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Cash game strategy managing what games you are playing

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Friday December, 4th 2009 by fullhouse

As an online poker player you will have a very wide array of options to choose from when it comes to what types of games to play. The majority of players will play in cash games to one extent or another, but most don’t really look to determine how they can maximize their profits. If you are a successful Limit tournament player it wouldn’t make too much sense to go and play No Limit cash games. The allure of the big money in No Limit games is undeniably attractive, but if you can’t beat the games there is no use in wasting your time. Once you decide what type of game you want to play as far as blind structures goes (Limit, No Limit, or Pot Limit) you will need to decide what variety of table you want to play at. You will generally have three different options when it comes to cash game tables, Heads Up (2-Max), Short Handed (6-Max), or Full Ring (9 or 10-Max). Some sites also offer 4-Max games but they are not very popular. These three different options will best suit different types of players. It is vital to your success that you are playing at a table that you are comfortable at. The final option when deciding what games to play is your limits. You will either play the micro stakes, small stakes, medium stakes, or high stakes. You will see a steady increase in difficulty as you continue to move up in limits, though some people think the opposite is true. Some of the best medium stakes players will struggle mightily at high stakes games just as some micro stakes players won’t be able to beat small stakes games. One of the ultimate variables between a winning poker player and a losing poker player is the ability to abandon their ego. Players who learn to put ego aside will often come out ahead.

Picking your best game

Deciding what type of table to play at can be a challenge for some players and an obvious choice for others. No one will be able to tell you what type of game you are best suited for unless they are able to study how you play. For example, an aggressive player is much more likely to thrive in a Heads Up environment than he is at a Full Ring table. If you can’t stomach the inevitable variance that will come with No Limit games you will be better off playing at Limit or even Pot Limit tables. No Limit Hold’em is notorious for the ridiculous swings that happen on a somewhat regular basis. Even the best No Limit players will experience lengthy and sizable downswings. Limit players, however, will generally be able to maintain a steady amount of growth that isn’t frequently disturbed by major downswings. The trade off is the potential to make more money at No Limit than at Limit. Deciding what stakes to play should be one of the easier aspects to handle. If you have never played a particular game before you should start off at the micro stakes. Once you beat the micro stakes you can then move on to the small stakes games, and so on and so forth. If you are a proven winner at a particular limit you can take shots at a higher limit or stick to where you know you can win.