Ask Gripsed Anything About Cash Games

[UkoChebuko]

Thanks, Evan! I play $20-$30 SnG, sometime $50-$60. I am not be so tilted, if I lose 1k. I have played at $15 with SnG players with ~1kk lifetime profit. This the opposite. "No sense to play at higher limits, if you can't make more $ per hour". You know about those SNE players, which had 50-60k lost per year.

For NL25-NL50-NL100 I think this happens, cuz the rich fishes prefer 100$, one dolar, one blind. The regs have BRM "problems", they are many at NL50. Also the rake...The rake is lower at NL100.

Thank you very much!

 

[johnnythemoss]

Hi Evan. The strategy of defending the blinds in MTTs that you outlined the Top 3 Mistakes video (defend wide vs steals and only continue with top pair and/or strong draws) is very interesting. Does this strategy also apply to cash games in the same dynamic? i.e. in the Big Blind, facing a 2.5x raise from CO or BTN in a Full Ring or 6MAX cash game?

 

[stil370]

C-Bet?

Hey All!

I have been playing Poker for 15 years and invested the first 8 years of my career playing cash games. I have always felt this is the 'best' form of poker for anyone who wants to make consistent money or is considering going pro/part time as a poker player. In 2011 I was extremely fortunate to meet and room with Greg Merson for 12 months and he greatly reinforced the importance of focusing on Cash Game poker over Tournament Poker.

There are just so many more factors in cash games over which you have control that you have to give up in tournaments. In my eyes when it comes to cash games YOU are the boss, whereas when playing tournaments THE HOUSE is the boss, and you're on their schedule. And as a poker player, a huge reason you play is to be your own boss right?

In addition to playing millions of hands of poker, I've also studied dozens of poker books and gone thru all the high end training programs online from $49-999 and have a lot to share. I'm happy to point you in the right direction if you're looking for study material.

Please post any questions you have about cash games here (other than specific hands, those goes here where I will also be active) and I will respond to all of them to the best of my abilities : )

Looking forward to helping you increase your confidence in the realm of cash game poker. And I'm excited to seeing your increased profits as a result of knowing what you need to know! Teaching is a huge passion of mine, and I believe it's the best way to learn, so let's work together to become the best poker players we can be!!!

Hi,

I wasa thinking about this scenario today.
You go to the flop in first position vs 2 villians and you flop a flush draw.
GENERALLY speaking, do you make a half bot pot or do you check and wait to see what you opponents will do?

 

[johnnythemoss]

Hi,

I wasa thinking about this scenario today.
You go to the flop in first position vs 2 villians and you flop a flush draw.
GENERALLY speaking, do you make a half bot pot or do you check and wait to see what you opponents will do?

Doesn't this depend a lot on the preflop action and the stats on the Villains? It surely depends on how strong the flush draw is too. Is it AdKd on a flop of 9d5d2s or is 3d2d on a flop of AdKdQh? Very different situations. More detail is needed to answer your question.

 

[nwhitney118]

Hi Evan love all your content,

Is it worth calling 3 bets with middle/small pocket pairs? Even though often the implied odds are right it feels a bit spewy to set mine from 3 bets.

 

[Evan Jarvis]

Hi Evan love all your content,

Is it worth calling 3 bets with middle/small pocket pairs? Even though often the implied odds are right it feels a bit spewy to set mine from 3 bets.

Thanks nwithney, I appreciate that very much brother!

What I've been realizing with smell and medium pairs is that defending them to a 3bet in position is a very reasonable play for a couple of reasons.

Even vs a strong 3bet range of say 99+, JTs+, ATo+, KQo+ your pair will have over 40% equity (sometimes as much as 45%) and you'll usually be getting 2:1 on a call facing the 3bet.

On top of that it's easy to play them postflop. Even when you don't flop a set you can continue for a bet on flops that don't contain high cards because you'll be a 75% favorite on the flop.

The important thing is to have the discipline to release when you face multiple barrels, or to simply fold when the board comes A, K, Q high and your opponent likely has you drawing to a 2 outter.

Stack depth and sizing of 3bet matter, but the main benefits are that the hands have the right equity to continue preflop, and postflop they tend to play easily, either winning you a huge pot, or losing a very small one.

