Poker strategy in Cash Games

[DarkFore5t]

Playing Pocket Pairs in Cash Games

Hey everyone! Today, let's talk about playing pocket pairs in cash games.
Pocket pairs can be tricky to navigate, but with the right strategy, you can maximize your winnings.
Here's an example:

You're dealt pocket 8s in middle position.
The table is relatively tight, and the blinds are $1/$2.
You decide to raise to $8.
The player on the button calls, and everyone else folds. The flop comes 8♥ 3♠ Q♦.
You have a set of 8s, a very strong hand.
You lead out with a continuation bet of $15. The button player calls.
The turn is 6♣.
You bet $30, and the button player folds, giving you a nice pot.

Explanation: When playing pocket pairs, it's crucial to understand their value and how to extract maximum value from them.
In this example, raising pre-flop with pocket 8s allows you to build the pot and potentially isolate weaker hands.
Continuation betting on the flop keeps the pressure on your opponent, and betting the turn helps you protect your hand and gain more value if your opponent decides to call.

 

[Station_Master]

Why are you cbetting 15 into 19 on such a dry board? What other hands are taking this size or are you only making this play with sets and other strong hands?

 

[JhonnyThe357]

Playing Pocket Pairs in Cash Games

Hey everyone! Today, let's talk about playing pocket pairs in cash games.
Pocket pairs can be tricky to navigate, but with the right strategy, you can maximize your winnings.
Here's an example:

You're dealt pocket 8s in middle position.
The table is relatively tight, and the blinds are $1/$2.
You decide to raise to $8.
The player on the button calls, and everyone else folds. The flop comes 8♥ 3♠ Q♦.
You have a set of 8s, a very strong hand.
You lead out with a continuation bet of $15. The button player calls.
The turn is 6♣.
You bet $30, and the button player folds, giving you a nice pot.

Explanation: When playing pocket pairs, it's crucial to understand their value and how to extract maximum value from them.
In this example, raising pre-flop with pocket 8s allows you to build the pot and potentially isolate weaker hands.
Continuation betting on the flop keeps the pressure on your opponent, and betting the turn helps you protect your hand and gain more value if your opponent decides to call.

I don't particularly bet that big pre-flop with pocket 8s.

 

[minidogg68]

Having a good hand combination , allowing interpretation of the community cards as they appear and acknowledging the stakes being bargained and your height of your betting to an expense of entering an all in funds bet to hopefully win with high cards of course

 

[Goggelheimer]

Why are you cbetting 15 into 19 on such a dry board? What other hands are taking this size or are you only making this play with sets and other strong hands?

I think he does that for value. If I understood BlackRain79's book well enough:"Never slowplay a set", a set is better hidden than trips and he will get money from any Q hand any KK, AK or AA that try to slowplay their overpair or overcards.
That's how understand it. At those stakes I think that's a normal move from both sides. The fold from QX is also clear on a non improvement on the turn.

 

[Aballinamion]

Playing Pocket Pairs in Cash Games

Hey everyone! Today, let's talk about playing pocket pairs in cash games.
Pocket pairs can be tricky to navigate, but with the right strategy, you can maximize your winnings.
Here's an example:

You're dealt pocket 8s in middle position.
The table is relatively tight, and the blinds are $1/$2.
You decide to raise to $8.
The player on the button calls, and everyone else folds. The flop comes 8♥ 3♠ Q♦.
You have a set of 8s, a very strong hand.
You lead out with a continuation bet of $15. The button player calls.
The turn is 6♣.
You bet $30, and the button player folds, giving you a nice pot.

Explanation: When playing pocket pairs, it's crucial to understand their value and how to extract maximum value from them.
In this example, raising pre-flop with pocket 8s allows you to build the pot and potentially isolate weaker hands.
Continuation betting on the flop keeps the pressure on your opponent, and betting the turn helps you protect your hand and gain more value if your opponent decides to call.

