Texas Holdem Tips - Cash Games

For most of poker history, cash game poker was just “poker.” Tournament poker is a relatively recent phenomenon, and although it has exploded in popularity, most live casino and many online casino poker games are still cash games. If you are interested in being a cash game player, no matter if you play online casino poker or live, here’s what you will need.

Cash

Yes, unsurprisingly, playing cash game poker requires cash, or at least a poker room with generous no deposit bonuses. What’s important is that you have enough cash to play. You’ll usually want at least 100 big blinds to start.

This will give you some flexibility and should help you weather bad turns of variance. You should also have another rebuy or two in your pocket ready to go.

Opponents

These aren’t hard to find, especially online or at a casino. If you play in a casino, your choices on who you can play may be limited. If there is a seat available, that’s where you will generally play.

Online, you can afford to watch games and scout out opposition, then jump in when you see a table where you think you will have an edge. If you’re playing a home game, you are probably playing with friends, so try not to play at stakes so high that one of your friends will lose his shirt and never be heard from again.

Patience

While things like reading tells, bluffing ability and understanding pot odds are important in cash game poker, the key is patience. Since the blinds do not rise in cash game poker, you can afford to wait for big hands. You don’t have to play only the top hands, but you can afford to be more selective than in tournament poker and this can pay big dividends.

Edges

In cash games, you want to push any small edge you can. Since you can always rebuy, it’s okay to risk getting broke when you are a 60-40 favorite, since you will be able to get your money in in the same situation again and eventually come out ahead. If you do not have the money for this kind of approach, tournaments may be a better way to go.

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