To Tame The Cash Game Beast

[derringer007]

I have been trying my luck playing in some low stake cash games to get my feet wet and i'm finding out that game play is a whole new animal compared to playing S&Gs which is all i have been playing so far. Although i'm not the greatest OL player, i have had some short lived S&G moments of success. I'm finding out that playing OL cash games the way i play MTT or S&Gs is not working and needs a little tweaking. Any Serious input would be much appreciated. Thanks.

[LombardiStix]

I wanted to comment on your post because I too have had similar experiences. I was a strict sng/mtt player for the first large portion of my online play. The beast of NL ring games is one that has claimed many of my and my friends bankrolls. However I've noticed a few things that helped me wrangle this wild bronco...

1. Patience is key. When playing in a ring game for the long term goal of making money playing patient poker is key. (this is not at the sacrifice of agressivness). Also on the patience front, NEVER ever play ring games when you only have a short amount of time. You end up forcing play because you want something (significant) to happen while you were playing. This entire tip is a matter of self control.

2. Another thing I did for a while which helped is roll control. I apparently was playing weaker when I accumulated a large stack comparitave to the rest of the table. So once i had doubled the maximum buyin I would leave the table and buy-in to another table for the max buy-in. This is "suck-out" control. I play stronger and have less to lose when I cash in the "white meat". You have to be satisfied with small gains.

3. It is also crucial to play on the right table as far as blinds go. This is of course relative to your skill/bankroll. If you are newer to ring games then you were probablly right to stay in the low stakes to warm up to the styles and intricacies involved.

Hope I could help although I'm no expert.

Stix

[spowers454]

Well said stix. Only a few things to add. there is no need to see every flop. I see people doing this every time I play and they don't take into account that all that limping and calling some raises just to see if you can get lucky throws away a lot of money. Also pay attention to the table on most tables there is someone with a hot hand, catching all kinda great hands. Watch out if you get into a hand with them they are catching everything and if your not hitting anything switch tables, I don't know why but at times it helps me. Watch the other players at the table maybe even just watch and not play till you know how they are playing. Once you have a hand make money on it, when at a table I only see about 20-23% of flops and thats at a 6 man table but I have a high winning % of flops seen and thats what counts. When your only seeing that amount of flops you have to make your money from all the blinds you folded back. Once other peolpe see you playing pretty tight it makes it easier to do a little trapping when you flop a big hand so if your in a hand in a early position with a aggresive player and you know your hand is good check it to them most of the time they will bet into you figuring you will give it up. Also if your not hitting and just cant seem to win a hand cut your loses and leave no since in donating. Good luck on the tables as with anything else practice is the only way to see what works best for you.

[Nerice]

I play tons (5k-10k+ days are not surprising for me to do since I multitable) of NLHE 6max cash games, some LHE at times but not nearly as much.

I seen table selection mentioned, and it is one of the most import things, but the seating arrangement at the table is important as well.

I will try to always sit to the immediate left of a big stack, to have position. I will also play hands at times I would not normally play (due to the hand, or OOP etc...) if the person to my right enters the pot as well if they are a big stack. I sit with full buy in's (100 BB's), so by a big stack I mean someone 150-200+ BB deep.

I will get up if a decent reg to my immediate left has a much bigger stack than mine and there is not at least 2 bad players at the table. He will have both position and a stack advantage both on me, and that is going to cost me money no matter what I do. Even if I win, I will not win as much due to that so I find greener pastures.

[wixx]

Roll control is key as Stix said. Play for the long haul, not the quick score. That said, if you hit a few hands early, do not be afraid to take the money and run.

[derringer007]

The one thing i found out is that i thought i was a TAGG player, WRONG. S&G TAGG and CG TAGG is like day and night. So for cash games i find myself playing more tight and more aggressive. Before i was playing 20% -+ in S&G, Now i'm trying to play around 10% to 15% keeping more towards the 10% end of the spectrum. Being the fact that you can leave the table playing CG at any time as compared to S&G where you have more time to repair a bad hand play, Patience, Position, Aggression come into play and are more important than ever in the game of CG poker.

[scrawnybob]

hi

interesting thread - just to add my 2p (for what its worth)

personally I play quite a bit looser than those % but play mainly 6 seat cash games

but even if you dont play as loose - if your on 6 seat cash games you'll definately need to open up your hand requirements and be prepared to defend your blinds -

position is as important but you'll also find players will run rings (pardon the pun) around overly TAG players ... they will out play TAG standard button / late postion raises from early position and will generally try to throw out the techinques that DO work plying v tight aggressive on a full table

ie. full table you can wait for opportunities, in short table the action will come to you - whether you wanted it to or not ;-)

cheers scrawnybob

[derringer007]

hi

interesting thread - just to add my 2p (for what its worth)

personally I play quite a bit looser than those % but play mainly 6 seat cash games

but even if you dont play as loose - if your on 6 seat cash games you'll definately need to open up your hand requirements and be prepared to defend your blinds -

position is as important but you'll also find players will run rings (pardon the pun) around overly TAG players ... they will out play TAG standard button / late postion raises from early position and will generally try to throw out the techinques that DO work plying v tight aggressive on a full table

ie. full table you can wait for opportunities, in short table the action will come to you - whether you wanted it to or not ;-)

cheers scrawnybob

Oooops left that part out. I should have said that i have been playing full ring CG to start out. As far as my TAGG % nothing is set in stone, i'm using the afore mentioned % as a bench mark for myself and will be making slight adjustments on the fly based on the game play of the villains.

[Nerice]

13/10 FR and 18/16 6M are good numbers to aim for long term if your looking for a good spot number wise to aim for.

I realize many 6 max players play looser than that, but you can tear them up when they do, due to kicker issues etc...

[GypsyTea]

I wanted to comment on your post because I too have had similar experiences. I was a strict sng/mtt player for the first large portion of my online play. The beast of NL ring games is one that has claimed many of my and my friends bankrolls. However I've noticed a few things that helped me wrangle this wild bronco...

1. Patience is key. When playing in a ring game for the long term goal of making money playing patient poker is key. (this is not at the sacrifice of agressivness). Also on the patience front, NEVER ever play ring games when you only have a short amount of time. You end up forcing play because you want something (significant) to happen while you were playing. This entire tip is a matter of self control.

2. Another thing I did for a while which helped is roll control. I apparently was playing weaker when I accumulated a large stack comparitave to the rest of the table. So once i had doubled the maximum buyin I would leave the table and buy-in to another table for the max buy-in. This is "suck-out" control. I play stronger and have less to lose when I cash in the "white meat". You have to be satisfied with small gains.

3. It is also crucial to play on the right table as far as blinds go. This is of course relative to your skill/bankroll. If you are newer to ring games then you were probablly right to stay in the low stakes to warm up to the styles and intricacies involved.

Hope I could help although I'm no expert.

Stix

Good Post IMHO, I have give you some Reputation points.

GT