Playing in the low-level cash games can be a real grind. You must have incredible patience and wait for good spots and playable hands. So, it's doubly infuriating when you get your money in good only for your opponent to come from behind and catch you on the turn, or river.
The main difference between cash games and tournaments or sit-n-go's is that there is not as much action pre-flop and plenty of action post-flop. Players seem eager to risk most or all of their chips if they hit a flop and you just have to hold on to your chair and hope it holds up. When I play in these ring games my strategy is to only call pre-flop raises with premium hands - A-big or a pocket pair.
The perfect scenario is that an opponent with a shorter stack hits a piece of the flop and shoves their stack in, this way you can pick up $4-$8 pots.
I got into this position twice last night and managed to lose on both occasions.
The first one was about 15 minutes into the session. The hand is folded round to me in the BB where I am sitting with 6s-4c. I just flat-call and the BB checks. The flop comes down 4h-6c-5d and I've hit two-pair. I put in a standard 1/2-pot bet and the BB immediately pushes all-in for their last $3.75. I figure he's got an over-pair, but could easily have had 2-3 or 7-8, but I am not going to find a better spot to try and pick up a few quid, so I call.
I am delighted to see my opponent turn over pocket-9's. Now, all I have to do is avoid a 9 on the turn, or river (so I thought). However, what followed was possibly one of the worst bad-beats I've taken in a long time. The turn is the 10c, followed bt the 10s on the river. OMG, runner-runner overpair counterfeits my two-pair and gives the hand to the other player.
Somehow, I could have lived with them hitting a two-outer on the turn or river, but to go runner-runner is just insanely sick.
I collect myself and get back to the grind of trying to pick up small pots and not get too heavily involved with marginal hands. It's about 90 minutes later and I've managed to recoup the $4, or so, that I lost with the 6-4.
I'm UTG with pocket K's and put in a standard pot sized raise, which is doubled on the button and called by the small blind. I make the call and the flop comes down Qh-6h-5h; not the best flop in the world, but at least no Ace.
I bet the pot, and the player behind immediately pushes for their last $3, or so. I've no choice but to call, and am reasonably happy to see just one pair of Q's and a flush draw.
Hope turned to dispair on the turn, with the Js, giving my opponent two-pair, the 3h on the river just added insult to injury by filling the flush. This wasn't as bad as my earlier beat, but it's annoying that a player can call a 4xBB pre-flop raise with Q-J off-suit, then push all-in after the flop with me in a totally dominating position - and get so lucky.
Again, I'm now down about $4 and it takes me about another 90 minutes of pure grind to get myself back to level, which I managed to do when I hit AK and found a very loose player pushing all in with K-2. Just short of 4 hours of slog to break even - there must be better ways to spend an evening.
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