Just be disciplined when facing many bets! (and be careful with calling 3bets out of position because it's much harder to cash in on your implied odds)

 

[Evan Jarvis]

Doesn't this depend a lot on the preflop action and the stats on the Villains? It surely depends on how strong the flush draw is too. Is it AdKd on a flop of 9d5d2s or is 3d2d on a flop of AdKdQh? Very different situations. More detail is needed to answer your question.

Exactly right Johnny Moss! To give a solid answer we we need much more information.

 

[Evan Jarvis]

Whassup, everyone, I gonna say some facts that can amaze you, I suppose cash game is not a good kinda of texas hold'em, cuz you must focus on your dough n someone is afraid of losin' all dough, however cash game's better that the tournament only from one side, you can make a big amount of money in a few games, but in tournaments, you must play long n kick out all playas.

Switch your settings to display big blinds instead of real dollars and you can get a big of a disconnect that way.

Cash games are a much better way to make a consistent living from playing poker than tournaments are.

I've played both and my mental health is 10000x better when playing cash than when playing mtts.

 

[Evan Jarvis]

Hi,

I wasa thinking about this scenario today.
You go to the flop in first position vs 2 villians and you flop a flush draw.
GENERALLY speaking, do you make a half bot pot or do you check and wait to see what you opponents will do?

Depends on the types of opponents I'm up against, and the board texture.

Remember that poker is a people game, played with cards, and who you are playing against in a hand is always the most important thing when determining what strategy to implement.

 

[Evan Jarvis]

Thanks, Evan! I play $20-$30 SnG, sometime $50-$60. I am not be so tilted, if I lose 1k. I have played at $15 with SnG players with ~1kk lifetime profit. This the opposite. "No sense to play at higher limits, if you can't make more $ per hour". You know about those SNE players, which had 50-60k lost per year.

For NL25-NL50-NL100 I think this happens, cuz the rich fishes prefer 100$, one dolar, one blind. The regs have BRM "problems", they are many at NL50. Also the rake...The rake is lower at NL100.

Thank you very much!

Cheers mate! Great insights here!

 

[Evan Jarvis]

Hi Evan. The strategy of defending the blinds in MTTs that you outlined the Top 3 Mistakes video (defend wide vs steals and only continue with top pair and/or strong draws) is very interesting. Does this strategy also apply to cash games in the same dynamic? i.e. in the Big Blind, facing a 2.5x raise from CO or BTN in a Full Ring or 6MAX cash game?

Pretty much yes.

The difference is in cash games since you are much deeper stacked you want to be more selective with the hands you defend on the flop.

When you are playing tournaments you mostly need to think about the street when the last bet will go in (often flop or turn) and plan your ranges accordingly.

In cash games its often the river that all the money goes in (if all the money goes in at all) and therefore folding more hands on the flop will leave you with a much stronger range to play well on the river when the bets are the most significant.

I'll try to talk more about this in future videos! Thanks for the great question!!!

 

[ProfessorGrind]

great advice as always Gripsed!

 

[Evan Jarvis]

Thank you Professor Grind, much appreciated my brother!

 

[UkoChebuko]

Hi, mate...
I have a silly question. What do you think about open raise with 22 and 33 from the early positions? What is your experience with those?
I have some "poker-friends" and no one use them for UTG open raise. They play from NL5 to NL200. No one...I don't use them too...For MTT I can use this sh*t even from UTG full ring, but not for a cash game. My max range from LJ is 19%. No 22 and 33...I even argued not long time ago with my friend. He hates pocket pairs, he play low. I told him "Fod God's sake, you can't fold 66 , even if the King of the Apes and his children are behand you!". He disagree...But I think there is a huge difference between 66 and 33. What do you think?
I remember several years ago, any pocket pair was open raise. Even from UTG full ring, even without info, as default. I mean always 22 was open raise. No matter what...

