The definitive guide to poker cash game strategy

 The Ultimate Guide to Poker Cash Game Strategy

This article will explore the inner workings behind poker cash game strategy. Each section is geared towards players at all levels.

We will start with a general overview of cash-game poker strategy and then dive into the finer details of cash games.

It's possible to skip sections and find the one that is most helpful for you. Please also check out my definitive guides for Texas Hold'em Strategy, and Poker Tournament Strategy.

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What are Cash Games?

Cash games are also called ring games or live-action games. They are poker games where real chips are used. The chips' value is literally equal to the amount of the chips. One $5 chip, for example, is worth $5 USD because it can be cashed out at any time in exchange of real money. Cash games, unlike tournaments, have no time limit. Players can also come and go at their own pace.

Measuring Success In Cash Games

Before we can discuss strategies in cash games it is important to define success. The win rate, which is the measure of success in cash game play, is also known as your winning percentage. Your win rate, or difference in skill, is less than the rake. Negative win rates are possible if your opponents perform better than you or if the rake is too much (most commonly in private home games, where the usurious fee renders the game impossible to beat).

Online win rates can be measured in big blinds to 100 hands while live win rates can be measured in big blinds to an hour.

Here's an easy example. John plays the $5/$10 cash game of No Limit Hold'em at the Bellagio. John has good records and knows that he won $2,000 in the past month/50 hours. This includes tips and rake.

His hourly rate can be calculated as follows: $2,000/50 = $40 an hour. Therefore, his hourly bb/hour rate is 4.

First, we need to find out how many hands he plays in an hour in order for us to calculate his win rate. This is either in big blinds per 100 or BB/100. The actual number of hands played will vary depending on the speed of the game, number of players at the table and other factors. However, I estimate that John can expect to average 27 hands per hour.

John has played therefore 50 x 27 = 1,350 hand.

John won $2,000/10 or 200 large blinds.

John's win ratio is 200/(1,350/100), which is roughly 15bb/100.

John should be proud. That's an amazing win rate. It is statistically insignificant because 1,350 hands isn't a sufficient sample size. My definitive guide to bankroll management explains how to calculate win rates, variance, and in cash games.

A majority of poker players have a negative win-rate. Any positive win-rate should therefore be taken seriously. You can compare your win rates with players who have positive-win rates if you assume that you have positive-win rate.

If we break down the 10% group of players with positive win-rates further, it is possible to calculate different levels for live poker. Remember that these are estimates of possible win rates and games can vary greatly from casino-to–casino or player-to–player.

Online win rates are likely to drop drastically. Any online win rate above break-even is acceptable

These are great win rates for mid stakes games, which average at 2bb/100 or 0.5bb/hour. This shows how competitive these games have become.

Live poker is a game I base my estimates on the records that I have kept over the years while playing in Macau. I also talk to other players, clients, and readers who play the same games as me. Based on my personal experience, I have won 15BB/hour at Macau stakes up to $10,000/$20,000 HKD and No Limit Hold'em (roughly $2250/$2500 USD). 3 ways to turn your poker download into cash