Poker: is there such a thing as easy money ?

I recently started playing .10/.25 cash games on PartyPoker.com and started wondering about whether there is such a thing as easy money.

I normally play Tournaments or Sit and Go (STT) exclusively, so was only playing cash game as I didn't have enough money in my account even for a $5+1 STT After about 30 minutes I had taken my $2 up to $6 so went and played a STT instead. Trouble is, the low stake STT seem to be filled with fish who always seem to get lucky against me when I'm all in, and they only need to get lucky once to knock you out, so I found myself back to $0 balance !

Having topped up my account (again!) , I decided to investigate cash games further and maybe use that to fund my addiction to STT :-) Low stakes cash games seem to be favoured by complete novices, or seasoned players who are just looking for a relaxing game away from the pressures of higher stakes, so you need to be observant about the hands everyone else is playing. By playing ultra tight for the first 10 minutes and keeping track of the people on the table, you can start to be a bit looser, but generally tight is the way to go. I have been finding that with patience and lots of nagging myself to fold, I can take a $10 investment to $15 in around 20-30 minutes. Sometimes it takes up to an hour, so you really need patience so the hourly rate is not great. If you're concerned about a $/p hour rate of return then low stakes ain't for you, but for the moment I am happy to fiddle around in low stakes cash games, as it is relaxing and in general I will finish up on the night.

I will be back into tournaments soon for sure, but maybe I will mix up the games I play more in future as tournament and cash games definately need different strategies so being familiar with both types is a good thing.

Update wed 24th May 2006
To answer my own question, of course there is no such thing as easy money !

Played .10/.25 cash game again last night, was feeling a bit tired, but had to get my laptop out anyway and the wife was watching Eastenders so what was I going to do ? :-)

Was playing 4 handed for a while and was doing OK, then got a good win of a few bucks to take me to my target of $15.05 (from $10 starting) I was under the gun, two new players just joined the table and a program on TV was just starting that I had a vague interest in watching. Did I quit ? of course not ! I got dealt pocket 6's and with the two new players there was .80 in the pot already. I reasoned that the new guys would only call a raise of they got a good hand, and the other guys had been respecting my raises so felt I could risk $1 to win 0.80, then quit the game. The new guy to my left called and everyone else folded. With a high flop I checked and the new guy (I'll call him "Agro") put in a Pot Raise so I folded.

Mistake two was forgetting to de-select the option to auto-post blinds, as I was on BB. Agro raises minimum, and gets two callers, so I decide to call as well with rubbish ! Mistake 3, never chase money or play poker impatiently...... of course I miss the flop and it checks around to Agro, who puts in a pot sized raise, so everyone folds.

Few hands later I get in cheaply with QT and get up and down straight draw against Agro. I check, he puts in pot sized bet (about $1) He has been playing a lot of hands and winning pots without showing hands, so I guess I may be ahead so call. Turn brings no A or T for my str8, so check... and face another pot sized raise... I am not getting pot odds and am not sure where I am, so fold (Mistake 4, always think ahead)

I bumble along around $4-$7 stack size, until after an hours play Agro takes a whopping beating where he was betting big with A6 in his hand (pair sixes) against a scarey flop with Str8 and Flush possibilities although he actually lost to a Full House. He dropped about $30 and was now on $7 stack. There are 4 players left again, and I am about $4 and on SB, with Agro on BB. I sense a stealing oppertunity when the other two players limp in, as I am sure they will both be on medium drawing hands and will only call with good cards. I put in a raise to $1 and Agro raises to $2. The others fold. My Q4 o/s isn't looking so good now, but I put Agro as being on tilt after his big loss the hand before, so call. The pot is around $5 and I have about $2.50 The flop is 9-4-2 so go all in. Agro had 9-7 off so takes the pot and my remaining stack, so call it a night $10 down.

Although I seemed to be playing OK and reading players reasonably well, I definately should have quit after 30 mins playing when I hit my target, and in any case should not have carried on after my BB, as I was still ahead on the night at that point.... and should never play poker when feeling tired ! What an idiot !

So the lesson for today is "you can't win them all"