Winning the Poker Table: 10 Strategies for Cash Games

To help you win more cash games, this article will go over 10 essential strategies. You will find out how to play against limps, when to bluff on the flip, and more.

But before we get into that, let’s define “cash game” for the benefit of any skeptics among the readers.

When do you play for cash?

As opposed to poker tournaments, in which participants are required to register in advance and are only awarded rewards if they place in the top X% of the field, Cash Games allow players to join and leave the game at their convenience and use real money as their chips.

First and foremost, while playing cash games, never let a medium-strength hand go to waste by increasing the size of the pot. You may use them for bluff catching.

The hardest hands to play are usually those with medium strength. Even though these hands are good bluff catchers in lesser pots, you should typically check with them.

As a result, you should often bluff-catch with medium strength hands. So, to illustrate, here are a few instances:

J♦ T♦ on J♠ 8♠ 6♥

A♠ 4♠ on A♣ 8♠ 5♣

8♥ 7♥ on K♠ 8♣ 4♥

These are strong starting hands, but they quickly lose their value as the betting and/or raising heats up. Therefore, the optimum play with these cards is to check at least one street (often the flip).

Now consider that if your opponent has showed weakness by checking back or checking to you twice, these hands increase in value since your opponent is less likely to wager his better hands. When this happens, it’s time to start placing bets with them so you can start reaping the benefits.

Advice №2 for the Cash Game: Raise most often when you have a good hand.

Most of the time, you should wager if you have a good starting hand, such as a pair of aces or better. It makes sense for these hands to try to increase the size of the pot, since they are heavy favorites to win.

You should only bet with these hands if you feel confident in your value betting range. Several instances:

A on K on T 5

K♠ T♣ on T♥ 8♦ 6♣

J. T. 7 on Q. Q.

Keep in mind that you should choose hands that can triple barrel for value on a wide variety of board run outs.

Thirdly, while playing cash games, bluff with hands that have backdoors on the flip.

It’s a smart idea to bluff when your hand has backdoor (runner-runner) potential. Select hands that have a good chance of hitting a flush or straight by the river.

The ability to attack well-masked powerful hands makes these hands ideal for use as bluffs. Just a few instances:

7♠ 6♠ on A♣ 9♠ 3♣ — Draws well to any 5 or 8 of spades. Gutshots on any 4 or T are also possible.

J♦ 8♦ on Q♦ 7♠ 5♠ — You have a good chance of turning a 6 or a diamond flush. Able to land a crushing blow on a 4, 9, or T.

Turns a good draw on any 4, 8, or club when played over K, 7, and 5. Able to land a body shot on a 3 or 9.

Take into account that until you improve to a draw on the turn, you won’t be able to continue barreling with these hands.

The fourth cash game tip is that you should nearly always 3-bet with a strong hand.

When holding QQ+ or AK preflop, you should try to avoid being trappy. Building the pot quickly with a 3-bet is ideal for these premium hands.

You should bluff with cards like A2s-A5s and suited connectors to round out your 3-betting range. The spectrum is shown as follows:

Playing a Cash Game with a Balanced 3-Bet Range (엔포커)

It’s important to keep in mind that this is a 3-betting range shown between players in very early positions against one another. After the flop, you should increase the proportion of value bets and bluffs in your 3-betting range.

If your opponent often raises preflop and seldom folds to your 3-bets, you should drastically alter your 3-betting range to be more value-oriented. It would be far more effective to use this against such a sloppy foe:

Here is a sample value-oriented 3-betting range from a cash game (Red = 3-bet, Blue = Not a 3-bet). This is a linear range, sometimes called a combined range.

The bluffs are not included in this range. This is due to the fact that they are unlikely to be forced to fold preflop and are often being dominated by hands that can only be played by this opponent (K7s, Q7s, A7s, ATo, etc). You may have also noticed the newfound flexibility in the value range, which now extends to AJo, AQo, ATs, KQ, TT, and JJ. If your opponent is calling really wide, you may even 3-bet QJs and ATo.

Conversely, if your opponent often folds to your 3-bets, you should increase the frequency with which you 3-bet bluffs and high-value cards.

Five-Check the flip often in multi-way pots is a good cash game strategy.

Be careful which hands you bet the flop with in multiway pots. The stronger your hand is, the more people you should check to before the flip. This is because there is a much higher chance that your opponent will strike two pair or greater.

Therefore, you need to:

If there are four or more players in the pot, you should check with powerful top pairs and overpairs. When playing in a 4-player pot, these hands have a substantially less chance of winning than when playing heads-up.

If you have two pairs or better, or a very powerful draw, bet just a modest fraction of the pot (between 1/4 and 1/3). Larger bets scare off all but the most tenacious players.

Fold with many more bluff-catchers, even against extremely modest bets as your opponents are unlikely to bluff such disadvantageous scenarios.

Cash Game Tip 6: Bet a much while you’re heads-up and in position

In heads-up pots, you should regularly take a swing at the pot from in position, particularly when your opponent has demonstrated weakness by checking instead of c-betting. The term “float bet” is used to describe this wager.

This bluff often works successfully against lesser players because they fail to safeguard their checking ranges, opting to check with only weak hands.

However, stronger players who can check excellent hands should be avoided while float betting. A significant financial loss may result from pursuing this plan and failing.

Seventh Cash Game Strategy: Check-raising the flip after defending the large blind with your best cards

You should nearly always check-raise after defending your huge blind against a steal attempt from a player in position. You might begin amassing chips in anticipation of going all-in by the river.

