Cash game poker strategies

The plays that win the most money in low-stakes NL Hold'em cash games, explained step by step. Each strategy comes with an annotated example hand you can watch in the Flopmortem replayer.

• A♥J♦Hero in the COIsolating limpersWhen someone limps in, raise to play against them alone, in position and with the initiative: it's one of the most profitable spots in low-stakes cash games.
• A♠5♠Hero in the BTNC-betting by board textureNot all flops are equal: on dry boards that favor the preflop raiser, bet often and small; on coordinated boards, bet less often and with hands that have equity.
• A♣Q♣Hero in the BTN3-betting in positionRe-raising late-position opens, especially in position, wins pots preflop and gets your strong hands paid more.
• 8♥7♥Hero in the BBDefending the big blindIn the big blind you've already put in 1 bb: against a steal to 2.5 bb you only need to win about 27% of the time to call. Defend with hands that play well after the flop.
• 5♣5♦Hero in the BTNSet miningCalling a raise with a small pair to flop a set only pays off if the stacks are deep enough to win a lot when you hit.
• A♠Q♣Hero in the COValue betting calling stationsAgainst someone who calls almost everything, bluffs lose and value bets win more: bet bigger and thinner with your made hands.