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How To Win In Poker Cash Games
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Author: Marc Weinberg
I've been thinking about this a great deal of late, and have come to the conclusion that in order to play winning poker, specifically in cash games (as opposed to tournament poker), one almost has to fight against natural instincts. I'm going to explain this in detail, but basically the idea of paying for a lot of flops and then giving up after the flop is a recipe for disaster.
Natural Poker Instinct
The following describes the majority of poker players. They have seen that "any two cards can win" and they've also seen how exciting and profitable it can be when a longshot hand arrives to steal a pot out of the blue. They also have a basic understanding of odds and probability, and they don't want to look like fools in front of other players. When you put all of this together you get a typical limit poker player:
He likes to see the flop with marginal, potentially "sexy" hands. I'm talking about J9 suited, 8T suited, pocket 3's, QJ, A7. He plays these hands out of position, limping in along with a couple of others, and then sticking around if it's raised up, because the game is fairly loose, and if he hits his hand no-one else will see it coming.
At the same time this player knows he's making an error. He knows from books that you shouldn't see a raise with these hands, but he also knows that there is some value in seeing the flop because of possible pot odds. The real reason, however, is that like all novice, some intermediate, and even a couple of high-stakes players he likes to see the flop. Poker players like to gamble against the odds at this point, because supposedly anything can happen.
Poker Truth
Most flops miss most hands. And 2 out of 3 times your hand will not improve on the flop. So you stay with your sexy suited connectors only to find a single club giving you three to the flush, a card way higher than anything you have (a dreaded Ace perhaps), and nothing but dashed hopes. Then the guy who bet before the flop throws in a continuation bet because he has to be brain-dead or really tricky not to do this. The point is there will be a bet, and maybe a raise or a check-raise, and at this point you will lose your gambling instinct and fold.
This is the way to lose a lot of money in limit cash games. You play loose before the flop and then you play tight after the flop. Good players will recognize this horrible style of play quickly and batter you senseless. There are ways to compound these errors still further and really be a fish. Namely, when you limp in with marginal hands, and when you stick around past the flop only to fold on the turn or even worse, on the river.
You're tossing away so many exra bets that it is a matter of time before you're calling for more chips.
How To Win
This should be a whole other article, and books have been written on the subject, so all I want to do is give you some simple advice that you can apply with practical results.
-If you're going to play a marginal hand have a goal in mind. You're not just playing the hand to see if the flop hits you, you have to play the hand as part of a strategy. Perhaps you have good position on some weak players, and you intend to raise the pot and keep raising until they capitulate.
-If you do play loose then play aggressive as well. The best players in the world have the capacity to play any two cards as though they were pocket Aces. It makes them dangerous because you never really know where you stand in a hand relative to them. When the flop is scary they can bet out and win. When the flop is harmless it might have made their hand if they were bluffing initially.
-Do not lay down all the time. You have to make a stand every now and then regardless of your cards. If you check and fold repeatedly the table will run over you. You must be able to check-raise on a bluff or re-raise in order to show others that you are not an easy mark. If you're going to gamble, be selective about it, and then follow through.
-Do not wait around for the "ideal" pot where you limp in and hit a huge hand, only to slow play it and rake in all the chips. This does not happen frequently enough to make it profitable. That sequence where your 68 hits a flop of 668 and some other guy has KK and the table bully has AA happens once in a blue moon. You are far better off playing those marginal hands in the following way:
A certain percentage of the time you simply fold marginal hands pre-flop (this % varies depending on the type of game, your opponents, your position, your previous play, just how you feel on the day), but I would advocate folding at least 70% of the time. The remaining 30% you try to take control of the hand, either pre-flop or after the flop. You play very aggressively, and see how the table reacts. Many times, you will take the blinds down without a fuss, and other times you will hit your hand and win. You must be able to adjust your style "in-running" as well, so tone down if need be or become even more aggressive if the rest of your table allows it.
Poker tends to reward strong, confident play. Do not chase after imaginary pots of gold, or wait for them to come to you thanks to lucky cards. Play to dominate, and play in such a way that your style is difficult to pin down.
Related Poker Articles And News Items:
> A Poker Secret About Bad Poker Players
> The Value Of A Call In No-Limit Hold'em
> Poker Tournament To Be Held In Middle Earth
> How To Play The Nut Flush Draw In Limit And No Limit Poker
> Ruth Parasol Parlays Poker And Porn Into Billions
> Running Bad - How To Deal With Poker Losses
> How To Lose All Your Chips In No-Limit Hold'em
> Poker Tournament Strategy - How To Play With A Big Stack
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