When check-raising, keep a close eye on the board’s texture. On a board like 9 5 4, check-raising with bottom two pair makes sense, however on boards like 6 5 4 and 9 5 4, check-calling with bottom two pair makes more sense.

Advice №8 for the Cash Game: Always Stretch Before Playing

This is more of a mental game strategy, but it’s just as crucial as the tactical suggestions up above.

Do you think a professional player like LeBron James would ever go into a game cold? If you questioned any professional athlete, they would undoubtedly say that they always do a warm-up before a game.

You may be wondering why someone would need to “warm up” for poker when it’s not a sport. Specifically, I’m referring to the practice of mentally preparing oneself to stick with the session or the match.

So, what exactly does that pre-workout regimen entail? The correct response will vary depending on your present state of mind and strategy.

Write down your most common leaks (playing too loose preflop, c-betting too much, being tilted, etc.) and make a note of how you want to fix each one. This can assist you avoid those particular blunders by focusing your attention where it needs to be.

With time, this method will successfully seal up all of the resulting leaks. Nonetheless, there is always room for improvement since the game is so deep. Keep your pre-game ritual fresh in your mind.

Take a look at a Three-Step Poker Warm-Up Routine for some expert advice on getting ready for a game.

Nineth Cash Game Hint: Manage your losses wisely

Being a failure is embarrassing and stressful, particularly if you have a family to support. Even the best poker players have losing sessions from time to time. Taking the proper steps to deal with them is probably the best option.

sauce vs. doug polk in a cash game comeback

On September 29th, 2013, Doug and Ben Sulsky had a game. The odds were stacked against him by the time he reached the halfway point, yet he persisted nevertheless.

When playing cash games, where you may quit at any moment, this becomes extremely complicated. You’ll have trouble with loudness if you stop too often and too abruptly. If you constantly try to recover from your losses, you’ll find yourself playing for hours on end, getting nowhere and ultimately seeing a far larger red number than you should have.

When should you call it quits and when should you continue to battle it out?

In these predicaments, Doug Polk always asks himself the same three questions. If you ever find yourself trapped in a cash game, try asking yourself the following questions:

I’m just wondering whether I’m holding my own. Here, it’s important to maintain objectivity and conduct an in-depth analysis of your playing style. Despite the fact that it’s simple to claim that you’re playing well and blame your losses on poor luck, many players’ performances really suffer when they start to lose.

Is it still a fun game to play? There are moments when you just MUST stay in a certain line. It’s common to have to keep going through such situations. However, if your performance is very terrible, you may still want to go home and rest.

Asking whether I think I’m up to the challenge. When your mind isn’t in the game, it’s usually for the best to bow out. Your performance on the field will suffer, and you’ll start making more expensive blunders that will put you in a progressively worse position.

Tenth Cash Game Strategy: Prey on the Limpers

Every time you see a player limp, you should see it as a chance to quickly and easily steal their whole stack.

You should raise over their limp with a larger variety of hands in order to isolate them, since most limpers are poor players. One of the best ways to make money in poker is to raise a limper preflop when you’re in a poor position and they only have a small range to call your bet with.

Determine the optimal size to ensure that the weakest hands in their range are placed in the most challenging position. One huge blind is added to your usual raise size for each limper as a rough rule of thumb. If there is just one limper and you generally raise to 3 big blinds, you should increase your raise to 4 large blinds in this situation.

I asked poker players for their best piece of general cash game advise in preparation for this article.

As he advises, only risk money you can afford to lose in cash games.

The most crucial aspect of playing in cash games is betting only with money you can afford to lose. You have already lost the game if you buy in for a sum that would put you in a financial bind if you were to lose your stack.

It’s best to play games when you have a sufficient number of buy-ins and choose a buy-in amount that you can afford to lose. In that manner, you’ll be prepared to confidently place your opponent in a difficult position if necessary.

If you want to win in cash games, make yourself the most aggressive player there.

When playing cash games for real money, particularly at low stakes and in a live setting, you should strive to be the most aggressive player at the table. You should be the one placing bets and making raises. I always try to maximize my winnings in cash games by being the most aggressive player there.

There are significant setbacks associated with such an aggressive approach. When this occurs, it’s best to scale down and take some time off to collect one’s thoughts. Aggression is going to be a major factor in your success, so you should feel at ease returning to it, even if it backfires.

Note from the editor: If you’re not used to playing with a lot of aggressiveness, consider building up to it gradually, session by session.

Use these strategies in a cash game near you.

These 10 guidelines can help you improve your poker game and win more money, whether you play for enjoyment or as a side hustle.

Use a bluff catch strategy with hands of middling power.

When you have a good hand on the flip, you should bet.

Play the flip as a bluff if you have any backdoor draws.

Raise the stake to three times the pot size with QQ or better and AK.

In multi-way pots, checking the flip often is a good strategy.

When playing heads up and in an advantageous position, bet often.

Protect your large blind, and then use your best hands to check-raise the flip.

Get ready for a session or competition by warming up.

Losing sessions intelligently

Make use of the weak

Also, keep in mind the advice of Doug and Ryan:

Don’t risk more than you can afford to lose.

If you’re playing for modest stakes, try to be the most aggressive player there.

Today’s session has now officially over. I’m glad you found these suggestions helpful; please let me know what you think by leaving a comment below.