Resources for Strategy on No-Limit Holdem Cash Games

I'm a noob and need some advice.

I'm frustrated.

First off, let me introduce the fact that I had started playing Limit Hold'em on Pokerroom.com. Quickly, I realized that I was no good at that game. I started with $50 and lost about $15 playing 25c/50c. I won about $11 of that back and left limit poker for good and decided to try my luck at NL. As a novice player, 25c/50c was a little more than I was willing to risk.

I started to play NL hold'em cash games on UltimateBet about a month ago. I started at 1c/2c and began making a profit on a consistent basis after a week. I'd take down $5-$8 on most days. In the month that I've been playing, I've only really had one day when I lost about $3, and almost every other day I've wound up on top. $3 was my greatest loss in one day. I have only recently went up to 5c/10c, and have started to turn a profit there as well. The past 3 days, I've won $20, $20, and $15 respectively. Minus the Bonuses I got from ultimate bet, I've won about $120 over this month period at these dreadfully low limit tables.

I know that there are some terrible players on those tables, and that's probably why I've been making money. But I think that with a bankroll of $160, I'm ready to move up to 5c/10c NL on a consistent basis.

So here is my frustration. I've read most of Sklansky's book for small stakes LIMIT poker, and a book by Matthew Hilger called Internet Texas Hold'em.

While these books HAVE helped me a great deal, I realize that the world of NL cash games has a number of dimensions that render these books on Limit poker pretty useless. I've read whole chapters in Sklansky's book where I just kept thinking, "Man, this doesn't apply to No Limit whatsoever."

I then went to the bookstore to look at books about NL Tournament play, and although it's No Limit, I thought that it just had no relevance to CASH games. After all, you're trying to win in a tournament by using all sorts of intimidation and stay alive tactics. There is no worry about winning the tournament in a cash game. You want to do ONE thing: Win as much money as possible by only risking a huge wad when you've got a GOOD hand. Bluffing for big pots (when the blinds are astronomical), in my opinion, doesn't make a whole lot of sense in a NL cash game. I personally don't like to build a pot with jack crap and then bluff it out. I'd rather only play it when I've got something good. It's too risky for me to lay money on the line when I'm a beginner and have little feel of when to use those kind of tactics. In general, I think bluffing in a NL cash game is a much less effective strategy.

I have 2 questions then.

1. Do you think I'm ready to raise my stakes to 5c/10c?

2. What resources exist on NL CASH games? Books? Websites? I want to learn some strategy. I realize my game needs improvement.

there are a lot of good NL ring cash players on here just keeps your eyes peeled

Instead of telling you what to do, I am going to try to tell you why you might choice to do certain things. It is better to understand that a choice is right or wrong and then decide on a path then it is to make the right decision but not know why you did it.

When you are considering moving up, take three things into consideration:

1) Are you beating the lower level that you are currently playing? The competition typically rises as you go up so you need to be able to beat the lower level before you have a good shot at beating the higher level. It seems like you are beating the lower level, so I would say this is a plus in the move up column.

2) Can your bankroll support moving up? Never play above your bankroll, no matter who you are. You could be the greatest poker player in the world but if you bet 3/4 of your bank roll on quads and get beaten by a straight flush then you have seriously crippled yourself. There are several articles about bankroll management on this site. Read one and see if you have the bankroll to support the 5c/10c game.

3) Is there a driving reason to move up? If you play for fun and winning is fun for you than you may be happier at your current level. If you play for cash and you can beat the higher level game then you may be happier at the higher level.

For resources, you should read Sklansky's Theory of Poker book. That book is not about starting hands (which vary a ton in reality based on the type of table). It is about the fundamentals of Poker. It tries to explain what you are trying to do. For example, the Fundamental Theory of Poker is (paraphrased):

When someone plays a hand differently than how they would have played it if they knew their opponent's cards, they lose. When someone plays a hand exactly as how they would have played it if they knew their opponent's cards, they gain.

While this may seem obvious, it drives a lot a lot of things; betting for instance. When you bet, you are really trying to make your opponents make the wrong decision. How many times at low limits have you seen the guy UTG suddenly blast All-In? The entire table folds around to him, he scoops the blinds and shows KK. The fundamental theory of poker explains exactly why this is wrong. He played the hand such that everyone at the table made exactly the same play that they would have made had they known he had KK. He should have bet an amount such that strong hands (but not as strong as KK) CALL his bets. Because then they have made a mistake. The guy with QQ would not have called his 4xBB raise if he had know that UTG was holding KK. Further, how many have seen the UTG blast All-In with KK only to be called by the guy with AA? Again, the Fundamental Theory of Poker shows why this is wrong. He would not have gone All-In had he known that the other guy had AA, thus he played his hand differently than he would had he known the opponent's cards, thus he lost.

That is the type of thing you will learn from The Theory of Poker.

While there are a lot of other books, and I certainly have some favorites, you may find that you learn just as much, if not more, by reading these forums and asking questions. There are a lot of very knowledgable, helpful people here.

Read ToP.

If you have the bankroll for it, play .05/.1 or .1/.2

Read my bankroll management thread (it's stickied).

Skansky is coming out with a small stakes NL book, I believe.

-'rilla