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Cash Game Strategies |
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If tournament poker isn’t your style or if you are interested in expanding to cash games you can get some good cash game strategies here. The first thing to know about cash game strategies for poker games is what sort of limit you are looking to play at. Some other issues to discuss when talking strategy are what type of poker game are you playing, is it no limit, limit or fixed and how big is your bankroll.
When it comes to cash game strategies, your strategy may change depending on what limit you are playing. If you are new to cash games I would suggest that you start out at a low limit or a micro limit game, whether online or live. At that limit size it won’t be too painful if you loose all your money, provided you don’t start with your entire bankroll.
If you are playing online, it is much easier to find very low and micro limit tables at a variety of poker games. Let’s say you start with a bankroll of $100, try taking $10 of that to a low limit table like a 5c/10c table and see how the action is. If you feel that is too low a limit for you, jump up to the next table limit and bring $20 instead of $10. Remember that some poker rooms, both live and online have a cash limit that players can be seated with. Don’t, by any means, go immediately to the high limit tables to try and quick start your bankroll. Once you become comfortable with playing at the lower stakes try moving up a notch, either to the 25c/50c table or if you feel really confident the $1/$2 table.
Now remember that the poker strategy for tournament play is quite different from cash game strategies in that not everyone starts with the same amount of chips and the chips in your cash game are just like real money. No rebuying $1000 chips for $5!
If you are looking to play live cash games I would suggest that you walk around the poker room and see what limits and games are offered, then when you find one that you like, watch a couple rounds of action before sitting down. Listen to the talk from the other players and watch them to see if you can pick up any of their tells. Once you are seated and starting in the game now is the time for the real cash game strategies to come out.
For this discussion, we will be seated at a $1/$2 cash game of No Limit Texas Hold’em on Pokerstars. If possible I wouldn’t sit at this table with less than $100. Remember if you don’t like the action after a few hands you can always get up and move to another table or type of game.
Cash game strategies differ from tournament strategies in that you want to play more hands, get in on the pots and try to push others out as quickly as possible. Some hands that you wouldn’t generally play in a tournament may be played in a cash game. Since often times you will not see as many people in the pot as a tournament game. Also don’t be scared to make big raises in cash games, this will tend to push more players out. And unlike the early stages of a tournament game, there may only be 4 or 5 people seated at your cash game to start.
As you become more familiar with the cash game it is a good idea to add some statistics and math to your game. For instance, if you are in big blind and the person to the left of you raises preflop to three times the blind and 4 people call before it gets back to you, is it worth it for you to add $2 more to see the flop? So at this game you will be paying an extra $2 to try to win $18. If you have decent pocket cards then yes, it is worth it to add call the raise. Once the flop is dealt, you should hope to have at least a pair or higher. If I am not holding a pair and there are still 5 others in the hand I am guessing that my odds of having the best hand at that point aren’t so good, so if the pot is bet into or raised I will fold.
Often times in cash games you will get heads-up play. Lots of folks are good at tournament games but it takes a different type of player to be good at cash games. And it can always be fun if you are seated at a table with someone who has more money than brains!
If you are interested in poker games other than Texas Hold’em I would suggest reading some books about the game you are interested in. The cash game strategies for Omaha and Stud seem to be a bit easier, in my opinion, than for Hold’em, in that most often you will be fishing for your hand in either of those games. Especially with Omaha, and more so with Omaha Hi/Lo, it is hard to fold a hand that has suited connectors or even any connectors because your odds of getting three cards to finish your straight are fairly good.
On to the limits of the game. The cash game strategies for limit, fixed limit and no limit are slightly different. In a fixed or limit game it can be harder to push people out of a hand if they have a marginal hand. These players tend to be fishing, usually for a straight or a flush. If by the turn they make their hand you will usually know by the amount they are betting. In no limit hold’em it can be harder to get a read on a player’s hand. If you are playing limit, for example, a general rule of thumb to put out players that have marginal hands is to bet 75% of the pot. In fixed limit hold’em if you don’t have a playable hand by the flop you should either check your hand or fold if bet against.
When it comes to cash game strategies about bankrolls, this is a very individual choice. Some folks can start with a bankroll of a couple hundred bucks while others may want to start higher and yet others may have to start lower. If you are playing online poker games, it is easier to build a bankroll at lower stake games with a lower bankroll because there are so many more available games than at a live poker room. Whether you are starting with $20 or $2000, make sure you know when to stay within your ‘limits’ of play.
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