I saw some topics. It is like seven years ago the people started to complain about this. Ok, no "several" years, let's say 9-10 years. But I remember. When I started to play poker. Any time, when I opened some pic with ranges, 22 was always there. UTG full ring, 22 open raise. Always...You know what I mean... Minimum range for UTG full ring and 22 is there. AJo, KQs fold, 22 open raise. The magical deuces...
I saw your video. Ok, mate, you don't believe in this. 77+ or "LAG range" 14% (!!!?), 22+. A8s also. A8s+. 87s...I use 10%, 13%, and 19%. And obv I have very different opinion than yours. It is pretty interesting to "hear" your opinion about this. I don't want to argue, I am not this type.

Thank you in advance!

I will show you my ranges. I want your opinion. Please... You can be rude, no problem, you know.

AJo, ATs, KJs, QJs, T9s, 66
AJo, A9s, A2s-A5s, KTs, QTs, 98s, 55
ATo, Axs, KJo, QJo, K9s, Q9s, J9s, 65s, 44

Also , I saw this "LAG HJ range" 20%. A9o+, A2s+, KJo, T7s+, 97s+, 76s+, 22+. This can't be 20%...I can't imagine how this will be 20%. Can you show us?

Do you mean this?

 

[Geyomobama]

Why do i encounter so much variance when i switch to cash games... Its really discouraging to play them coz i always run into bad beats...how do people end up making a living off of that. If people maximise their chances of only playing good hands in cash games then the edge is smaller. Is this just me or does everyone else encouter this sort of variance?

 

[UkoChebuko]

No...The variance is huge. But everyone lies, because of their own reasons. You edge is small. You have edge at any street, if you are good, but this edge is so small. The big pots are rare. Often you will lose. And the downswings are so long. Like MTT swings.
I just saw that and answered. Sorry, if I did something wrong.

 

[shane4050]

Why do i encounter so much variance when i switch to cash games... Its really discouraging to play them coz i always run into bad beats...how do people end up making a living off of that. If people maximise their chances of only playing good hands in cash games then the edge is smaller. Is this just me or does everyone else encouter this sort of variance?

Sorry i wouldn't usually reply to someones post but i feel this is important.
Cash games and mtt are completely different beasts in general i suggest watching alot of evans earlier content on youtube and popping into the stream as he plays rush and cash and blitz on stream sometimes if your interested. Yes variance is big in cash games but only as big as you make it as you learn to control pot size and adjust to how rake is paid in the lower limits IE taking down pots preflop and adjusting your 3/4 bets to villans, I suggest trying the 9man tables and honestly just playing abc poker for the first while to get a table read as you will run into alot of people just playing 10% of hands and position which you can exploit later on, keyword later on as you cant just go bluffing and all in with tptk also the level of play is alot better at .10nl then .2nl as you will find either aggros or nits mostly at the lower limits. But to answer your question yes everyone encounters this variance but by adjusting your playing position proper buy ins and pot control/playing with proper brm you will be able to adjust your game and beat it in the long run.

 

[UkoChebuko]

I didn't told "the cash games swings and the MTT swings are the same". I said "the cash games swings are long like the MTT swings". The truth for the variance at the cash tables is known only from the people who already "gave up" or from those who play for a living for a long time. The "bad side of the coin". The coaches most likely also know, but they will tell you different. For obv reasons. If you lose let's say 40 buy ins at the cash tables, what do you think, maybe the upswing is coming. The upswing is right behind the corner. Guess what. You can wait 2 years for this 40 buy ins upswing. As I said the big pots are rare.

 

[DoIHaveAFlush]

Hi Evan,

One challenge I'm confronted with is the following scenario on the flop:

Usually, one villain raises between 2.5BB and 3BB from EP to MP, I'm either on the BU or on SB or BB. I have quite a decent hand, such as AJo or JTs, so I call.

The flop comes - as an example - 5J8 rainbow. I bet 3/4 pot having top pair with strong kicker - villain goes all-in. I have no read on the opponent, since this happens in early rounds of cash game or early stage of an MTT. Villain and myself are both middle stacks. I did call, assuming the opponent has an overcard, such as AKs or AQo and tries to scare me off. What I saw was however an overpair - KK. Obviously, I lost all chips.

Something similar happened with me having flopped top pair on the flop (99), villain shoves all-in and shows TT. (Note, this second example was a totally different game with different players).

