Capture the Flag: Where Top Cash-Game Pros Talk Strategy

Daniel Alaei is primarily a high-stakes cash-game player, though he has more than $1.5 million in tournament winnings to show for his limited time on the circuit. In the summer of 2006, Alaei won his first World Series of Poker bracelet when he defeated a final table that included tough competitors like David Williams, Men Nguyen, and Allen Cunningham to take down the $5,000 buy-in no-limit deuce-to-seven lowball event. Alaei also has played numerous sessions on GSN's hit cash-game poker show, High Stakes Poker, and while $25-$50 no-limit hold'em is his bread-and-butter game, he has played as high as $500-$1,000 no-limit, and these days is focused on pot-limit Omaha.

Lizzy Harrison: What factors make up a good cash game?

Daniel Alaei: In a good cash game, you want to have a decent mixture of straightforward players and loose players. You also want at least one or two very readable bad players who like to play a lot of hands. You also should not mind having a few nits at the table who play only good hands, because they do not really cause very much trouble, and you will know what they have. What you do not want are really good aggressive players, because they will constantly put you to the test. Other than that, I have to say that everybody plays differently and wants something different in a game. But I can say with confidence that every poker player wants to play in a game with bad players.

LH: What is your preferred game, and why?

DA: It would probably have to be no-limit hold'em. Pot-limit Omaha would be a close second, though. I like them the most because I have the most experience in those two games. I definitely have put in the most hours in my life playing no-limit hold'em. I have studied that game a lot. I started to play pot-limit Omaha a lot only in the last few years. Although, I can say that I have probably played more pot-limit Omaha in the last year than I have played no-limit hold'em. I like the game very much because pot-limit Omaha is a very complex game. Recently, no-limit hold'em players, in general, have gotten a lot better. So, now I really enjoy playing pot-limit Omaha.

LH: What about your least favorite?

DA: My worst game, and therefore my least favorite, is probably regular seven-card stud. That is because I have not had the chance to play it a lot. I want to begin practicing my stud game, though, so that I can start to play H.O.R.S.E. with confidence.

LH: How do you select the game that you play in?

DA: I actually have really bad game-selection skills, so I am not the best person to ask. If there is a game, and I want to play, I will play in it. That is because I am so terrible at game selection.

LH: What are the highest stakes you have played?

DA: On GSN's High Stakes Poker, I played $300-$600 no-limit hold'em with an ante. I also have played $500-$1,000 no-limit, but not too often. I usually play games that range from $25-$50 no-limit hold'em up to $200-$400, and even $300-$600, sometimes. Actually, I will play whatever stakes are available, which goes back to the fact that I have such poor game-selection skills.

LH: How should a player determine when he is ready to move up in stakes?

DA: I think that it is very important for poker players to at least try to take shots as they are moving up in limits. They just have to remember to leave enough money in their bankroll so that they can go back down to the previous level if they have to. But I think it is important to take shots, because sometimes you can run really well at the next limit, and then you can continue to play that new, higher, limit. If you are comfortably beating the limit that you are playing, you should probably at least try to move up. I have pretty bad bankroll-management skills, so if the game is good, I will play in it, regardless of whether it is too high for my bankroll.

LH: What is the most common mistake that you see inexperienced cash-game players making?

DA: Amateur cash-game players play pots that are much too big when they are out of position. Position is just so important. If a player is calling raises, or even reraises, when out of position, it will hurt him. He is just setting himself up to have to face a lot of really hard decisions.

LH: What skills are more important in cash games than they are in tournaments?

DA: Reading your opponents is much more important in cash games than in tournaments. If you want to win in cash games, you have to be able to read your opponents. You should know how to use your chips to gain information from your opponents. Cash games are not as mathematical as tournaments. In tournaments, you do not have that much in chips, in relation to the blinds, so it really becomes much more of a math game. In tournaments, you have to keep track of how many big blinds you have, so that you can determine when you should start pushing all of your chips in or when you can call a raise. In cash games, all of the play is after the flop. Nothing that happens preflop is really that important.

LH: What advice would you give a successful tournament player if he wanted to move into the cash-game arena?

DA: I would tell him that he really just has to play a lot. Experience is key; so, he would have to put in a lot of hours in order to get a good feel for the game. Cash games are just so much different than tournaments. I would tell this player that he would have to practice playing after the flop. The best advice I could give would be that he should find a poker player he respects and thinks plays poker really well, and then watch what that player does. Study the good players and you will learn from them.

LH: What characteristics do great cash-game players share?

DA: You need to have a good amount of intelligence to be very good in no-limit hold'em cash games. You have to be smart and you have to have heart in order to succeed in that game. You cannot be afraid to put your money in; being able to make big calls is important. You also have to be good at the psychological aspect, so that you are able to read your opponents very well.

LH: Which cash-game players do you most respect, and why?

DA: I think that Kenny Tran is a great player. Gabe Thaler also plays really well. There are a lot of good players out there; I cannot begin to name them all.