Cash Carnivores

Previously I’ve discussed some strategies for attacking weakness in small no-limit cash games as wel l as in tournaments. While there are many opportunities to attack weak players in these games, it can also be very frustrating and difficult because of how few chips each player has relative to the blinds. The biggest problem in the smaller games is that you can correctly deduce that your opponent is weak, yet not be able to do anything about it because your opponent is already pot-committed. But as the stacks rise relative to the blinds the complexities of the game also increase. The more money you and your opponents have in front of you, the more play there will be down the streets and the easier it will be to exploit their weaknesses.

I started my poker career playing limit poker, but before long I found myself playing no-limit hold’em cash games. I don’t really mind what the blinds are (I’ll play $5/$5, $5/$10, $10/$25 or $25/$50) but I look for games where the stacks at the table are quite deep (at least 100 big blinds, but hopefully more like 150 or 200 big blinds deep).

This is much more common as you move up through the stakes online, where you’ll find a lot of regulars who build up big stacks over long sessions – you’ll even find games where you can buy in for up to 200 big blinds. The wonderful thing about playing in this kind of deep-stacked game is that the full arsenal of poker weaponry is at your disposal. It’s also a much more difficult game when you’re deep-stacked. But if you are a skilled deep-stack player you can really go after the weaker opponents, who are more likely to make mistakes in a deep-stacked environment.

So if we’re going to exploit and attack weakness in these deep games, we had better be able to figure out when our opponents are weak and how to attack them when they are. Here are some reliable patterns I have come across from playing cash games live and online…

PLAYERS ON TILT

You’re a poker player, not a priest. Don’t give this guy one ounce of mercy. If you want to be a winning player, this is where you’ll make the majority of your big scores. Players go on tilt – it happens. Someone is going to get their money, so why not make sure it’s you? Just play solid poker. Don’t chase them. If you start playing garbage hands in the hope of hitting that big score, you’ll be bringing yourself down to their level. Don’t try to outplay them. Bet for value and do your best to induce bluffs – give them enough rope to hang themselves.

I was in Los Angeles during the WPT Legends of Poker festival and the main event was taking place. I had already been knocked out and was playing in the $5/$10 unrestricted no-limit hold’em game. I had about $4,000 in front of me when a guy came ranting and raving over to our table. He had just been knocked out of the tournament and was very upset about his ‘bad beat’. He tossed his winnings onto the table – over $11,000 – and we resumed play.

He had been playing tournament poker for the last four days and his mind was definitely not in cash-game mode. He ended up going to felt and I won about $6,000 from him. I have since taken to playing cash games at other big festivals in the hope of finding more tournament casualties who feel like blowing off steam at the cash games.

SCARED MONEY

In Doyle Brunson’s classic Super System, he talks about how he used to relentlessly put his opponents to the test because they didn’t want to risk all of their chips, and this wisdom still holds true today. In a tournament, your opponents don’t equate chips with money, but in a cash game they often will and because of that many players are scared. I have played against many players who have a ton of chips in front of them, but are unwilling to risk them unless they have the nuts.

First of all, every time you sit at the table you must realise that all of your chips are always at risk. If you’re not comfortable with that, play with fewer chips. Scared money is dead money. Identifying the scared-money players is usually simple – they are the ones who are playing super-tight and seem unwilling to get involved in any marginal situations. Once spotted, you should pile pressure on these guys, but don’t be so spewy as to just donate chips to the table rock. Pick your spots, and when you think your gutless opponent is a little scared go ahead and put him to the test.

He’ll look at his chips and squirm a bit before tossing his cards in the muck. He might even say something like, ‘keep playing like that, kid, and I’ll catch you.’ You can just smile because by the time he gets the nuts you’ll be gambling with his money.

KEY POINT

Because chips in cash games equate to real money, many opponents play scared. Identify the scared-money players and put pressure on them

EXAMPLE HAND

Let’s look at a sample hand that shows how scared-money players can be exploited in deep-stacked cash games…

Blinds: $10/$25
Me: $5,600
Gutless opponent: $4,500

I raise in position with 8?-6? and get one call from a gutless opponent. The flop comes down A?-8?-5?. ‘Gutless’ checks to me and I make my continuation bet of $175. Gutless check-raises and makes it $475 to go. The pot is now $910 and it’s $300 for me to call. I call. The turn brings the 9? and Gutless tosses in a $400 bet. I raise, making it $1,200 straight. He folds.

ANALYSIS

I make a standard continuation bet, but when he raises I’ve got to think back over the action. He called me heads-up pre-flop and then check-raised on the flop. He’s not the type of player to slow-play or to check-raise on a draw so my gut tells me has A-K. I suppose he could have 5-5 and I’ll keep that possibility in the back of my mind as the hand proceeds. Because I have position and I know my opponent, I call. I also know this will make my opponent sweat – he doesn’t like to be involved in big pots unless he has the nuts.

The 9? is the perfect card for me because it hits both draws, neither of which he can beat. If I had called him on the flop with 6-7 I now have a straight, and if I had hearts I’ve got the flush. I know these are the draws he’ll be most wary of, which is why I can call on that flop.

When I raise he knows that if he calls this bet I’ll probably bet his entire stack on the river and then he’ll have to fold. So of course he folds and I rake in the pot. Now if he had 5-5 and had flopped a set, I bet enough on the turn to scare him, but I make sure I leave enough money behind to make him fold on the river when he doesn’t fill up his full house.

STOPPER BETS

Many players will put a small bet in on the river to ‘stop’ you from betting or at least slow you down. It usually occurs when someone likes their hand but doesn’t love it, and a scary card has hit the turn or the river. If you can recognise a stopper bet you can really go on the attack. Your opponent is basically telling you he doesn’t really like his hand, so be a good guy and let him off the hook. Give him the opportunity to fold.

EXAMPLE HAND

Blinds: $5/$10
Me: $1,800
Opponent: $1,650

I’ve got 8?-7? and call a raise in position. The flop is 10?-4?–?, my opponent bets out and I call. The pot is now $210. On the K? turn my opponent bets $100. I call. The river is the A? and my opponent once again bets $100. I raise it to $400 and he folds.

ANALYSIS

On the flop my opponent bets and I decide to just call with my double gutshot draw. When my opponent only bets small on the turn I’m thinking he doesn’t love the King and might have something like J-10. The river misses me when the Ace of diamonds falls. My opponent bets $100 again. To me, this just screams ‘stopper bet’. I think he thought I might have had the flush draw and may have rivered top pair.

Is there a possibility that my opponent is betting small here to induce a bluff? Of course, but I think it more likely not. If he had a big hand and thought the Ace had hit me, why not value-bet big and hope for a crying call from me. Obviously I can’t call (I only have 8-high), so I can either fold or raise. I think about it for a second or two, trust my instincts and raise. I make it $300 more and to my delight he folds.

My opponent could have had J-10 or he could have missed his flush draw for all I know, but his betting pattern was indicative of a stopper bet and gave me the opportunity to take the pot away from him. I’m not an advocate of trying to win every pot – I believe in being patient and picking the right spots – but when someone is so obviously weak it’s imperative that you take advantage.

KEY POINT

The stopper bet is an undersized bet on the river designed to slow down the betting and keep the pot small. If you can identify a stopper bet it usually means your opponent is weak – and thus ripe for exploiting