This is an excellent post. AOK i'd like to know if you or anyone else can offer a good or ideal winrate at 10NL? I usuall start with the max $10 bucks, but after playing an hour or two I am only up $ or maybe doubled a buyin. What steaps can I take to crush this amount? Or do I need to stay at the table for four hours?

My background is as such; I have been playing since July 05. I have been playing most SNG and MTT on Pokerstars. Well, after multiple reloads and reloads and finishing off my bankroll on Pokerstars. I had $25 left on UB. Well, on Monday, I figured the only way to grow my br right off is to play cash games.

Well, I never really play cash games, but, I put away the fear of them and I have become the grinder. Here are some of my observations about 10NL:

1) Play good and tight hands preflop. Playing Gus Hansenque like hands early on get you nowhere.

2)Small Blinds. I don't have pokertracker, but I don't need PT to know that unless you have a monster hand out of that position, give it up. The idea that you are seeing a cheap flop is erroneous. You're completeing the bet and leaking off $.

3)Ace rags. In tourneys, I would limp with Ax and see flop. Recently through experience and reading(Harrington on Holdem is great) i have give up on the filthy rags. For the first time starting this week, I have thrown away Ace Eight and below on every occassion when its not checked to me in the Big Blind. Oh how it has help. On one ocassion last night when I felt that I had to open my play up in order to "capitalize" on cold cards, I would play Ax. I'd hit my pair and at the showdown, my opponent would beat me with a higher kicker. MUCK EM!!!

4)Bluffing. It was said on here by someone else once that if someone reraises you allin they probably have got you pegged. Well guess what, BELIEVE THEM!!! Even at the 10NL the players know that if they have a set, straight or a flush or higher, they can destack you with these hands and are very willing to go allin. If you want to be a sheriff go to your local county courthouse. It pays more( and least they give you a gun. Ooorahhh!! Marine Corps!!). Oh how stupid you feel after your top pair is crushed by that guy who went allin after the flop. Sure he could be bluffing, but that trip 4s or 99 will show otherwise.

Well, those are some of what I have learned. Some of it the hard way. My biggest problem in poker is having discipline. AOK or someone else who is a winning player, I love for you to do a post on this. Discipline is what causes you to laydown that monster hand when you read is saying you are beat. Discipline is what says don't leak off chips trying to 'MAKE' something happen.