Feel the Rush.

After all the pathetic hype in the Scottish media when Keane signed on loan for celtc the other night, the vermin lost their game in hand 1-0 and are now 10 points behind the Champions.Mowbray's record is worse than John Barnes and that's saying something.Loved this website set up in Monkeyheids honour.

On to Rush poker.Disclaimer: I've only played sngs over last 2 yrs and have no recent cash game experience to compare to Rush poker.With less than 10k Rush hands played it's more just a few thoughts on my playing style so far and not any kind of proven strategy guide.

Anyway ,I used to crush $50nl on Ladbrokes ,although to be fair I was the biggest bumhunter in town ,waiting for huge average pot tables late on Friday/Sat nights and taking money from drunk fish.I'm sure I have screenshots posted way back showing some of those $50 nl cash tables with $46 average pots!

The sheer number of hands I can now play at Rush tables still astounds me.I feel like I've hardly played at all over the last couple of nights, yet I've clocked up over 700 hands.It's a poor multi-tablers dream!

Sets are gold.

Most of the poker generation span have a short attention span, therefore delaying for a second or two before raising marginal hands may get them to fold holdings they may play otherwise.(they know the next hand is just a click away) Errrm I've just folded A6s on the button.They were taking too long!

As I mentioned in a previous Rush post it's worth checking the lobby before starting to play to check which players are four tabling.Generally if these guys play back at you it's time to fold.

The play at $25nl and $50nl is soft.I'm strict with bankroll management, but I believe you have to take a few chances with a small roll to be able to play at stakes where you can make enough money to make suffering all the beats worth it,even if it's just enough to pay a few bills. $25nl , a $25 buy-in cash game with .10c and 25c blinds was the lowest available level on Pokerroom over 5 yrs ago when I began playing and I won't be playing any lower unless I hit a really bad run.( famous last words probably!)

From reading figures on forums etc I'd estimate 70-90% of players lose money at $25 and $50nl 6 max and as far as reads go it's usually safe to assume they're a donk unless they prove otherwise.(the skill of being able to hit their 2 outer on the river doesn't count) Many of these players are so weak they can easily be outplayed preflop and on every street thereafter.I feel the advantage of cash poker being more of a postflop game evens up the edge of having no prior reads in a hand when compared to turbo sng poker, which is basically correctly shoving/folding late in the game, and grinding out a very small edge over plenty of volume to make a profit.I'm certainly finding so far that the average $22 Party turb player has more of a clue than most of these low stakes rush donks.

I have been ratholing, but I was 4 buy-ins up at $25 tonight ( obv brag to show I should be playing nosebleed stakes with Ivey and co) and found I could open more widely and seemed get more respect when I had a big stack.It was also easier to build momentum and I seemed to get more big blind walks.Playing better when winning is a definite influence too, but it's not an overriding factor.

Sets are gold.

I also find they play a bit like turbo sngs.Wait for big hand,hope to get it in preflop and pray to the poker gods that it holds.Raise all pairs pre or call if there's only one raise behind or if they're deepstacked and it's not too expensive.Raising helps disguise sets and if reraised pre you can almost certainly be sure of getting paid if you hit and be able to get away cheaply when you miss.I like calling 3bb raises in multi-way pots with suited connectors,gapped sooted conns,sooted Aces and small pairs.

There's no pride on the line as any players in a hand quickly move on to a new table after folding or their current hand plays out.In bigger pots that effect seems to make players more likely to make nonsense bluffs which don't make sense, as they don't look silly for long if called down.It also makes players more likely to try and sniff out bluffs in big pots for the same reason.

Smaller pots are the polar opposite.The pride/ego factor being absent makes it easier for your opponent to fold to a c-bet if he/she's missed the flop and in general they seem less likely to make a move without a hand.Players with big stacks though are more likely to be better players, and as they probably think they're dealing with a random donk, they can often be easier to re steal from or bluff.Obviously only bluffing with a believable line depending on board texture and preflop action.

Like turbo sngs the big hands and general confrontations come thick and fast and you have to be prepared for the beats ( brutal at times as ever) and take breaks if you feel yourself tilting.Don't be to keen to get into the action when you start playing.Be patient,wait for big hands and the look hard for the right opportunities to crack their monsters and get suitably paid off.

Sets are gold.

Back soon..