Thanks for bringing this subject to forum appreciation.
First of all I don’t think there is something special about pocket pairs that should make us play them differently of unpaired hands.
Okay, we are winning a couple of times more but we also face a bunch of complicated flops when holding pocket pairs, even when we hit a set, e.g, we hit a set on a monotone flop: hard to play.
Bringing some critical thinking to our community, I wonder why are we opening 4x from EP? Are we doing it because it is a pocket pair or because we are OOP? Are we doing it only with pocket pairs and premium hands or with our entire range?
In my humble opinion I think that 3x (3 BB) gets the job done both for value (pocket pairs) and for bluff (unpaired hands).
On the flop, when we hit a set we are overbetting. Unless this is a NLHE 2-5 stakes where we can play exploitatively like this:
Here we are trying to get maximum value for our set but we also can get maximum folds and get not value at all; when BU calls (preflop) it shows it doesn’t own any super strong hand, so what are we trying to do?
It’s good that we are playing in a table full of tight players, but we hope they are tight passive instead of tight aggressive.
On the flop, as StationMaster stated, a dry flop, we should be going for 1/4 pot or 1/3 pot most of times with out entire range that open raises from EP.
And if our plan is to check to position, we are check-calling this specific flop/situation/scenario, way more often than check-raising.
OTT we bet and villain folded. Is this really a nice pot for a set? That would be a nice pot if we had missed and bluffed our draws, but we had a monster hand.
I agree with your line of thought for flop/turn if we were playing NLHE 2-5. But your example is NLHE 200 mate.

 

[Aballinamion]

I think he does that for value. If I understood BlackRain79's book well enough:"Never slowplay a set", a set is better hidden than trips and he will get money from any Q hand any KK, AK or AA that try to slowplay their overpair or overcards.
That's how understand it. At those stakes I think that's a normal move from both sides. The fold from QX is also clear on a non improvement on the turn.

Thanks for your input mate. But I will like to call your attention that Nathan Williams sets his whole strategy on how to beat the micro-stakes.
And OP’s illustration is from NLHE 200.

 

[Goggelheimer]

Thanks for your input mate. But I will like to call your attention that Nathan Williams sets his whole strategy on how to beat the micro-stakes.
And OP’s illustration is from NLHE 200.

I know, but the move with raising a bit more because of OOP is directly from his book. I think you know it. I think his micro stakes moves work perhaps up to NL 50 perhaps even higher. The advanced thinking/or not thinking multitabler with the right playertype will be found on all stakes. I think it's a basic concept, better players for sure will adapt to that really fast and 3-bet light.

 

[Goggelheimer]

Thanks for bringing this subject to forum appreciation.
First of all I don’t think there is something special about pocket pairs that should make us play them differently of unpaired hands.
Okay, we are winning a couple of times more but we also face a bunch of complicated flops when holding pocket pairs, even when we hit a set, e.g, we hit a set on a monotone flop: hard to play.
Bringing some critical thinking to our community, I wonder why are we opening 4x from EP? Are we doing it because it is a pocket pair or because we are OOP? Are we doing it only with pocket pairs and premium hands or with our entire range?
In my humble opinion I think that 3x (3 BB) gets the job done both for value (pocket pairs) and for bluff (unpaired hands).
On the flop, when we hit a set we are overbetting. Unless this is a NLHE 2-5 stakes where we can play exploitatively like this:
Here we are trying to get maximum value for our set but we also can get maximum folds and get not value at all; when BU calls (preflop) it shows it doesn’t own any super strong hand, so what are we trying to do?
It’s good that we are playing in a table full of tight players, but we hope they are tight passive instead of tight aggressive.
On the flop, as StationMaster stated, a dry flop, we should be going for 1/4 pot or 1/3 pot most of times with out entire range that open raises from EP.
And if our plan is to check to position, we are check-calling this specific flop/situation/scenario, way more often than check-raising.
OTT we bet and villain folded. Is this really a nice pot for a set? That would be a nice pot if we had missed and bluffed our draws, but we had a monster hand.
I agree with your line of thought for flop/turn if we were playing NLHE 2-5. But your example is NLHE 200 mate.

The problem is, would he get more money in the pot by only 3x preflop and 1/4 or 1/3 postflop.
If villain is thinking and I assume that because of the turn fold, do you think he would have called or bet on the turn if hero bet or checked the turn and played check call. Do you think villian will go to the river and barrel with his QX hand.
It's a tough decision I think.
Calculate the given results over 1.000.000 hands against your 3x pre and 1/3 pot post flop. How big is the difference in Big Blinds.

