How to play full ring cash games

Cash / Marcus Bateman / 01 July 2010 / Leave a Comment

Poker is a game predominantly played nine or ten handed. This means that the average game you will encounter throughout your playing time will involve trying to analyse situations involving this many people, and understanding how it affects your game is crucial to success in the long run.

The most common mistake made in full ring cash games is simply a failure to understand how big a difference playing in early position makes to playing in late position. If you open a hand from first position in a full ring game, you have eight or nine other players behind you who all have the potential to not only have a big hand, but to play in position after you. Compare this to if it is folded to you on the button - now you are effectively playing three handed, with position, and can profitably open a huge range compared to what you can in early position.

If you are used to playing short handed games, where this effect is much less pronounced, it can be a real struggle to start tightening up from early positions when you look down at marginal hands, but one that is essential in order to keep your game balanced. One of the key things that makes full ring games so profitable is the fact that weaker players both:

a) Play too many hands in early positions;

and:

b) Play too many hands in general (particularly in limit games where big pots cannot be won with junk), due to getting bored waiting for hands.

These two points make full ring games much harsher on weak players, as unlike in short handed games, where everyone has to play some marginal hands, consistently playing junk in full ring games is a recipe for total disaster. This is a key advantage for the strong player, as it reduces variance (as the cost per hand is lower in full ring games, a good player can play much tighter and get it in with much clearer edges), which can be a big consideration when thinking about your bankroll and the stakes you are playing.

This makes full ring games ideal for shot taking or when you are just starting out, as the decisions are simpler, the variance lower, and the players frequently weaker than in short handed games.