Capture the Flag

Nick "The Takeover" Schulman exploded onto the poker scene when he won the 2005 World Poker Finals at Foxwoods, but the main reason that he ventured up to the Connecticut casino was to play cash games. Before he began playing tournament poker, he made his living as a cash-game player in New York City's underground poker clubs. Schulman, only 24 years old, already has amassed more than $3.3 million in tournament winnings and continues to prove that he is one of the game's most solid all-around players.

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

Nick Schulman: Naturally, the worst players are the ones you want to play with. Also, certain people are more adept at certain games. You want to try to sit at tables with a mix of games that you think you play best. So, that has to be weighed against the lineup when you are choosing a game.

LH: What is your preferred game, and why?

NS: I think that no-limit hold'em is probably my best game. Naturally, that is why I prefer to play it. I also like to play limit games; when I do play limit, I like to play H.O.S.E. It is more of an East Coast mix of games: hold'em, Omaha eight-or-better, seven-card stud, and seven-card stud eight-or-better. Back East, the casinos do not really spread deuce-to-seven, badugi, or razz. We play a lot of H.O.S.E. when I am back home, but when I am in Las Vegas, I have to play a lot of crazy games.

LH: What is your least favorite game?

NS: I think that seven-card stud eight-or-better is my worst game, but I would not say that it is my least favorite in terms of enjoyment. Badugi is probably my least favorite game, or maybe razz.

LH: What are the highest stakes you have played?

NS: I have played in a $3,000-$6,000 limit game, but I was really playing only $1,000-$2,000, because I sold a big percentage of myself. I will play with my own money up to a $1,000-$2,000 limit. If there is a game higher than that, I probably will want to sell a percentage of myself. I usually play in the range of $100-$200 when I am playing no-limit, although I have played as high as $300-$600 no-limit hold'em. I am most comfortable in a $100-$200 no-limit or a $600-$1,200 limit game.

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

NS: I guess it would be when he is consistently beating the level he is currently playing. Sometimes, though, you do not have to move up when you are winning. If you are a $25-$50 no-limit player and are comfortable playing that game, but you have a bankroll for the $50-$100 no-limit game, that does not mean that you have to move up. However, if one day the lineup is really good in the bigger game, you should play in it. To move up consistently, though, you have to beat a game for a while.

LH: How long should you beat a game before you move up, and does it matter whether you beat the game online or live?

NS: Online and live games are completely different. In a live game, you consistently want to beat a level for at least a few months before moving up. Online, you might have to consistently beat a game for only a month to move up, because you see so many more hands. One month of playing online is probably equivalent to three or four months of playing live.

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

NS: In no-limit hold'em cash games, amateurs often overvalue a big pair. This is because in a tournament, an overpair is often a very big hand, but a lot of times in cash games, it is not. In cash games, you have time to wait for better spots, because the blinds do not go up, as they do in a tournament. That pressure is taken off you. Also, sometimes amateurs make random bluffs or plays that are not really necessary. In cash games, you don't have to get too fancy.

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

NS: Probably what we touched on in the last question. You must be able to avoid going broke in a marginal situation. Although it is necessary in tournaments, in cash games it is not only unnecessary, it is incorrect, because you can wait for a better spot.

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

NS: First of all, I would tell him to remember that in a tournament, you end up playing with a different group of people. I don't want to call them bad players, per se, but they are different than the players you will find in the cash games. The chips in a tournament do represent something, but it is nothing like it is in a cash game, where a $100 chip is worth $100. Therefore, people in cash games are less inclined to do crazy, random things that they might do in a tournament, and you have to remember that. In cash games, certain hands really go down in value, and certain hands go up in value. For example, small suited connectors go up in value in a cash game because everybody has more chips in relation to the blinds, and a hand like that could potentially win a huge pot. However, a hand like that is not very good in a tournament, where you might have only 20 or 30 big blinds. So, I would say, loosen up your starting-hand requirements preflop, and then tighten up the way you play the hand on the rest of the streets.

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

NS: An ability to generally avoid going on tilt or steaming. They also have good game-selection skills and knowledge of the games. And, of course, they are good players. A lot of the best cash-game players also have great timing. They know how to push it when they are winning. When things are going well, they put in long sessions, and when things are not going well, they know when to quit, and are able to do so. They are good at picking their spots, and they know when and when not to play. It is huge to be able to get up from a game when you are losing.

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

NS: As far as no-limit hold'em players are concerned, I really respect Kenny Tran a lot. He has the best game-selection skills that I have ever seen, and he really does not steam. I also respect Haralabos Voulgaris a lot for similar reasons; he is a very good player. There are so many no-limit players with different styles. I also respect a lot of the Internet players, like "SBrugby" [Brian Townsend]. As for limit, there are so many guys I respect, especially the ones who play $3,000-$6,000 or $4,000-$8,000. I really respect almost all of the guys who play that high.

LH: Do you know any under-the-radar cash-game players for whom we should be on the lookout?

NS: Actually, yes, my friend Eugene Katchalov. I think that he is one of the best all-around hold'em players in the world, in both cash games and tournaments. He is phenomenal. I won't tell you any more players, because I think that some of them may want to continue to fly under the radar.