Making the move to Cash Games

Hey all, so I consider myself to be a pretty solid MTT and SNG player but only fair when it comes to cash games. As we know, the strategies and tactics one uses in MTTs and SNGs can vary a lot when compared to cash games. I want to better my skills at cash games, but I'm not sure where to start. I've read some cash game books (yay?) and have played quite a bit, however whenever I do play, it's at the .02/.04 level and often times not more then 2 or 3 tables. When doing so I tend to get bored or almost lose focus and make dumb plays I know better than to make in cash games.

So I guess what I'm getting at is how do you recommend starting off to become a better cash game player coming over from MTTs and SNGs? Hours and hours of playing small stakes to learn more? Watch pros more? Read more? I've definitely been scrolling on through CC forums on cash game topics as well! Thanks guys and gals!!


EDIT: Or should I simply work on perfecting my MTT and SNG game and worry about cash games later in life? I feel like trying to work on too many things at once won't get me anywhere.

Cash translates well into donkament play. The only donkament specific knowledge you'll need to know for donkaments is stuff that you already know - shortstack shoving spots, pot control in shortstack specific scenarios etc.

L2Playcash FTW.

You say you get bored playing 2-3 cash games; how many tournaments/SNGs do you have going at once. If you can do 6 cash games, you will build up a decent hand history sample really quick. Then go back and look through trouble spots, where you made mistakes, where you could have gotten more value. It's all really generic advice unless you can give specific hand histories for analysis.

But definitely learn cash games now. To me, they are so much more fun, and when you sit down at a table you can get much more out of a really bad player in a cash game than you can a tournament. In a tournament, all they put up is their buy-in. You find a fish at a cash game, and they can double or triple you up (or better) in the right circumstances.

Well I started with watching how my friends play. I asked them questions whats their strategy and how they know when its best to raise.
Than I started to play a bit on my own with my friends help in situations where I wasnt too sure what to do and they just helped me to decide and to win.
After that I was just trying to win on my own in the low stake tournaments 0,02$ and 0,10$ and after some time I could get into top 50 and if I had some luck maybe in top 20.

Sohmurr said:

You say you get bored playing 2-3 cash games; how many tournaments/SNGs do you have going at once. If you can do 6 cash games, you will build up a decent hand history sample really quick. Then go back and look through trouble spots, where you made mistakes, where you could have gotten more value. It's all really generic advice unless you can give specific hand histories for analysis.

But definitely learn cash games now. To me, they are so much more fun, and when you sit down at a table you can get much more out of a really bad player in a cash game than you can a tournament. In a tournament, all they put up is their buy-in. You find a fish at a cash game, and they can double or triple you up (or better) in the right circumstances.

Click to expand...

I can definitely appreciate the fact that cash games are a better way to "print money" off the fish then MTTs. Thank you for the input, I will certainly play more cash games for hand history and go from there. Do you suggest Holdem Manager2? I know that's an entirely different topic, but curious because I've been trying to decide if I should purchase it or not. Best for cash game analysis or MTT/SNG as well?

HM2 has utility for MTT/SNG as well. I have HM1, but I play so rarely anymore (and HM1 is no longer supported) that it's of little value to me at the moment. When I was at my playing peak, HM1 really helped me track my results, and is essential if you want to multi-table optimally. Definitely worth the investment, though, if you really want to improve your game as best and quickly as possible.

I'm playing 4nl at Carbon right now, as well.

I learn through experience and relevant videos. There are some specialized books, also, but some are just too deep to get into for 4nl cash games.

I use PT4 and enjoy the heck out of it. It's super easy to use and learn.

One piece of advice,always be carefull against the the regs on the cash games.Be selective on determining which table you wanna play.

joe777 said:

One piece of advice,always be carefull against the the regs on the cash games.Be selective on determining which table you wanna play.

Click to expand...

It's harder to avoid in the US than you may believe.

Don't be scared of regs. You'll never find a game.