Dropping Down in Levels

Switching from tournament play to cash game play can be a painful transition. I have switched between the two modes several times over the past couple of years to keep the game interesting. However, I have learned from these transitions that dropping down a level or two makes a lot of sense to limit transition losses and to build confidence.

Tournament poker and ring game poker are very different animals. I make moves in a tournament that I would rarely, if ever, try in a ring game. However, if you have been playing tournaments for 4-5 months straight and then suddenly switch to cash games, your playing style is not going to automatically convert. There is a transition and you have to be cognizant of the transition to limit your potential losses.

When you are in the zone for either cash games or tournaments, you play with a lot of confidence and it is easy to take a bad beat because you know that you are making good decisions. But during a transition, your confidence may not be at 100% so beats can lead to tilt -- which leads to big losses.

As a result, I like to drop down a level or two during the transition back to cash games to limit the potential for tilt losses. If I would normally play $1/$2 NL, I will drop to $.50/$1.00 or even $.25/$.50 (for a couple sessions). This helps to build confidence and re-sharpen my cash game strategy before hitting my normal level.

Remember that the players definitely get better as you increase in level and there is no reason to butt heads with better players until you are ready with your A game.

Tourneys and Cash Games

So I just cannot stay away from the excitement of tournaments. I usually play 4-6 of them early in the evening and then switch to cash games for new tables when I get down to 2 tables remaining.

This way I can still come out positive for the night even if I do not make a final table in tournaments.

There are somethings to be careful with in mixing tourneys and cash games:

1. Avoid this strategy if you are susceptible to TILT -- You are going to get bad beats in tournament play -- it is inevitable. If I play six tournaments in a night, I will likely get bad beat out of 4 of them. That is just the nature of tournaments and all the all in hands required. Tilt will lead to big money losses in cash games, so bad beats set you off then avoid mixing cash and tourney games.

2. Pay attention -- In the early and early middle stages of a tourney you can get away with not paying attention. That is a good time to play 4-6 tables at the same time. However, when you get down to the late middle and late stages of a tourney, you need to pay attention to win. You need to know your opponents tendencies. For instance, who is raising a lot preflop but laying down to reraises. That is a great target for restealing chips. Don't open so many tables that you cannot pay close attention in your late tourney tables.

3. Use two different strategies -- Remember that you are playing both cash and tourneys and they both require different strategies. You can play more fast and loose in a tourney, you need to bluff more in tourneys and you resteal more in tourneys. Don't try these strategies too often at a cash game or you will just lose chips.

Good luck at the tables this week.

Converting Back to Cash Games

I have finally hit the wall on the variance of tournament play. While I had some real nice successes during the past 18 months, my overall bankroll did not change much at all. This is the nature of tournament play and I think very few tournament players actually have positive cashflow from tournaments.

I am mainly playing 6 max NLHE these days with fairly good success. I thought I would outline a few of the key changes in your game that you need to adapt going from tournament play to cash games.

1. Tight is Right. Tournament play dictates that you play more hands, especially late in the tournament when luck becomes more of a factor. In cash games, you maintain a much more disciplined approach throughout a session. This does not mean that you do not play suited connectors or A9 at times. I will often raise with those hands in late position to try to take the blinds.

2. AK is a Much Weaker Hand. AK is a hand to play cautiously. Yes you raise preflop and you should still reraise a raiser, but be prepared to get away from the hand that pushes or puts in a third raise against your AK. NL cash games tend to be tight affairs, especially if you are playing against a good player. There are donks that will bluff and pay off your good hands, but if a good player or a TAG player triple raises you pre or raises you on the flop when you have TPTK, you are probably toast. Don't fight to the death with this hand, save your chips for when you pick-up trips, a hidden two pair or hidden straight.

3. Most of your Win $ Come from Big Hands. Patience is the key to good NL cash game play, even at a 6 handed table. Yes you play a few more starting hands in 6 max, but generally your win rate will still come from big hands. One of the benefits of 6 max tables is that less experienced players rarely think you have a monster hand when you do. This is especially true if you often put in continuation bets. Bet and raise with your big hands because you will often get paid off. Most of my win percentage comes from trip hands with pocket pairs. I will almost always call a pre-flop raise with a pocket pair because your EV is so high when you do catch trips 11% of the time.

4. Tight Exception - Figure out the Bluffers and Call them Down. It is amazing to me how many players bluff in low and mid limit 6 max cash games. I guess it is the cowboy image of poker, but you can quickly figure out who these players are. Then you can call them down with a strong pair, raise them with two pair or better. Occassionally, you will get burned by this strategy but more often than not it will pay you off nicely.

5. Avoid Pots with Very Good Players. it is hard to avoid playing at tables with good players because there are so few seats available at a time. However, you can play those tables just avoid mixing it up with those good player unless you have a very strong hand. Really good players rarely end up with a lot of chips in the pot and a losing hand. Don't pay them off with good but not great hands like middle two pair. You are better off saving your chips for another spot.