Master Every Aspect of the Game: Cash, Sit-n-Gos, MTTs, Sattie.

[Sharking]

Everyone's heard that tourney poker and cash game poker take different skill sets. With cash games being deeper-stacked and post-flop orientated and tournaments being shorter-stacked and pre-flop orientated.

Not too many people harp on the importance of understanding how to play Cash, MTTs, Sit-N-Gos and Satties. Mastering each will elevate your game. In my opinion if you can play cash, satties, sit n gos, and mtts you are a beast. If you can find the right combo this is how you maintain a roll.


Examples:

Cash games & MTTs: Cash games teach you how to play early level of tournies. Trying to find that fine line between not spewing but putting yourself in a spot to get it in for 200BBs with the nuts. Playing better post flop and learning to work a deep stack. Most tourney players are absolutely terrible in the early levels of MTTs. Its why Cash game players crush good value tournies where your stacks stay deeper all the way through. They can carry 100bbs stacks nurturing, developing, building, and rebuilding. Many good MTTers cannot beat cash game rake because they are used to pushing more marginal edges and being forced to gamble with reasonable holdings. When I first went to cash I was shoving a lot of combo draws where I had 45-55% equity in the hand. In tournies I was used to shoving hands that were 36% to win because they were "+EV" but in cash you just don't have to settle for these marginal spots.

Double or Nothing & MTTs: Teaches you to play tighter and look for more solid spots for double ups. Also teaches you the importance of saving chips so that when you get it in strong you have the opportunity for a full double up. And teaches you to let other make the mistakes. Its not always about aggression and outplaying. People will mess up, they will tilt. Let it happen. Fight the urge to gamble, boredom, or fancy play syndrome. Its good to play mostly TAG and add some LAG plays to your arsenal, but make sure they are properly timed and not poorly executed.

MTTs and Sit n Gos: Most tourney players are criticized for being brainless, all in smashers. Much of mtt poker is standard, fold/shove poker due to the nature of being short stacked. Since 10+ bbs shoves have become so standard, it has become increasingly harder to find an edge. This is teaching us to redefine shove/call ranges, evaluate every spot, not be as mechanical (jayyy for coining that word). In sit n gos on the bubble and leading up to it shorter stacks have to find shove spots. And make gametime decisions between what is mechanical/optimal/standard vs what is going to work/redefining ranges. Its so important to know if the BB will call any ace just ace-8 plus or maybe tighter than that. This is a super important spot. Don't fall behind the curve. Analyze these shove spots deeper. I know for me personally I am re-evaluating my SOOTED KING shove range and being more selective overall, but still DIGGIING to find these spots. Overall MTTs teach us to time our aggression in Sit-N-Gos and strike hard when we do.

Also if you play Omaha you learn that most spots in poker are marginal, so play aggressive and push edges. To relate to no limit holdem it teaches you to play your big hands fast and in MTTs some of your big draws fast as well. There's three ways to win every hand. Make them fold. Have the best hand and win. Or have the worst hand and catch up. Betting and being aggressive generally gives you the most shots at winning. Also from Omaha we learn to play nut draws and combo draws and that we're looking to have more outs than our opponents or more equity in the pot. And when we draw to the nuts we can punish lower draws.

[gametime74]

nice read for sure, is that your work or someone else thoughts, anyway good read..tx

[dk12]

therss this i think Carbon? player whos name totaly fits this thread...

AgressionWins... or something liek that...

[Sharking]

Yeah its my work. I wish I wasn't too lazy to edit and was better with words. I know learning cash games really improved my tourney game though.

[EddieTorr]

Excellent post, Sharking. Thanks for sharing your insights!

[Sharking]

Thanks Eddie. I need to get better at writing so I can start putting some articles together.

Lately I am very interested in short stack play because it has become so standardized that I think there is some room for creativity. Especially with min raising (nut hands, air, and med strength), more stop-n-gos, going sub 10bbs in better structure games/longer blinds, avoid shoving EXACTLY 10bbs, trying to make jams less obvious, adding a limp range, etc. Everyone has caught up with the shortstack shove 10bbs+ so its time to start re-evaluating and exploiting it more. Both with our calling ranges and our shove ranges. I think shoving ATC on btn is way more dangerous now than it used to be. Or atleast higher variance, more situational, and less of edge.

[eqgh5uea]

Thanks Eddie. I need to get better at writing so I can start putting some articles together.

Lately I am very interested in short stack play because it has become so standardized that I think there is some room for creativity. Especially with min raising (nut hands, air, and med strength), more stop-n-gos, going sub 10bbs in better structure games/longer blinds, avoid shoving EXACTLY 10bbs, trying to make jams less obvious, adding a limp range, etc. Everyone has caught up with the shortstack shove 10bbs+ so its time to start re-evaluating and exploiting it more. Both with our calling ranges and our shove ranges. I think shoving ATC on btn is way more dangerous now than it used to be. Or atleast higher variance, more situational, and less of edge.

I think one way to do this is to erase missing characters from games, meaning multi-tabling fools who act like mules should n' do know they will lose to a character-based player.

The op was hands down one of the most influential posts i' be read in a long time!!!

[abwil2]

are you really saying that(shoving) a 36% hand is +ev?, i just dont see how that is possible. would you care to explain why a 36% hand is +ev? Not looking to down your strat just looking to learn, that and im such a tag player that i never push knowing im behind(except for flush draw which are usually ahead yet still behind)