So, I'm realizing that I have some gaps in terms of assessing possibilities of overpairs on the flop. I know there's no always and no never in poker, but if you face a shove on a rainbow flop having toppair and strong kicker - would you assume it is always an overpair? For me, this bet size is really polarizing, it means: either this guy got the goods or he got air. What do you think? How should i approach when facing this kind of shoving on the flop on low stakes cash games and freeroll MTTs?

Cheers

 

[kissapig]

Interesting spot. I folded with ~20% equity. Good fold ?
http://prntscr.com/upath6

 

[Evan Jarvis]

Hi, mate...
I have a silly question. What do you think about open raise with 22 and 33 from the early positions? What is your experience with those?
I have some "poker-friends" and no one use them for UTG open raise. They play from NL5 to NL200. No one...I don't use them too...For MTT I can use this sh*t even from UTG full ring, but not for a cash game. My max range from LJ is 19%. No 22 and 33...I even argued not long time ago with my friend. He hates pocket pairs, he play low. I told him "Fod God's sake, you can't fold 66 , even if the King of the Apes and his children are behand you!". He disagree...But I think there is a huge difference between 66 and 33. What do you think?
I remember several years ago, any pocket pair was open raise. Even from UTG full ring, even without info, as default. I mean always 22 was open raise. No matter what...

I saw some topics. It is like seven years ago the people started to complain about this. Ok, no "several" years, let's say 9-10 years. But I remember. When I started to play poker. Any time, when I opened some pic with ranges, 22 was always there. UTG full ring, 22 open raise. Always...You know what I mean... Minimum range for UTG full ring and 22 is there. AJo, KQs fold, 22 open raise. The magical deuces...
I saw your video. Ok, mate, you don't believe in this. 77+ or "LAG range" 14% (!!!?), 22+. A8s also. A8s+. 87s...I use 10%, 13%, and 19%. And obv I have very different opinion than yours. It is pretty interesting to "hear" your opinion about this. I don't want to argue, I am not this type.

Thank you in advance!

I will show you my ranges. I want your opinion. Please... You can be rude, no problem, you know.

AJo, ATs, KJs, QJs, T9s, 66
AJo, A9s, A2s-A5s, KTs, QTs, 98s, 55
ATo, Axs, KJo, QJo, K9s, Q9s, J9s, 65s, 44

Also , I saw this "LAG HJ range" 20%. A9o+, A2s+, KJo, T7s+, 97s+, 76s+, 22+. This can't be 20%...I can't imagine how this will be 20%. Can you show us?

Do you mean this?

Hey Mate,


Thank you for the quality post and solid insight.

I know exactly what you're talking about when the old range charts always had all the pairs in them. These days however the GTO charts do now always encourage playing all pairs.

I agree with you that when it comes to opening, the higher ranking cards will do better and have more equity on average and be much easier to play postflop.

My feeling with small pairs always was that they played better as calls in position (as they have high implied odds vs strong hand ranges and players who stack off too many chips too loosely). For this reason, they tend to be in the call 3-bet range after opening because we are often in a high implied odds situation (narrow range for opponent and high likely to play for stacks with top pair/overpair)

When it comes to opening hands from early position, I like your ranges very much. Focused on high cards and high suited hands which have positive implied odds and will flop draws & backdoor draws at a good frequency.

I don't by any means think all small pairs should be played. In tournaments where stacks are shallower and thus implied odds are lower it's even more true that many pairs should be folded.

For the 20% range you mentioned it was probably something similar to this.

although I would probably swap out some of the suited connectors in favor of suited kings for the ability to make more top pairs and better flushes.

The way ranges have shaped has evolved over the years, but these days I think we can trust that the solvers have constructed the best ranges and it's nice that almost all training sites have this info available with memberships

Hope that answers your question & good luck on the tables!

 

[Evan Jarvis]

Interesting spot. I folded with ~20% equity. Good fold ?
http://prntscr.com/upath6

It depends on your opponents ranges.

If they both have straights and all your outs are clean, the it's pretty much a breakeven call (slightly profitable given the pot odds needed of about 22.5%)

If however, any of your outs are dead then it quickly shifts to being a fold. Also, if there's ever a case where you're drawing basically dead because one opponent has QQ then it most definitely shifts to a fold.

