How Exactly To Transition From Tournament Poker To Cash Games - They Are Only Poker Chips

I played mostly Texas hold'em No Limit Tournaments in the Casino's and home games for years. I did not play that much in Cash Games. I was doing pretty much in the tournaments, usually making the final table, and sometimes in the money. I was very comfortable playing Tournaments, less when it came to cash games. I discovered I had the wrong mind-set or attitude about Cash Games. Some tips about what happened to change my mindset, my attitude, and eventually improved my Cash Game play considerably.

I mostly played small buy in tournaments, somewhere around $30 to $60 buy-ins, at a local Casino. They certainly were held every single day, and I played several per week. I was doing pretty well. On the days I obtained knocked from the tournament early and still felt like playing poker, I'd move to a cash table, $1/2 no limit with a maximum buy in of $300. There were mostly "regulars" playing, and I got eventually to know a lot of them. I had not been doing perfectly in the bucks Games, and I did not know why. I'm not really a bad player, but I really could not determine what was wrong with my Cash Game. The poker chips just would not come my way. It seemed I kept getting bet out of the pot. I'd have what I thought was a very strong hand, not the absolute nuts, but a good hand, maybe the best hand. I'd make my bet appropriately, say $35 to $50, and then some body would raise me to $150 or $200 and I'd fold.

I didn't really know it, but I was what you'd call "scared money". I had trouble risking $150-$200 on a hand that was not the absolute nuts. This caused me to fold that which was probably the best hand sometimes because of the fear of losing that much on just one single hand, sometimes just one card. Doyle Brunson made a comment onetime, something to the effect that in order to be a specialist at the poker tables, you have to have a "certain disregard" for the value of money. I thought I had that. Well, I did not. When it came time to put the big chips in the pot without having to be sure of winning, I was concerned about the cash. It was almost subconscious. Used to do not know I was "scared money".

One of the regulars I enjoyed was what I'd think about a very loose, aggressive, crazy gambling guy. His bankroll fluctuated in great amounts. Some days winning several hundred dollars, other days losing a thousand or more. But he said something one day that really stuck with me. When some one commented on his loose, aggressive gambling style he said "I don't offer a hoot about the money. It indicates nothing at all to me. I figure if I lose it all I'll just go make more. I really don't care". He was serious and he meant it. At first I thought, "Man, this is a fairly flippant attitude to have about hard earned cash".

On the way home, I considered what he'd said. While I do not need to play as loose and crazy as he does, maybe I need some his attitude about money. It suddenly became clear to me why I wasn't doing so well in Cash Poker. Maybe I AM "scared money", and if you've ever played much cash poker, you almost certainly know what After all. Scared money does not win poker chips. I decided right then and there, that if I'll play Cash Poker, I absolutely have to be prepared to risk up to many hundred dollars on a single hand or single card. If I'm not totally willing to do that at the poker table, I better stick to tournaments.

By keeping this though at heart, I started to "gamble" more in the cash games. Instead of folding to a $150 bet, permainan capsa susun easily really thought I might have the best hand, I'd raise another $150 or more. Not when I was completely unsure of where I stood, but on the changing times I felt right about my actions. I had not been going to let the "value of money" affect my play. I would play my best poker game, and risk whatever it took to play the best I possibly could, regardless of the loss of money. No longer "scared money" play for me personally.

Over time this small change in attitude, my mind-set, made all the difference. I soon found my opponents folding to my re-raises. I was winning bigger pots, my plays earned more respect, and it turned my entire cash game around. I had bigger losses some days too, but overall, it improved my cash game quite a bit. I had been playing as "scared money" and did not even comprehend it at that time. Cash Poker takes a different mindset than Tournament Poker, and I finally figured out what it was for me. Basically bust my daily Poker bankroll, I'll just go earn even more.