Tournament to Cash Games (also posted in general)

[The_Missile]

[note: this was also posted in the general section, but at the suggestion of another poster, I have also posted it here]

Well, I've been reading this site on a daily basis for about two months, and it has helped me tremendously with my game. I have clearly improved. But now I need a lot of help from you, the experts.

I consider myself a rather successful tournament player, as far as the group of people I play with goes. I'm usually, out of 8 players, either the runner-up or the winner, and I have had most of my winnings in tournaments. But I am now making a switch- not giving up my tournament play, but playing in higher-stakes cash games more regularly. By higher stakes, I mean this: I have played in $10 tournaments, and now find myself playing cash games that are I think .5-1 NL (the blinds are at .50-1, so I think that constitutes .5-1 NL if I am correct). I've taken part in this game a few times and overall I'm down about 31. It's not that I have never been up- in fact, just recently, I sat down with about 20 in chips and that soon ballooned to 125, but I couldn't hold that, and within a couple of hours I was down to 42. I have some pretty good reads on this group of people (different from the tournament crowd), but as far as actual play goes, I could use some help.

I guess I'll start with this general question- what do I need to do differently, as in how do I alter my game, to play more efficient in a cash game. And then I guess, does strategy as far as playing certain hands change?

Thanks in advance.

The_Missile

[Zukeman66]

If you're sitting at a $.5/1 NL table, you should be sitting with $100 normally, not $20. I made the same move as you did a while ago. If I could offer anything, in cash games there's no need to "make moves" like tournaments force you to do, especially if it's a small-blind game.

[lange101]

I agree with zukeman. Sitting down with 20bb is a really bad move. I see that a lot at the .5/1 level. I often wonder if people do this because they don't have a big enough bankroll and they are too impatient to build it at the lower stakes. I have seen people buy in for 37bb so that they are more likely to get called and get doubled up but I don't think this is what you are doing. Zuke is also right in pointing out that you don't need to make moves in cash games nearly as often because the blinds are not going up. Also, when you say tournaments are you talking about Sit and Gos? Because even if you are winning $10 sng's then it would still take you a while to build a proper bankroll for .50/1 nl. You need a $1500-$2000 to play at this level. I'm not saying that you can't play at this level, I'm just saying that I don't see it as a very profitable venture. JMO

[Cased Heel]

Beating 7 of your friends at B&M is totally different from being a winning cash game internet player.

And don't start at the 100 NL level. Start at the 25 NL level. Your bankroll isn't large enough to withstand the swings. I find the difference to mainly be that in cash games you play the cards and in tourney's you play the situation. I mean in cash games you never say "I've got 7BB left, I get to see 4 more hands for free, I'm on the bubble, and I have KT offsuit...jeez, should I fold this and hope to get something better in the next 3 free hands? Or should this be the time when I take my stand!?"

You know what I mean? Cash game is all about stealing blinds and outplaying your opponents continually. Tourney poker has the extra layer of strategy.

Play the lowest limit, and play 6-max, and play thousands of hands.