It would also depend on the stage of the tournament. If you can rebuy and having that stack would allow you to work the table then it may be worth taking this gamble and having a shot at a big pot. If that's not the case however then I'd lean towards a fold.

Cool spot, thanks for sharing!!!

 

[Evan Jarvis]

Why do i encounter so much variance when i switch to cash games... Its really discouraging to play them coz i always run into bad beats...how do people end up making a living off of that. If people maximise their chances of only playing good hands in cash games then the edge is smaller. Is this just me or does everyone else encouter this sort of variance?

The variance in cash games is due to deeper stacks and facing tougher opponents who don't give their chips away as freely as some tournament players do.

The best way to learn cash games is to ensure you have a strong understanding of the fundamentals and the strategies which will help you compete with your opponents.

For a free course I offer my 30 day free training program - http://gripsed.com/pgms

For paid training the best in my opinion is Poker Coaching - http://pokercoachingoffer.com
It's also extremely good value with the bonus programs included

Another way to keep variance lower is to buy in for smaller amounts of play lower limits. bankroll management is essential to feeling like you're experiencing less variance

Here's a full article and video I did on that topic, hope you find it helpful!

https://www.gripsed.com/strategy/how-to-manage-money

 

[Evan Jarvis]

Hi Evan,

One challenge I'm confronted with is the following scenario on the flop:

Usually, one villain raises between 2.5BB and 3BB from EP to MP, I'm either on the BU or on SB or BB. I have quite a decent hand, such as AJo or JTs, so I call.

The flop comes - as an example - 5J8 rainbow. I bet 3/4 pot having top pair with strong kicker - villain goes all-in. I have no read on the opponent, since this happens in early rounds of cash game or early stage of an MTT. Villain and myself are both middle stacks. I did call, assuming the opponent has an overcard, such as AKs or AQo and tries to scare me off. What I saw was however an overpair - KK. Obviously, I lost all chips.

Something similar happened with me having flopped top pair on the flop (99), villain shoves all-in and shows TT. (Note, this second example was a totally different game with different players).

So, I'm realizing that I have some gaps in terms of assessing possibilities of overpairs on the flop. I know there's no always and no never in poker, but if you face a shove on a rainbow flop having toppair and strong kicker - would you assume it is always an overpair? For me, this bet size is really polarizing, it means: either this guy got the goods or he got air. What do you think? How should i approach when facing this kind of shoving on the flop on low stakes cash games and freeroll MTTs?

Cheers

Hey mr Flush, thanks for the question.

It's certainly a tough spot to put your opponent on a "check raise all in" range with little to no information. That's why every bit of info you can get is essential and why I so highly recommend sharkscope for people playing poker tournaments.

The big things to consider in these situations are position of the opener, if you have any info on how any many hands they've played in the last 50 or so, board texture and stack depth.

The more draws possible on the board the more likely it is your opponent could be making this play with a combo draw. When draws are lacking however I don't often see players make this play with just overcards (they will usually just fire a continuation bet).

And finally the stack to pot ratio. If you are getting in just 1-2.5x the pot it's going to be a bit more forgiving to get in that spot because you'll be getting offered quite nice pot odds after betting that only require you to win 25-35% of the time. (and even a 5 outter has around 20% equity).

But if you are getting in a ton of stack relative to the pot, like 3-9x the pot then that's probably overplaying your hand a bit as just top pair. This video should help a bit more.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj9DnuoeckE&t=2628s[/ame]

Hope that helps with your question, and if you need any more info feel free to check out my website! --> http://gripsed.com --> Lots of new cool content coming out soon!

 

[kissapig]

It depends on your opponents ranges.

If they both have straights and all your outs are clean, the it's pretty much a breakeven call (slightly profitable given the pot odds needed of about 22.5%)

If however, any of your outs are dead then it quickly shifts to being a fold. Also, if there's ever a case where you're drawing basically dead because one opponent has QQ then it most definitely shifts to a fold.

It would also depend on the stage of the tournament. If you can rebuy and having that stack would allow you to work the table then it may be worth taking this gamble and having a shot at a big pot. If that's not the case however then I'd lean towards a fold.

Cool spot, thanks for sharing!!!

Had to show the river.