What strategies do you all use for cash games?

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When it comes to cash games, the strategy differs significantly from tournament play because there’s no escalating blind structure, and you can rebuy if you lose your stack. Here are some key strategies I use:

  1. Play Tight-Aggressive (TAG): Start with a strong range of hands, especially in early positions, and play them aggressively. This helps you avoid tricky spots and maximizes value when you have the best hand.
  2. Position Is Key: Always consider your position at the table. Playing more hands in late position gives you an informational advantage and better opportunities to control the pot.
  3. Focus on Bet Sizing: In cash games, your bet sizing should balance value extraction with protecting your hand. Avoid overbetting unless you have a specific reason, like bluffing or targeting a weak opponent.
  4. Adapt to Opponents: Pay attention to your opponents’ tendencies. Are they tight, loose, aggressive, or passive? Exploit their weaknesses, such as bluffing against tight players or value-betting more against calling stations.
  5. Bankroll Management: Never sit at a cash game table with money you can’t afford to lose. Stick to a bankroll management rule, such as keeping at least 20-30 buy-ins for the stakes you're playing.
Remember, in cash games, patience and discipline are crucial. You’re not under pressure from rising blinds, so take your time to wait for the right spots and avoid unnecessary risks. What strategies do you all use for cash games?
 
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Grid3004 said:
When it comes to cash games, the strategy differs significantly from tournament play because there’s no escalating blind structure, and you can rebuy if you lose your stack. Here are some key strategies I use:

  1. Play Tight-Aggressive (TAG): Start with a strong range of hands, especially in early positions, and play them aggressively. This helps you avoid tricky spots and maximizes value when you have the best hand.
  2. Position Is Key: Always consider your position at the table. Playing more hands in late position gives you an informational advantage and better opportunities to control the pot.
  3. Focus on Bet Sizing: In cash games, your bet sizing should balance value extraction with protecting your hand. Avoid overbetting unless you have a specific reason, like bluffing or targeting a weak opponent.
  4. Adapt to Opponents: Pay attention to your opponents’ tendencies. Are they tight, loose, aggressive, or passive? Exploit their weaknesses, such as bluffing against tight players or value-betting more against calling stations.
  5. Bankroll Management: Never sit at a cash game table with money you can’t afford to lose. Stick to a bankroll management rule, such as keeping at least 20-30 buy-ins for the stakes you're playing.
Remember, in cash games, patience and discipline are crucial. You’re not under pressure from rising blinds, so take your time to wait for the right spots and avoid unnecessary risks. What strategies do you all use for cash games?
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Yawn! So you use ChatGPT? TAG is no longer the most profitable style for cunning players. It is LAG.
Good luck with a BRM of only 20-30 buy-ins. It won’t work. Due to volatility you will bust your bankroll to zero cent.
 
I use mda and nodelocking to construct exploiting strategies both in cash games and tournaments.
 
My stratedgy for cash games so far, is to mostly avoid them!!! 🤣
 
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LuTsu said:
I use mda and nodelocking to construct exploiting strategies both in cash games and tournaments.
Click to expand...
I conclude that you use GTO-like tools. This is to be respected if is legal at the chosen pokerroom. I do not use such tools. Via countless hours of training I play a balanced strategy that - for GTO -purposes - intertwines a linear and polarised range. This will always be done in correspondence with The Tripple Threath. My baseline is LAG but it varies of course in the ever changing topographic ocean that underlines any pokergame.
 
MY short course in dominating Cash Games:

1. FIND the FISH.

2. TAKE the FISH'S MONEY.

3. MOVE To Another Game.


Table Selection and Seat Selection are the absolute keys to having a big enough edge at any level over 25NL. (Maybe over 100NL on some US sites).


It's NOT enough to be good - you have to find someone really bad to earn big money.

Just watch some regs sitting out immediately at high stakes as soon as the businessman/fund baby leaves.

Poker is NOT like other sports there it's enough to be a little better than your opponent.

Because of the rake and time investment, you have to be a LOT better than your opponents. At least if you want to earn SIGNIFICANT money.
 
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Jean-Guy said:
I conclude that you use GTO-like tools. This is to be respected if is legal at the chosen pokerroom. I do not use such tools. Via countless hours of training I play a balanced strategy that - for GTO -purposes - intertwines a linear and polarised range. This will always be done in correspondence with The Tripple Threath. My baseline is LAG but it varies of course in the ever changing topographic ocean that underlines any pokergame.
Click to expand...
It is legal because I use gto tools for study and training. On grind it is not even possible to use them. MDA is mass database analysis that is a deep study in field tendencies and nodelocking is a deviation from gto for exploitation.
 
