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SmithGL · High Card Joined: 12 Aug 2005 Posts: 9

I have noticed that I am much more skilled at tournament style poker than cash games. I make the same moves, I bet the same preflop and postflop, but my luck/skill seems to be in tourneys. As a side note, the tourney in which I play has about 35-65 people in it, while the cash games I play are between 5 and 10, mostly the same people. On average I will take down 4th or 5th in tournaments, but go out fourth or fifth in cash games. How can I get better at cash games by implementing the tourney strategy I have found so successful?

SmithGL

GripHoldOn · Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2005 5:19 pm Post subject:

In cash games, you don't really ever have to go "out." You said you are going out fourth or fifth. In the cash games I play in, players often play an entire night and no one will go out once. Part of this has to do with the fact that everyone is buying in for 100 BB, enough so that no one will have to risk all of their money with a marginal hand. When you buy in for 20-40 BB, a standard 4 BB raise is 10-20% of your money. You can't have this much of your money in the pot preflop in cash games. In tournies, there is a pressure to "go big or go home," because the blinds are going up and before long, you'll find yourself with 2.5 BB. In cash games, you don't ever have to "make a move." You want to showdown good cards in big pots. In a tournament, making an all-in re-raise with 7h4h, might be a good play. In a cash game, this is almost NEVER a good play. In a tournament, doing this once might end up working to your benefit, and because you want to give yourself a chance to take down a pot uncontested, this isn't a horrible move. In a cash game, there is no rush to pick up pots. You can sit there folding garbage hands because you know over time you'll lose more playing them.

SmithGL · High Card Joined: 12 Aug 2005 Posts: 9

Gotcha.

However, my style is "Rounders" established in either type of poker: jacks or better, 9s or better wired. The only difference I notice in tourney vs. cash is I'm more likely to play A-rag suited in tourneys...only if it's >2x BB in cash preflop. I NEVER bluff in either type. Don't know how, little too scared to. How do I bluff? Stay strong til turn? I know I'm turning into an ATM when it comes to bluffing against me. After the game, everyone tells me they bluffed me twice or thrice in a game! I think my friends have a tell. How can I adapt my style to play tight reckless or tight agressive to eliminate my bluffability? Goes back to CheckRaise Q. SRY if in wrong forum.

You're the best Grip...love to get a game going with ya...TN here...

SmithGL

BTW, used ur advice on checkraise, got the technique DOWN!

GripHoldOn · Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2005 11:29 pm Post subject:

If pot odds is a science, bluffing is an art. While it's possible to play perfectly mathematically, no one will ever master bluffing. Bluffing becomes increasingly easier as the players get better, but even against bad players there are spots when I would attempt to steal a pot... especially in tournaments. If you're playing in a game where you never bluff, and players still call you down, then simply continue not bluffing. There is no specific strategy that will work over the long haul in a multitude of situations. If I were to tell you to check-raise the flop and then make a pot-sized bet on the turn, I would simply be telling you to throw away your money. Each situation calls for a different bluff, and if you aren't understanding yet on your own when to bluff, you probably aren't ready.

Just to get you started though...
A tight player raises. You call from the button with 9J. He plays his hands straight forward after the flop. The flop is 8 6 2, and he checks. This is a pretty good time to make a bluff. You don't have much of a hand, but you know that the player who raised either has high cards or a big pair. However, since he didn't bet this flop, he probably doesn't have a big pair. We can probably take this pot down with a solid bet.

That's one obvious example where it might be a good time to make a bluff. Just to make things slightly more confusing though, if your opponent is any good, he might recognize that you have correctly put him on high cards and now are trying to steal the pot. Since the spot you chose to bluff was so obvious he might call you down because of it with just ace high.

Know what your opponents know and know what they know about you. Know how they play both before the flop and after. Other than that, simply choose times when a bluff seems well thought out, as opposed to just bluffing because he check-called you on the flop.

KGBlovesOreos · Moderator Joined: 28 Jun 2005 Posts: 5318 Location: VA

in the rather larger tournaments, luck plays a big role in determining how far you get... coinflips, suckouts play a part in this, but in cash games, more skill is required because everybody isn't pressured by increasing blinds, so you have to simply outplay your opponent...

tournaments still do require a lot of skill though... you must know when and how often you should switch gears, and blind stealing plays a huge roll in building your chip stack...

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