General vs game specific poker skills

Giant811

Of the skill set required to be a winning poker player, what percentage are general poker skills and what are specific to the variant/game type played? For an extreme example, if a great NLHE DYM player decided to become a cash limit Badugi player, how transferrable are his skills? How hard is it to go from MTTs to cash, moving between similar variants (PLO/PLO8, Stud/Razz), full ring/6 max/HU, limit/no limit?

I hope this makes sense and I'm not the only one pondering these questions late at night.

Dazler

not sure what the percentage is! i myself am ok at cash, dym, and mtts but dont play any other formats apart from no limit. I think its a case usualy of jack of all trades master at none for a lot! so sticking to the format your best at is paramount. I could delve into the other formats with some knowlage taken from what i know in the ones i play on a regular basis and do ok but it would take me a long time to learn them with any conviction and dont really want to go down that route as im still trying to improve on what i know on the games i play regularly. Practice makes perfect and that practice takes years in this game. So picking up studd or razz would probably put me off my mindset for my normal format. Im sure there are some really good players that can but they must be very rare.

Even making the switch if your a cash player over to mtts some just cant do it and vice versa as the structures are so different and style of play varies hugely. Stick to what you know best or if you are making the switch then practice on one or the other for long periods of time so you get used to it. Be interesting to hear from a stud player or omaha and see what the differnce is like for them.

TommyD

Very good idea for a thread.

When it comes to variants one of the major stumbling points for players is not understanding that they are playing a completely different game.  Of course it is much more of a stark difference when someone moves from Hold em to Badugi, however Hold em is a completely different game to Omaha as Stud is a completely different game to Stud Eight or Better (also called Stud Hi Lo or Stud 8).  The similar variants can become major leaks for people who do not realise this and as such, even if you understand this, it is quite easy for a player to be great at one variant yet be awful at another.

Some skills are transferable, but in my opinion they are the psychological elements which can apply across the board such as recognising weakness, composure, a tendency to be creative, bet sizing and pure heart.

Cash and tournaments are different and again you can be great at one while be awful at the other.  Personally I think this is mainly down to how deep stacks are in general (tourneys shallow, cash deep).  This makes tourneys pretty math based.  Also in cash with the ability to reload you can be creative to the level of insanity as much as you want as long as some of the stuff you throw at te wall sticks once in a while.  In tournaments you can't always bet your way out of a corner because sooner or later you will bust the tourney.