here's something i wrote for a friend once:
obviously this is a subtle topic, but i'll give you my top 3
adjustments for cash games. I'm comparing with the early stages of a
tournament, when the blinds are small relative to your stack and the
prize money is way off.
1. usually in a cash game you are deeper stacked. this has several
implications: meaningful play often proceeds to the river, which means
playing out of position (OOP) is harder; implied odds preflop and
postflop are more generous so hand-reading becomes more important;
hands with which it would usually be correct to stack off with in a
tournament have to be played with more care.
2. Related to the first point, I quote Barry G: "Bet sizing is a
function of not only the pot size, but of how much you have in your
stack. In tournaments, stacks are typically much shorter relative to
the pot size than in side games, so the bets you make are typically
less than in a side game. For example, a player with a draw will make
less when he hits it against you and get paid off." You need to bet
bigger in cash games to cut the implied odds you are offering later in
the hand. I also quote myself
"In addition to Barry's point, I bet smaller when I'm playing
tournaments because:
- you have greater fold equity in a tournament (because people want to
look after their stack) and
- it is easier to play for stacks vs decent hands (because people are
keen to double up with those hands)
- when I lose chips, I can't top up" (me and barry chat poker:
http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showfl...96#Post9988811)
The opposite applies in cash games.
3. Short-stack play in cash games should be tight, not loose
(short-stack about 30 big blinds or less). This is because you don't
have to double up several times before you get blinded out to be in
with a shout of the money: you can win money whenever you get involved
in a hand. You have to be tight, because a) you have very little
implied odds b) you will frequently be pot-committed when you do play
a hand. You can also win money this way because people will frequently
over-estimate their implied odds vs you, and frequently over-estimate
their chances of winning vs your range. You might think it's slightly
odd that I've mentioned how to play a short-stack as one of my top 3
adjustments for cash games, but it's actually quite pertinent.
Firstly, you should see that a shorter stack is not necessarily a
disadvantage, as long as you adjust correctly to it, and can in fact
be very profitable if your opponents don't adjust correctly. Secondly,
it shows the thinking involved in cash games: playing tightly is often
a good way to make money, but also taking advantage of situations
where you have good implied odds is also very important. Finally you
could consider short-stacking: it is lower risk and requires less
skill, but TBH it is pretty dull, you won't learn much about deep
stack poker, and I don't think you need to do it.
So that's the theory. A few quick applications of that:
- play very tight in early position and in the blinds
- look to take advantage of your position in late position, and also
look to take advantage of implied odds type hands in position (they
are much easier to play in position)
- don't build big pots with marginal hands. consider checking single
pairs on dry flops or turns.
also, if you flop a monster draw (say 10+ outs), be very amenable to
getting it all in. this is not only likely to be +EV, but also helps
you get action with your monster made hands.