this always induce bad decisions from my opponent that the weaker players will now be willing to exploit. Action from others will be created to be exploited and hopefully I will get dealt the right hand and create the right situation.
I limp in any position with good, bad, mediocre and any two, create fear, uncertainty, and doubt about my play to my opponents. Early stages of a long running MTT or a cash session, this is where I get cheap and proper information about my opponents routines, patterns, and tendencies about my opponents play. I lose value pre but gain value on later streets, when I make the best hand or already have the best hand, I run the risk of being out drawn but with not a lot of my chips in the middle with no way to fold. Being vulnerable will allow the action to keep flowing even if I fold. This allows me to set the table dynamics on the next two streets, this allows me to hedge the turn, river against my opponents weak and strong when I am in or out of position. I am playing against my opponents routine of limping in mediocre,strong, hands against my strategy, then when faced with re-raises from loose opponents do I believe their play enough to assign them a hand pre or adjust to their actions post flop from their routines from bet sizes that will eventually lead me catch them with what I know is the wrong bet.
Tight and better players will have similar approach against me when using this strategy but have some additional routines, patterns, and tendencies. I am looking to catch my opponent in situations when they have cards of value but under estimate my holdings good or bad, then allow my opponent to over value the situation for one pair for example, when I am playing for straights or flushes, or just trying to tell me a story that does not make sense from prior play.
Having a plan then not changing what I got into the hand for will allow me to put a mental line of play I am not willing to cross unless I need to adjust because of what my opponent has done to tip their play against me. This will allow me to have control of how I play my draws, combination draws, strong hands, good hands, mediocre hands, bluffs. This gives me freedom to dump the hand, not to overvalue my hand, understand what I am playing for against my opponents hand, putting in the proper bet sizes, not to chase or put in money when a big underdog unless there are juicy implied
odds in limited situations are some examples. This is just part of my overall mental default strategy in cash or MTT tournaments, but logic, intuitiveness, knowing, and less tough decisions come from a simple approach mentally that can be used universally in any game I choose to play. Glad to have met you and hope your time on the table is profitable.