 

[Aballinamion]

The problem is, would he get more money in the pot by only 3x preflop and 1/4 or 1/3 postflop.
If villain is thinking and I assume that because of the turn fold, do you think he would have called or bet on the turn if hero bet or checked the turn and played check call. Do you think villian will go to the river and barrel with his QX hand.
It's a tough decision I think.
Calculate the given results over 1.000.000 hands against your 3x pre and 1/3 pot post flop. How big is the difference in Big Blinds.

As less we bet, more the chances for villain to try to overcome and take us out of the pot.
When we check, villain might think we missed and bet for information. When we bet small villain will not assign a strong range, thus raising more than usual.
I think that both approaches can be successful and have their merits in the long run (GTO and Exploitative Game).
I’m sorry for most of my analysis are GTO biased. Therefore, we must play a balanced game, we must play our entire range at once and most of times we are electing to bet little (for the times we miss or get raised and have to fold).
OP posted a classical example on how to play Exploitative Game. But this latter relies on deep GTO knowledge (confuse).

 

[Goggelheimer]

I think both GTO and exploitative game have their own cons and pros.
Balancing is a thing in GTO, but balancing between GTO and exploitative game play, may be a more successful way because villains don't know what you are doing, balanced GTO or exploitative play. I think a mixture may be ok.
At the given stake I think the villain that is able to fold the above given range on the turn is smart enough to not get trapped.
He will allways find a fold.

 

[serj537]

I agree the jackpot is not bad. But the set doesn't come as often as we'd like. The result is the loss of chips.

 

[Aballinamion]

Hello there @DarkFore5t how do you do?
This examples seem amazing but it seems that you are just copying and pasting this content. What is your objective with all of these lessons?
Please, let us know a bit more about you and your poker career. The

 

[DarkFore5t]

Hello there @DarkFore5t how do you do?
This examples seem amazing but it seems that you are just copying and pasting this content. What is your objective with all of these lessons?
Please, let us know a bit more about you and your poker career. The

It seems to me that you haven't understood the purpose of this Thread.
Best information is available & I am sharing it with the new player's & possible with the old ones who want to get better and understand the game of poker.
U are not welcome to undermine my postsfor any reasons.
Do better or say goodbye!

 

[Tammy]

It seems to me that you haven't understood the purpose of this Thread.
Best information is available & I am sharing it with the new player's & possible with the old ones who want to get better and understand the game of poker.
U are not welcome to undermine my postsfor any reasons.
Do better or say goodbye!

Actually, he brings up a valid point. So, as an administrator, I am asking you - are these posts copied from somewhere else?

While your intentions may be nothing but the best, with the desire to share information, copying material from other sites is considered copyright infringement, and we can't allow that. It's basically viewed as "stealing" intellectual property. I'm sure that is not your intention, but I do need to know whether or not this is the case. Thanks for your prompt reply @DarkFore5t.

 

[Kerasuss28]

For me there is. 2 strategies for cash game, 1 small ball and try to double your stack in 1hr 100bb to 200bb ..
or play 500 blinds @ 5 tables ( 5buy ins) and try to triple in half hour reckless each table if your triple 3 out of 5 you have 900bb … good luck’s tables 🍀🍀🍀👍

 

[DarkFore5t]

Actually, he brings up a valid point. So, as an administrator, I am asking you - are these posts copied from somewhere else?

While your intentions may be nothing but the best, with the desire to share information, copying material from other sites is considered copyright infringement, and we can't allow that. It's basically viewed as "stealing" intellectual property. I'm sure that is not your intention, but I do need to know whether or not this is the case. Thanks for your prompt reply @DarkFore5t.

My posts belong to me & me only.
Why am I being bullied and my posts being deleted? Have I done anything what I shouldn't or couldn't?
I have done everything by the rules and now I am being punished for that...? I have invested hours of my time to create my posts and what do I get for it ?
People assume things and I am punished for it?

Prove your claims or stop making them.

Everything that anybody knows and writes about quality poker has been accumulated and gathered by reading or learning it from somewhere else, I have not copied my post's from anywhere and I would like to receive treatment accordingly.

