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1/2 NL Live Cash
I sit down with $200 at 1/2 NL in Austin, TX. At my table, a few players have $600, and the rest have $2000. When I sit down, I’m usually not getting involved until I see the rhythm of the table. I usually don’t play cash, I like tournaments. As a note, I’m not that comfortable playing NL since I grew up on the hard-knock streets of Minneapolis where they play Limit Poker.
1st hand — a few players limp, young kid raises in MP, I fold 42o, they go multi-way and the pot gets large.
2nd hand — folds to young kid who opens $10 in MP, next player 3-bets to $35, I fold 32o in sb, kid calls, bet call on flop, kid check folds on turn.
3rd hand — few limpers, big stack (let’s name him Jim) – before young kid opens, 2 callers, I notice that the big stack (Jim) is aggressive and in this spot, he was betting a marginal hand on a scary board.
4th hand — young kid opens $10, wins the blinds.
5th hand — young kid opens $10, next player 3-bets to $35, young kid jams $250 and gets called. Young kid loses and rebuys for $80.
6th hand — same big stack (Jim) opens, a player who has $800 and appears competent gets involved with Jim. He 3-bets, Jim calls. Flop is A high. Jim wins another pot by betting the flop.
7th hand — the guy two to my left (let’s call him Steve) plays a big pot. He was aggressive and I remember watching him overvalue his hand by making a loose call and betting it on a scare card. My gut says that he will make big post-flop mistakes.
I haven’t played a hand yet
8th hand — I’m utg with pocket 5’s. Thus far, I’m not sure what to do with fives in EP. Should I open $10, should I limp $2, should I fold? With only $200 in my stack, this is not a clearcut decision. I decide to limp $2 to see a cheap flop, two other limpers, Jim isolates to $25. I fold but they go multi-ways and several limper’s call.
9th hand — I fold the bb
10th hand — I fold the sb
11th hand — I pick up AsKs on the button. It folds to me. I open to $15. I don’t have a great reason to size-up but I remember thinking that I was expecting the blinds to call. They both had huge stacks and they have been semi-active thus far. Both call, the flop is QQ5. We all check. The turn is a blank and the SB bets very quickly on the flop. We both fold. I don’t love this flop and I can’t beat anything that would want to bet out of position into two players. To me, it’s literally always value when they bet here.
12th hand — I fold cutoff
13th hand — I pick up As3s and open $10, Steve 3-bets to $20, Jim (the big stack) calls $20 and I call. As a note, my two opponents (Steve & Jim) have a lot of chips (both close to 2k). The flop is 9s6s3h. I flop the nut flush draw and bottom pair. Jim checks, I check, Steve bets $20, Jim calls $20, I shove for $147 more. Steve visibly “mulled it over” and then called after a few seconds (in my opinion, a sign of strength). Jim thought for a minute and also called. The turn is 9s6s3hAc. I hit a lucky two pair and with outs to the nut flush. Jim checks and Steve quickly bets $75. Jim tank calls. River is 9s6s3hAc5c. Check Check. I lost the pot.
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Question:
1) When I had As3s,
— what hand do you think Steve had?
— what hand do you think Jim had?
— which player beat me?2) When you play a cash game where everyone is deep, how do you feel about my buy-in size of only $200 or 100 bb when most players have 400 bb or deeper.
3) What things do you look for when you sit down? What signals do you look for that can help you classify opponents and identify ways to exploit those tendencies?
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1 Reply
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I’ve found that tightening up my preflop range and putting more focus on position made a big difference. Also started paying closer attention to how each opponent plays their draws.
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