REAL Cash Game Help

[baby kahuna]

I have been playing MTT's, SNG's, and freerolls. I have been doing very well after studying Harrington, Sklansky, etc. I have developed a nice size BR. About 1K. I want to start playing in cash games cause I believe that is the test of a players skill. Most of the games I play are NLHE and feel confident in a deep tournament situation but always felt inadequate in cash games. Particularly in Limit. I play limit occasionally in HORSE tournaments and find it interesting.
Can anyone suggest how to make that transition? I know that Hellmuth is considered to be a top tournament player but gets no respect when it comes to the cash game. I know in Doyles, TJ, Puggy's, etc. days thats all there was. I want to develop that side of my game. Does anyone advocate cash games as being superior to tournament play?

 

[Makwa]

Most agree that ring games have better ROI than tourneys... especially when you take your time into account...

 

[zachvac]

Most agree that ring games have better ROI than tourneys... especially when you take your time into account...

ROI makes no sense in terms of cash games. Personally I find cash games more enjoyable, plus I'm better at them so I make more money. If you're good and can profit from tourneys and enjoy them there's no real reason to switch for good but if you want to mix it up ring games are definitely profitable, just got to know it's a different game. There are countless threads here on the strategy differences, don't feel like typing them up again. Just search for them.

 

[Makwa]

ROI makes no sense in terms of cash games.

Huh?

 

[pokertime911]

Im a pretty decent profitable tourney player and mostly sng player but when it comes to cash games Im pretty awful. I think you have to play a lot more aggressive in cash games and bluffing is a lot more of a key element. I also tend to go on tilt and one bad beat of losing a couple hundred on one hand can put me on tilt to lose another few hundred.

 

[white_lytning]

TC

I am pretty much the opposite of you except I have no desires to play tourneys anymore. I play only live cash games because I can do well. I make a lot more money, and have less up and downs playing cash than just tournaments. I was introduced to poker through tournament play and quickly made the transition to cash.

The best way to learn how to play, is to do just that and play. The more experience the better. Start at low limits until you understand how the game works and go from there. From a cash game standpoint, tourney players are generally more aggressive with bad hands, and slow play big ones. QQ, JJ, 1010, AQ, AJ, A10 are all hands that normal cash game players hold at a much lower value than tourney guys.

Cash game players will also play a larger varitie of hands, and there is no worry of blinds raising and time restraints.

Check this forum out and check out the other stuff on cash game strategies.

Experience means everything in any of these games. Just play a lot, expect it to be hard at the beginning, and go from there. You have to learn something everytime you play.

 

[Dayne G.]

I have been playing MTT's, SNG's, and Freerolls. I have been doing very well after studying Harrington, Sklansky, etc. I have developed a nice size BR. About 1K. I want to start playing in cash games cause I believe that is the test of a players skill. Most of the games I play are NLHE and feel confident in a deep tournament situation but always felt inadequate in cash games. Particularly in Limit. I play limit occasionally in HORSE tournaments and find it interesting.
Can anyone suggest how to make that transition? I know that Hellmuth is considered to be a top tournament player but gets no respect when it comes to the cash game. I know in Doyles, TJ, Puggy's, etc. days thats all there was. I want to develop that side of my game. Does anyone advocate cash games as being superior to tournament play?

If you're focusing on playing limit cash, read-up on VALUE BETS! VALUE BETS! VALUE BETS! You're not trying to trap, as you do in NL tourneys or cash...

Start at the lower limits, and practice finding your most marginal value bets. Understanding that it's not about the amount of pots you win in limit... it's about the amount in the pots you win! Focus on extracting every single bit of value from each hand you play.

One of the biggest differences that separate the great limit player vs. the average, is the thin river value he extracts.

Good luck, and enjoy the grind of the ... CASH GAME EXPERIENCE

 

[vanquish]

cash games > sex >>> tournaments

 

[Richyl2008]

As someone who has recently switched over from tourney to cash game play in the past 3-4 months I was not quite prepared for the differences in the 2 games. I would read posts on forums about people folding AA post flop and I couldnt believe it. The fact that stacks are so much deeper in cash games changes the value of hands dramatically since when you put your stack in, 90 percent of it will usually go in postflop. In tournaments you can wait for premium hands, raise, and get shoved on by much worse because of escalating blinds and shortstack sizes that are forced to gamble. In cash games they will see right through this, because if you are only playing big pairs and big aces, players will be able to narrow your hand range very accurately to the point where you will be winning small pots and losing big ones, calling your raises with small-medium pocket pairs and suited connectors. The fact that stacks are deeper allows you to play these kinds of hands in certain situations, much like you might elect to do in the early stages of a tourney for cheap to hit a lucky flop and double up.

 

[thephenominal1]

I believe that tourneys are more fun but if you want a steady rise in bankroll go then cash games will suit you better as long as your good at them lol