Cash games, also known as ring games, are the original and most popular form of poker. They are the bread and butter for most professional poker players.
However, raking it at online poker cash games is difficult. It takes a lot of skill, dedication and practice to be a consistent winner in these games. Here are some tips on how to maximize your winnings in poker cash games:
1) Play at the right stakes
Sitting down at a table with the big boys is probably not wise if you are a beginner. Likewise, if you are a seasoned pro, you might be wasting your time (and money) sitting at a table with amateurs. Find tables where the other players have about the same skill level as you.
2) Manage your bankroll wisely
You should never risk more money in poker games online than you can afford to lose. So if you go on a downswing, you won’t have to take out money from your savings so that you can continue playing poker.
An excellent way to do this is only to bet a certain percentage of your bankroll. For example, you can only use 10% of your bankroll at any time. This way, you will still have enough money to continue playing until you recover your losses.
3) Play tight
In poker cash games, the best strategy is usually to play tight. It means only playing good poker hands and folding bad ones. There are many bad players out there who will stay in hand after hand, even with trashy cards, just hoping to get lucky.
Don’t be one of those players. If you only play good hands, you will be in a much better position to win.
4) Know when to quit
If you are on a losing streak, don’t play poker online until you’ve become level-headed again. It is very easy to go on tilt (get emotionally upset) when you lose, which can lead to even more bad decisions.
You also need to know when to quit when you’re ahead. Stopping when you’re on a winning streak can be more challenging than stopping when you’re on a losing streak.
After all, getting cocky when you’re winning is very easy and can lead to making foolish decisions. So, set a winning goal for yourself before you start playing, and once you reach that goal, cash out and walk away.
5) Review your hands
One of the best ways to improve your game is to review your hands after each session. This way, you can see where you made mistakes and try to correct them next time. There are many hand history review tools out there that can help you with this. When reviewing your hands, remember how much money you made or lost with them.
6) Take EV into consideration
EV, or expected value, is a concept that every cash game player should be familiar with. It’s the amount of money you can expect to win or lose in the long run with a particular hand.
For example, let’s say you are holding aces and up against another player. The pot is currently $10, and you know that your opponent will call any bet you make. In this case, your EV is $20 since you can expect to win the pot about 50% of the time.
Let’s say you are holding aces, and three other players are in the pot. The pot is currently $30, and you know that one of your opponents will call any bet you make. In this case, your EV is only $10 since you can expect to win the pot about 33% of the time.
As you can see, EV can be a handy tool for making decisions in cash games. So, next time you are debating whether or not to make a particular play, try to calculate your EV and see if it makes sense.
7) Learn about pot odds
A crucial concept in poker is pot odds; you need to understand it to succeed in cash games. Pot odds are the ratio of the size of the pot to the amount of money you need to put in to stay in the hand.
For example, let’s say there is $100 in the pot, and you need to put in $10 to stay in the hand. The pot odds are 10-to-1, which means that for every $1 you put in, you stand to win $10.
Knowing pot odds can help you make better decisions about whether or not to call a bet.
8) Play according to position
In poker, position is an important thing that many cash game players take for granted. The simple fact is that the later you act in a hand, the more information you have. So, it only makes sense to play tighter (more selectively) when you are in early position and looser (more aggressively) when you are in late position.
It’s one of the most essential concepts in cash games, so make sure you understand it and use it to your advantage.
9) Play in online poker rooms with good perks
One of the best things about playing online cash games is that you can often find poker sites with great perks. For example, some rooms offer rakeback, which means you get a percentage of the money that you’ve paid in rake back into your account.
A good example of an online poker room with great perks is GGPoker, the world’s largest online poker room. Sign up and enjoy bonuses and a wide variety of games.
Be cash money with your cash games!
By following these tips, you should be able to increase your winnings in poker cash games. Remember to review your hands, consider EV, and play according to position. And don’t forget to find a room with good perks!