Strategy of Cash NL vs Tourney NL - Help, Please!

Hi,

I have been playing limit - mostly 5-10 and 6-12 B&M cash games, 2-4 & 3-6 internet cash games and internet MTT in the 20 to 50 dollar range with pretty good success in all of them. I am contemplating of playing B&M 1-2 blind NL cash games where the buy in is 60-100 but I do not have a concrete idea of how the strategy in this game differs from tourneys. In tourneys I can adapt to the changing gear strategies necessary because of the escalating blinds which is not the case in cash games.

I'm quite sure this had been asked in the past but I have not visited this forum in a while. Can some respected posters out there advice me of a link or some past posts on the subject or maybe toss some ideas in my way.

As you can see, I am the type of guy who does not dive heads first on uncharted waters.

Appreciates your help in advance.

[Niediam]

This is a very basic answer but I think it is the basis between the differences assuming you are a good player:

In tournaments you want to pass on small +EV situations but with cash games you want to exploit as many of them as possible.

[PokrLikeItsProse]

I think a scenario that helps illustrates the difference is when it is folded to you on the CO or button. In a tournament, the first thought is whether or not you should try to steal. In a cash game, I've found that I get into trouble when I try to steal blinds anywhere near as close to as often as I do in a tournament.

There are several reasons. One is that blinds don't escalate, so you're risking money unneccesarily to steal a relatively small amount of money that you don't desperately need later on. Because you don't need to build your stack to stay ahead of the blinds, you don't need to bluff without information on what your opponent may have. I don't bluff without knowing what sort of hand I am trying to push someone off or feeling sure that they missed the flop completely. In a tournament, sometimes you need to execute plays like a stop and go, where call preflop with the intention of pushing on the flop no matter what comes.

Second, without the threat of extinction, it becomes easier for a blind to call with marginal hands that may be an underdog to two big cards yet have the pot odds to call knowing that an opponent holds that sort of hand.

Third, the psychology is different. In a tournament, a short stack is fearful. In a cash game, a short stack is just someone who doesn't have a lot of money in front of him, but who could easily rebuy. If you lose, you just lose your money in front of you, not your tournament life. One behavior I find it key to learn how to exploit are short stacks who act like they are in a tournament; they go all-in with any two big cards or push an underpair on the flop in a multi-way pot.

Finally, a cash game involves patience. Sure, you can steal blinds at every opportunity, trying to chip up slowly but surely. That works great in a tournament, but I find that in a cash game, you need the patience to not blow a chunk of your stack playing around while waiting for those key hands when you double up. That doesn't mean you wait for the nuts; I've had some good sessions where the key hand was flopping second pair then calling a river all-in when I correctly read that someone had missed a draw despite an ace coming on the end.

[Klak]

changing gears in a cash game can also be done. it can be profittable to shift your table image up and down. i like to shift up after winning a big pot.

[jbc]

I'll just throw in a couple more things on this - in my experience, the $1/$2 B&M NL tables can be very wild. So, I'll agree with the other poster mentioning patience. I also agree with not trying to steal blinds as much, for the same reasons.

Regarding the games themselves, I'm sure there are tough $1/$2 games out there, but most I've seen or played are mostly composed of newer players and/or players just looking to have a good time.

Lastly, one strategy I've been testing lately is keeping my opening raises the same. So, no matter what, if I'm first in, I'll make it 3BB or 4BB. I think this tip was in Card Player recently, and probably elsewhere, but I like it.

Anyhow, good luck with the transition. If you've been successful at the other games you mention, I'm sure you'll settle in easily enough.

jbc