The following is a general guide for playing cash games at Online Poker Rooms. It is by no means the end all and be all of poker strategy, but will give you a good general idea of how to make a profit playing online poker. Here are our top 5 cash game strategy tips:

Play within your bankroll.

I am sure most of you have seen Rounders, or the more recent 'Lucky You' movies. Both of these players made a classic mistake of not playing within their bankroll. When starting out, take the total amount of money you are going to 'invest' in poker, and divide that by 200. That should be the maximum BIG BET in any game you are playing. For example, lets say you are willing to start your poker bankroll with $1,000.00. Divide 1K by 200 and you get $5. This should be the largest big bet in the games you play. So, although there are no $2.5-$5 games around much, a $2-$4 game would be right in your 1K bankroll. A few notes on this figure. If you are playing No limit, you need to divide your bankroll by 500. In the 1K example, You would get to the number 2. In this instance, you should play games only where the big blind is $2 or less. For short handed games, divide by 300.

Aggression

Aggression is probably the single most important factor that nearly every professional player has. As Daniel Negreanu once said: "How many WPT winners have you seen that are passive calling players? None." David Sklansky said in his book, Holdem for advanced players: If your hand is worth calling, or even ALMOST worth calling, it is worth betting. When playing poker, the only way to win a pot without a showdown is to bet. Make your opponents make the decision, not you. The best way to play most games is tight aggressive. This means you don't play alot of hands, but when you do, you play them aggressively, betting and raising more then checking and calling. The second best way for most games is loose or semi-loose aggressive. Playing more hands, but being aggressive with them. Again, this will add more fluctuation to your wins and losses, but is an effective way to play a lot of no limit games. The worst way to play most games is loose and passive, or even tight and passive. Many beginning players will wait for the best hand to bet, otherwise they will just call down. This is NOT WINNING POKER.

Pot Odds

The idea of pot odds is crucial when deciding actions in poker play. Pot odds refer to the relationship between the pot size compared to bet size. If there is a $10 pot and, in order to call, you have to put in a $2 bet, you are getting pot odds of 5:1. If you have to call a $5 bet in the same $10 pot, you are getting pot odds of 2:1.

The size of the pot

Always be conscious of pot size. When in a Limit poker game, count the number of bets in the pot rather than counting the amount of money. When bets double, for example in Hold'em, count the big bets as two small bets. When Pot-Limit or No-Limit is the game, it is a more difficult to count the pot and the odds will probably not be as exact. Nevertheless, you must still do it.

How to use pot odds

Once you determine the pot odds, use the information appropriately. To do this, connect the pot odds to the value of your hand. Then means you must be able to put your opponents on likely hands and consider your chances of holding a better hand than theirs. Let's say, you have a flush draw on the flop in holdem and are up against an opponent you believe has, at a minimum, a top pair. There are nine cards, called outs, which will give you a flush when you have flopped a four flush. The below table indicates that nine outs gives a 35% change, or 2:1 against, of making the flush on the turn and river combined. This means you need to have pot odds of at least 2:1 to call any bet on the flop.

Implied odds

Implied odds refers to the relationship between the size of the current pot and the pot you expect to win. This means that sometimes the pot does not lay the right odds, when when you decided to play expecting to get further action and win more when you hit the hand. For example, in Limit holdem your opponent bets $20 into an $80 pot, your call gives you pot odds of 5:1 since you are risking $20 to win $120. But, if you expect your opponent to call a bet or raise on the river if you make your hand, your implied odds are 6:1 or 7:1.

A rule of thumb for Texas Holdem and Omaha

To do a quick calculation of your pot odds that is fairly accurate, simply multiply your outs by 4 when you are on the flop. This will give you the approximate odds you will hit your hand by the river. When going from turn to river, multiply your outs by 2. Use this in conjunction with the pot size to determine whether you can continue with your hand. It is often called being 'priced in'. For example, lets say you have JQ in holdem, with a 210K flop. A 9 or an Ace will give you the nut straight. With four 9's in the deck, and four Aces, you have 8 outs to the nut straight. 8 times 4 is 32, so this means you have approximately 32% chance of hitting your straight by the river. If there are 2 hearts on the flop, however, you must take two of your outs away, as the 9 and Ace of hearts could make a flush, so you have only 6 'pure outs'. (Outs to the nuts). Don't forget about your over cards when figuring out odds and outs. If you have an overcard to the board, you can use those three outs in your calculation if you are reasonably sure you will be good if you hit it.

Expensive Tilt

Tilt, aka steaming can be a very expensive thing to poker players. When you take a bad beat, it is tough to focus on the next few hands, as everything is focused on the money you should have won if the other player hadn't gotten so lucky. For a detailed view on tilt, view our Tilt Page More so in cash games, it is crucial to avoid tilt, as it can turn a tiny losing session into a huge one.

Finding a good game

Finding a good game, and leaving a bad game are very important in cash games. If you don't feel you have a significant edge of your your opponents, get out of the game! In today's poker games, whether playing live or online, there are a lot of good games to be found. You need to find the games that will maximize your opportunity to win. Sitting at a weak game is like working for free.