Confident in tournaments, but want to try cash games: Where do I start?

[renisundernet]

I am a bit overconfident with tournaments, but I feel that cash games can support me, even though I haven't tried cash games as much lately. I may need to rethink that but I need some orientation. Which cash games proportionate to my bankroll or which types to start with and is really patience a key factor for cash games?

 

[Station_Master]

Just start at the bottom, 2NL, they are the softest cash games around. Ince you can beat those move up

 

[WrongUsername]

don´t start unless u love to give rake for the poker sites.

 

[Poker Orifice]

don´t start unless u love to give rake for the poker sites.

Don't listen to this guy. He (she?) doesn't even like the game of poker.

 

[hardongear]

MTT player as well. Honestly I love starting at the bottom(2nl) and working my way up even thou I have played and can compete at 50nl. I have stayed playing full-ring so I can pretty much keep almost the same style of play for MTT's outside of ICM and short stack play that MTT's require you to be good at. It's worked for me for 20+ years now. I play cash tables during the week and MTT's on weekends.

I generally deposit $50 when I do deposit which I'd don't deposit often ....I usually withdraw when I get to 5k+ in money on the site. I often only leave $50 to play with. I enjoy spending my winnings by doing things I normally wouldn't or by buying nice things I normally wouldn't.

Bankroll:
1) 2nl-$50
2) 5nl-$200-$250
3) 10nl-$500

Once I reach $500 in my bankroll I start playing $5+ MTT's on weekends. But keep playing cash during the week. As you can see I typically use 50 buy-ins for stakes I'm playing except at 2nl.

Best of luck with your cash journey and how you decide to go about it. Find and figure out what works for you as I'm sure there's more then one way to climb the ladder. I'm just rec/hobby player who plays for fun and a bit of side money in the bit of spare time he gets. Not a daily grinder who really cares about making bank.

PS...If I was a daily grinder who played a lot more volume then I do I'd certainly go with 100 buy-ins for the stakes I'm playing.

Cheers!!!

 

[Brigistul]

I would suggest you start with Spin&Gold on GGPoker 0.25$ and depending on what you win move to 1$ and then to MTT with buy in of 1$ or 1.08$! The risk is small and the pleasure is great! Success!

 

[burro]

This thread speaks directly to where I am right now, so I'm glad I found it.

I've been playing MTTs for a couple of years and feel reasonably confident in my tournament game — stack management, bubble dynamics, ICM pressure, adjusting to blind levels. But lately I've been drawn to cash games, specifically micro stakes, and I'm realizing that a lot of what I know doesn't transfer as cleanly as I expected.

The biggest adjustment I'm navigating is the strategic mindset shift. In tournaments, every decision is filtered through stack-to-blind ratios and survival pressure. In cash games, stacks are deep and you're playing more streets, which means post-flop play becomes far more important. The game rewards patience and precision in a different way — you can't just wait for a good shove spot when blinds go up, because blinds don't go up.

I'm also learning to think about ranges differently. Tournament poker near the bubble or final table pushes you toward more binary decisions. Cash game poker seems to demand a more nuanced, street-by-street approach where bet sizing and balance matter a lot more across the whole session.