Cash Game - Question

[nick1074]

I'm struggling with cash...

I have been a successful tournament player since 2004 Overall 100k in gross earning in online tournaments, and 27k in live big tourney, not to mention all of the smaller non ranked tournaments I have won...


With that said. . I have played about 26,000 hands at .50/1.00 nlhe on AP network and am down 15 buyins... I buy in 100 big blinds.

I am trying to figure out what my weakness may be.

Any advice on what style works best?

Is TAG better than LAG. Should i defend blinds more, play less hands, raise button whenever it is folded. I am not asking for a critique on my play, I am just wondering what most winning players find to be a consistent winning style at this level.

my VPIP - is 26 PFR is 11 wtsd - 21 w$sd - 52 af- 42 ats - 34

Any advice for those with knowledge of poker tracker..

[travz21]

If you're not playing 6max, your VPIP is way too big, in my opinion. TAG or LAG can both be profitable, but you have to know what you're doing in both styles to be profitable. The better position you have, the more you should loosen up and raise or reraise.

Andy Bloch said something along the lines of, "You can play 13% of hands profitably from UTG and 53% of hands profitably from the button." That is, once again, if you're good already. In my opinion, position is your main factor of when you should play a hand, so TAG or LAG isn't really defining your game. The main key is to keep aggressive and don't fall back into passive plays. There is a lot of free money to be won pf and postflop, regardless of your holdings.

Back to stats, which I'm by no means totally good with, I think you should have somewhere in the high teens for your VPIP and the middle-low teens for your PFR. wtsd seems reasonable and your w$sd is good.

[nick1074]

I have been more selective as of late, Last 4k in hand with my VPIP. I play full ring games. I am trying to bet more aggressively with good hands and smarter with my drawing or weaker hands overall..

Thank you for the response... I'm just trying to feel comfortable with the differences between cash and tournaments. I think that my skill set is def. advanced and my ability to "put together hands" is very strong.. But I have struggled with hands esp. around the button and blinds. or hands like 10-10 9-9 on lower rainbowed boards like 7 5 2 .

Thanks again...

[Brooklynbum]

It really looks like you're more of a LAG than a Tag based on your #'s. The thing about transitioning from Tournaments or even SNGs to cash usually is your aggression factor IMO. In my experience you're more likely to get called more often PF in cash games than in tournaments. This makes your flop, turn and river play much more important as the ensuing streets is going to cost you more money to continue. That is why position is probably the most important aspect of playing cash games. If you're being aggressive, which is fine, but blind aggression OOP can cost you a ton of money in cash games.

Looking at the stats, I would say your VPIP is too high for your aggression factor. It's either raise or fold if you're going to play ultra aggressive. So it looks like you're calling or playing too many pots (which means that you're probably playing an considerable amount of hands OOP). I'd get my V$IP a little lower say to the low 20's (I don't think the teens is going to fit your aggressive style).

Your PFR % is ok, it's a tad bit high but that fits your aggressive style of play. So when you look at your went to showdown % also fits your aggressive style as you're either going to hit the board with your spec hands and continue or give up, it's also indicative of your aggressive style as you're probably betting and winning a lot of pots uncontested). If you're playing high quality hands most of the time you're going to the showdown much more. Also to consider AF, are you checking the flop, turn and river too much or are you firing barrels and not getting the proper respect? or are you getting called on all the streets because of your LAG style?

The thing about being aggressive and and loose is that your post flop, turn and river skills become more paramount as you're probably playing more spec hands than the average TAG player.

I would look at your stats based on position also. Your positional stats should tell if you're playing optimally. If you're playing too many hands OOP (especially hands that are speculative or dominated like a weak Ace for example), that's a big leak (especially if you're playing weak hands and raising with them OOP). For example your PFR % should be high when you're opening a pot in EP or MP and should even out or even be higher if you're entering a pot in LP. Also your VP$IP should be lower in EP and higher in LP (as you can call raises or re-raise with spec hands because you're playing in position).

As for which style is the best. That's a matter of opinion. I think that playing TAG as a general strategy is profitable but I don't agree with being too nitty as that can prevent you from getting action. You really need a nice mix of TAG and LAG and passiveness at times to mix up your game. That way you can really profit from your big hands and your spec hands as well.

There are a lot of stats that you can pour over in PT so this is just a general opinion. Hope this helps.

[phaul]

my VPIP - is 26 PFR is 11 wtsd - 21 w - 52 af- 42 ats - 34

Any advice for those with knowledge of poker tracker..

26 VPIP would be fine for 6max but is probably too loose for full ring. A big flaw I see though is the gap between your VPIP and PFR. Why are you limping, and especially that much?

[RiverstarsVictim]

I'm struggling with cash...

my VPIP - is 26 PFR is 11 wtsd - 21 w - 52 af- 42 ats - 34

Any advice for those with knowledge of poker tracker..

Next time you're in pokertracker click 'more details' on the player summary section. You're too passive.

The gap between VPIP and PFR is also too big.

My guess is you're still in tourney mode where a more cautious/aggressive approach (hope this makes sense, it's 3 30am here) is often needed. You're not playing for 100 bbs in tourneys too often whereas cash games it's the norm. Too much limping and calling isn't good.

My advice is to drop a level or 2 and become a winning player at basic ABC poker and get a feeling for what is going on. Take many notes on your opponents (they'll certainly be noting your passiveness), many will be regs. Once you have your notes you can then play against them. Once you've mastered this, move up!

In short, I think you're trying to run before you can walk. Take a step back fella.

Edit to add. For some reason I read your aggression factor as 0.42 After reading again I guess it could be 4.2? In which case you're not being given any respect because you're playing too loose. My previous advice still stands.