How to win in cash games

How to win in cash games ? Do you know it?

Beating Texas Holdem cash games is not easy. Especially at low limits (where all the poker fishare) a player, even if he’s a good one, will find it extremely frustrating to make headway. Since Texas Holdem is largely dependant on the luck-variance, just about any player will be highly vulnerable when faced with schooling fish. Like it or not, schooling will come into play at low limit tables, because people can afford to see flops turns and rivers, despite your raises, especially if you’re in a FL or PL game.
The other thing that makes rookies extremely loose (even if they are loose-weak) is what they see on TV. They see players act on rubbish hand after hand, and that makes them believe that’s what winning poker is supposed to look like. In making that assumption though, they overlook a few very important factors: those players that you see on TV are usually playing in tournaments, where the increasing blinds force them to act aggressive and lose. There comes a point in tournament when you can no longer sit around waiting for something good to strike. With your back against the wall, you just have to come out fighting. There is no such motivation in cash games, so you just shouldn’t do that.
The other factor linked to television, that makes rookies extremely loose is that only good, action-loaded sequences and final tables are shown. There’s not much point in showing some players fold hand after hand for hours on end as that would make for some extremely poor viewer rates.
All right, so we now set one thing straight: most players at lower limits are extremely loose. What’s the best way to beat them? Do not play their game. Act very tight and wait for good starting hands to come along.
It takes time indeed, and it takes a lot of patience too, but that’s about the only way to make things happen. Try to avoid putting a lot of money on marginal hands. When you’re faced with multiple opponents, luck is not on your side.
Knowing when to put money into the pot is the most important pokerskill in general, and having the discipline to wait for favorable situations is the second most important one. Observation, solid pre-flop and post-flop skills are also important.
Pre-flop raises are meant to decimate the opposition, making some people fold and making others leave dead money in the pot, thus increasing the odds for you. Aggressive pre-flop betting can also have the benefit of passing you as a loose-aggressive maniac with the other players, a fact that you’ll be able to exploit in a variety of ways.
If you’re working towards creating such an image for yourself, keep it extra tight past the flop. You do not want to call someone who re-raises your bet on the flop, and you certainly don’t want to post a big bet on a bunch of rags when you know most of the people in the game are highly likely to call your bet.
Last, but definitely not least, in order to walk away a winner form the table at the end of the day, you have to secure some off-table edges too. Play only with rakeback, and choose the game, limit and table you play at carefully.