mastering the switch from tournament to cash games

[spacemonkey 0]

After a ton of tournament No Limit I'm trying to master cash game strategy. It's funny how people always point to the inability to rebuy or the payout structure when comparing the two when the biggest difference to me is in the structure of the game itself. In cash games the blinds are so much smaller compared to the stack sizes. Most of tournament poker (online at least) is played when people have 10-30 big blinds. But in cash games people generally have 40 or more, which makes playing after the flop so much more important.Anyway this hand bothered me tonight. I think I played mostly ok but there was a chance to make a very good play that I let slip by.Full Tilt Poker - $0.10/$0.25 - No Limit Hold'em Seat 8: blackfin ($24.95)Seat 9: Hero ($26.30)The button is in seat #4*** HOLE CARDS ***Dealt to Hero [J:diamond: J:spade:]Blackfin [uTG + 1] raises to $0.75Hero raises to $2.60foldsblackfin calls $1.85*** FLOP *** [8:spade: Q T:heart:] {$5.30}blackfin checksHero bets $4blackfin calls $4*** TURN *** [8:spade: Q T:heart:] [K ] {$12.90}blackfin checksHero checks*** RIVER *** [8:spade: Q T:heart: K:diamond:] [8 ] {$12.90}blackfin bets $6Hero has 15 seconds left to actHero calls $6Preflop I felt he probably had a medium pair or a big ace, possibly KQ. My flop bet was part value/part informational. Right there I'm ahead of AK, AJ, AT and 99 but well behind 88, TT, AQ or KQ. When the King hits the turn I don't like my hand but I think my straight draw is live so I check. The call on the River was pretty ugly I know but I was getting 3:1 and mostly I was just curious.Other than the river call my play was decent. A few thoughts, should my flop bet have been larger to help define the hand or was $4 ok. And I might have had a chance for a truly expert play on the turn; I could have made a small bet ($2-$4) while my draw was still live that would have prevented his bet on the river. The danger there is a check-raise that would send my hand into the muck but the board was so scary he'd practically need AJ to do it.

[AlanBostick 0]

Tournament NLHE has more in common with tournament seven-card stud than it does with a NLHE cash game. Cash game skills are dramatically different from tournament skills.I don't like how you played the hand. First of all, with decent-sized stacks I don't like raising an early-position open-raiser with a small pair. Yes, you can take control of the betting, but you can find yourself in big trouble, as it looks like you did here.Secondly, with an overcard to your pair on the board and a one-card straight card on the board, once you bet the flop and are called, you're pretty much done: you don't want to commit any more chips to this hand.I like your turn check. The king seems to give you more outs, but it makes it much more likely that a nine would be a REALLY BAD CARD for you.On the river, you have a hand that can beat a bluff, but only a bluff. with a $6 bet and a $12.94 pot, if you don't have a decent read on your opponent, you should call in this spot one time in three. Roll a six-sided die, and fold if it comes up three or higher.