Grid3004 said:
When it comes to cash games, the strategy differs significantly from tournament play because there’s no escalating blind structure, and you can rebuy if you lose your stack. Here are some key strategies I use:

  1. Play Tight-Aggressive (TAG): Start with a strong range of hands, especially in early positions, and play them aggressively. This helps you avoid tricky spots and maximizes value when you have the best hand.
  2. Position Is Key: Always consider your position at the table. Playing more hands in late position gives you an informational advantage and better opportunities to control the pot.
  3. Focus on Bet Sizing: In cash games, your bet sizing should balance value extraction with protecting your hand. Avoid overbetting unless you have a specific reason, like bluffing or targeting a weak opponent.
  4. Adapt to Opponents: Pay attention to your opponents’ tendencies. Are they tight, loose, aggressive, or passive? Exploit their weaknesses, such as bluffing against tight players or value-betting more against calling stations.
  5. Bankroll Management: Never sit at a cash game table with money you can’t afford to lose. Stick to a bankroll management rule, such as keeping at least 20-30 buy-ins for the stakes you're playing.
Remember, in cash games, patience and discipline are crucial. You’re not under pressure from rising blinds, so take your time to wait for the right spots and avoid unnecessary risks. What strategies do you all use for cash games?
Click to expand...
good post first have rules of brm second have rules of time if not catching walk play another day so a side note to brm....third i play to trap and adapt to table reads who they are as a person at that table on that day...I would get up from table also if had two maniacs for the most part....im gonna play a ton of hands if can get in cheaply that wont play usually in tournaments so to speak....if playing omaha pl instead of holdem of some type im more aggro not maniac but instead of limping often im pushing people all hands...not so big on position cause mostly looking for 6 table not a 9....
 
Jean-Guy said:
What you write don’t really apply at the higher stakes. Try in example NL1.000 at PokerStars. My turf is here. A fish is as rare as being able to by strong alcohol in a Sweedish supermarket. Tall order to spot.
Click to expand...

So where is the edge?

(And when I wrote high-stakes I'm referring to much higher than 1000NL. LIVE private games mainly. Almost no pro plays without a recreational rich player or other advantages. Online the fish are on GGPoker - they had to make the higher games VIP to "protect" them: https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/29/news-views-gossip/ggpoker-killing-hs-poker-dream-1842545/ )
 
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An important strategy is the ability to bluff. bluffing is an integral part of the game of poker, which helps you win even without a strong hand. However, bluffing should be used wisely and in the right situations.Position plays a huge role in poker because it allows you to control the game. When you are in late positions, you have more information about what your opponents are doing and can make better decisions. So if you are in early positions, you should be more careful and choose stronger starting hands.
 
Jean-Guy said:
GG has no license in Denmark. And it is hard to find higher stakes than NL1000 on PokerStars. I agree with you on live games with rich recreational players.
The edge is that some people at NL1000 stick to TAG. That worked years ago, but not anymore. There is also an edge when players take a shot at NL1000 with insufficient funds. Scared money is dead money. Furthermore you also should have an edge against players with suboptimal Tilt Management.
Click to expand...

Good point about the mental game.

As long as the players who push the buttons are humans, that is a big factor and can give an edge even if your opponents are good at the theory.
 
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1) My baseline default for when I hardly know anyone at the table is TAG. Not a TAG player to the point of being a nit thou as nits don't make a profit and basically are scared money to a point.

2) Of course I use position(it's not everything thou). Sometimes it's just more important to play against the weakest players whether OOP or IP.

3) Once I got feel for the table/player pool I adapt to exploit their tendencies. Bet sizing to me should be included here. I'll bet as much and whatever I think, feel and know from experience current villain in the hand will call or fold depending on what I want them to do.

4) Bankroll management, mental toughness, tilt control and game selection. These 4 are and should be the biggest part of anyone's game no matter what stakes you play. Without being ok-decent at them you're a losing player.

Cheers!!!
 
pentazepam said:
MY short course in dominating Cash Games:

1. FIND the FISH.

2. TAKE the FISH'S MONEY.

3. MOVE To Another Game.


Table Selection and Seat Selection are the absolute keys to having a big enough edge at any level over 25NL. (Maybe over 100NL on some US sites).


It's NOT enough to be good - you have to find someone really bad to earn big money.

Just watch some regs sitting out immediately at high stakes as soon as the businessman/fund baby leaves.

Poker is NOT like other sports there it's enough to be a little better than your opponent.

Because of the rake and time investment, you have to be a LOT better than your opponents. At least if you want to earn SIGNIFICANT money.
Click to expand...
This is my strategy too, reg battling is a raketrap.

The regs all sit out when the fish leave anyway.
 
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Jean-Guy said:
GG has no license in Denmark. And it is hard to find higher stakes than NL1000 on PokerStars. I agree with you on live games with rich recreational players.
The edge is that some people at NL1000 stick to TAG. That worked years ago, but not anymore. There is also an edge when players take a shot at NL1000 with insufficient funds. Scared money is dead money. Furthermore you also should have an edge against players with suboptimal Tilt Management.
Click to expand...
What do you mean by TAG in the context of these games? They open GTO or tighter than GTO? or is it more that they don't defend BB enough or don't 3bet or 4bet enough? Or too straightforward postflop? Curious what their leaks are.
 
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Exploit those that can be exploited and GTO those that cant be exploited.
 
To me table selection and opponent selection is very important in cash games.. I play normally mixing TAG and LAG (NL5 - NL10)
 
my plan : avoid all brick + mortar casinos in my area where the rake will likely eat up your stack !
 
depends always on the opponents of course if they tight u loosen up etc
 
I think that a lot depends on the limit, I try to play tight-aggressively, but I think that you should adapt more to the game of your opponents
 
No sir , first i try my luck in tourneys with bigger buyins and If that doesnt work then i got to cash games 😄
 
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