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

I played mostly Texas Holdem No Limit Tournaments in the Casino's and home games for a long time. I did not play that much in Cash Games. I was doing pretty well in the tournaments, often making the final table, and sometimes in the money. I was very comfortable playing Tournaments, not really much when it came to cash games. I discovered I had the wrong mind-set or attitude about Cash Games. Here's what happened to change my mindset, my attitude, and eventually improved my Cash Game play dramatically.

I mostly played small buy in tournaments, around $30 to $60 buy-ins, at an area Casino. They certainly were held each and every day, and I played several per week. I was doing pretty well. On the days I acquired knocked out from the tournament early and still felt like playing poker, I'd move to a cash dining table, $1/2 no limit with a maximum buy in of $300. There were mostly "regulars" playing, and I got eventually to know most of them. I wasn't doing very well in the bucks Games, and I did not know why. I'm not really a bad player, but I possibly could not figure out 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 accordingly, say $35 to $50, and then some one would raise me to $150 or $200 and I'd fold.

I did not really know it, but I was what you had call "scared money". I had trouble risking $150-$200 on a hand that was not the absolute nuts. This caused me to fold the thing that was probably the most readily useful hand sometimes because of the fear of losing that much on only one hand, sometimes just one card. Doyle Brunson made a comment one time, something to the effect that in order to be a specialist at the situs poker terbaik (demo.sytian-productions.com) tables, you have to have a "certain disregard" for the worthiness of money. I thought I had that. Well, I did not. When it came time for you to put the big chips in the pot without being sure of winning, I was concerned about the amount of money. It was nearly subconscious. Used to do not know I was "scared money".

One of the regulars I used was what I'd consider a very loose, aggressive, crazy gambling guy. His bankroll fluctuated like crazy. Some days winning several hundred dollars, other days losing one thousand or more. But he said something 1 day that really stuck with me. When some one commented on his loose, aggressive gambling style he said "I don't give a hoot about the money. It means nothing at all in my experience. 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 thought about 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 probably know what I mean. Scared money does not win poker chips. I decided right then and there, that if I'll play Cash Poker, I absolutely need to be prepared to risk up a number of hundred dollars on a single hand or single card. If I'm not totally willing to do that at the poker table, I better adhere to tournaments.

By keeping this though in mind, I started initially to "gamble" more in the money games. Rather than folding to a $150 bet, basically 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 times I felt right about my actions. I had not been going to allow "value of money" affect my play. I was going to play my best poker game, and risk whatever it took to play the best I possibly could, regardless of the loss of money. You can forget "scared money" play for me personally.

Over time this small change in attitude, my mindset, made all of 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 know it at that time. Cash Poker takes a different mindset than Tournament Poker, and I finally figured out what it absolutely was for me. If I bust my daily Poker bankroll, I'll just go earn even more.