 

[Atararo14]

Playing Pocket Pairs in Cash Games

Hey everyone! Today, let's talk about playing pocket pairs in cash games.
Pocket pairs can be tricky to navigate, but with the right strategy, you can maximize your winnings.
Here's an example:

You're dealt pocket 8s in middle position.
The table is relatively tight, and the blinds are $1/$2.
You decide to raise to $8.
The player on the button calls, and everyone else folds. The flop comes 8♥ 3♠ Q♦.
You have a set of 8s, a very strong hand.
You lead out with a continuation bet of $15. The button player calls.
The turn is 6♣.
You bet $30, and the button player folds, giving you a nice pot.

Explanation: When playing pocket pairs, it's crucial to understand their value and how to extract maximum value from them.
In this example, raising pre-flop with pocket 8s allows you to build the pot and potentially isolate weaker hands.
Continuation betting on the flop keeps the pressure on your opponent, and betting the turn helps you protect your hand and gain more value if your opponent decides to call.

In my opinion, the aggressive strategy you mentioned is good, although there are small details to correct such as raise sizing. For open raise we generally use 2.5 or 3 BB (personally I do not use 4 BB for open raise), but in any case it remains a detail to check with a cash game expert.

You also mentioned set protection in your example, what are you going to protect ? I agree with the idea of value against a possible top pair but personally I don't see the need to think about protection even if the turn opens a straight draw, knowing the hand that will compose the straight does not part of your opponent's calling range preflop with 4BB.

 

[Martin]

My posts belong to me & me only.
Why am I being bullied and my posts being deleted? Have I done anything what I shouldn't or couldn't?
I have done everything by the rules and now I am being punished for that...? I have invested hours of my time to create my posts and what do I get for it ?
People assume things and I am punished for it?

Prove your claims or stop making them.

Everything that anybody knows and writes about quality poker has been accumulated and gathered by reading or learning it from somewhere else, I have not copied my post's from anywhere and I would like to receive treatment accordingly.

I don't have time to answer questions...if you need answers, go and ask from this forum Pro's.
They are here, just for that 😌
Have a good day

Firstly no one is being bullied. The whole point of a thread is to create a discussion usually that discussion involves the thread starter.

Your first sentence in this thread is as follows - Hey everyone! Today, let's talk about playing pocket pairs in cash games.

Talking is all about a 2 or multi way discussion, talking is not you putting over your point of view then not replying to anyone elses posts in your thread or saying you don't have time to answer questions. Our poker pro's aren't here to reply to any queries or replies in a thread that you post.

 

[Martin]

You see it wasn't too hard was it? Someone posts in a thread you made then you responded, that's what a discussion is all about, much better to interact with other members than to fire off a load of threads and never go back to them to continue the discussion.

 

[BelFish]

I would also raise smaller preflop and bet 25%-33% on the flop with my whole range in the hope that Villain will reraise with his strong hands that are weaker than our set...

 

[Aballinamion]

I don't have time to answer questions.

The whole point of a thread is to create a discussion usually that discussion involves the thread starter.

Am i here to answer questions?
Pay attention mate on what Martin is saying.

much better to interact with other members than to fire off a load of threads and never go back to them to continue the discussion.

Got it?

At least you are posting something and this is the point of this forum.
There are forum rules, I encourage you to learn them. Also read terms & conditions. This is not an order but a friendly suggestion.
If I’m standing in your shoes I would say sorry and try to learn from the administrators, for they have over 15 of experience dealing with poker and forum.
In your shoes I would be humble and admit that I just got here. I’m antisocial person but I try to interact to others, otherwise I would be like a pure ego person, people would think I’m rude.
Yes, I would get down on my knees and kiss Debi, Tammy and Martin boots for allowing me to participate on this forum and give me free access to wonderful people (if you allow yourself to know them) and dozens of profitable activities such as VIP Program and freerolls.
And I get down to my knees and bow to those who run and manage this forum when I’m wrong. And I will do it anytime, any day with no proud.
One of the wisest things in life is to learn our position and how to obey. Those who cannot obey will find a hard path for their lives.

Best regards;

 

[Tammy]

This is running right up there with one of the most ridiculous thread derailments I've seen in awhile. You are expected to at a minimum follow the instructions of, and answer the reasonable questions that we have asked you. You choose to just argue with everyone and waste our time. So I am closing this thread.