ITH Poker Forum

[Harlequin99]

I am taking time off from my usual limit games to have a shot at NL. I have no cash experience, have read no NL books or guides and am starting off at the 10c/20c (6-max) tables to get a feel for the game. I have watched a few videos at pokertrikz.com, which seem good. I thought I would outline my strategy and see if anyone else could give me some pointers about the important things to focus on. The players at the tables seem to be incredibly tight/passive or loose/passive preflop and almost always tight/passive postflop (except for the idiot players)

Play extremely tight from under the gun - AQ+ and 88+.
Generally play tight preflop unless on CO or Button.
Aim to put most of my money in when I am CO or Button.
Concentrate on putting opponents on ranges (I have a HUD to help)
Continuation bet any flop with an A or K and any turn with a scary card against tight/passive players.
Lay down to people playing back at me
Raise rather than call preflop - take advantage of "squeeze" type situation for example. Always raise first in and raise loose limpers.
Steal many blinds against tight/passive preflop players.

I want to get in a few thousand hands experience before I start reading the available literature; I feel that I am wasting my time somewhat reading it now as I am unable to identify with the situations discussed. I would really appreciate some advice on the general areas to think about now. The main thing I think I have grasped so far is the greater importance of position compared to limit.

Edit: Add "Value bet" to the list. Noone seems to do that at 10c/20c.

[jmbreslin]

There are way too many variables in cash NLHE to set out a concrete strategy like that. It's precisely the reason why there are far, far more books written on tournament NLHE than cash NLHE these days. It's fine to start with something like "I'm going to play TAG but be more laggy in position," but beyond that every decision you make will (should) be dependent on the circumstances at the time: how the table is playing, what kind of players are to your left and right, the action in front, player tendencies (where the HUD is a big help), stack sizes, and so on.

You just have to get in there and get a feel for things. Post hands in the forum for discussion. It's a good idea to start off with a very solid ABC, value-betting big hands type of approach until you start to feel more comfortable with the NL format.