The World Poker Tour Boot Camp has concentrated on teaching players tournament strategy, but last month it offered a two-day course on cash game play at the Isle Racing and Casino in Pompano Beach.

Clonie Gowen, a favorite among WPT Boot Camp students and winner of the World Poker Open in Tunica, Miss., in October, offered these thoughts on cash games and Florida’s poker rules:

What are common mistakes people make in cash games?Just not being properly bankrolled, so they’re forced to rely more on the cards and they have maybe one or two bets before they’re all in.

So what’s a good bankroll?
At least 50 times the size of the big blinds, and that’s just the buyin. But the appropriate bankroll should be 100 times the big blind.

But Florida has $1-$2 no-limit with a $100 buy-in, as well as $2-$5 and $5-$10 no-limit, so you can’t really do that here.
But in the $1-$2 you can at least get 50 times the big blind. But if you’re going to play, you really don’t have much of a shot because you’re going to be all-in too many times.

So you wouldn’t play it here?
I would not.

As a pro, what is a good cash game?
I don’t like max buy-in because it goes totally against no-lmit. No-limit is no-limit, all you can set on the table.

What about for beginners?
The $1-$2 game, is not a bad game because it limits your losses. But if you’re not one of the starting nine to sit down at that table, you have $100, but there’s other players who have $1,000 or $2,000. You have no shot at winning.

What thought processes are necessary for cash games?
To have the bankroll and emotionally take the swings of it, and look at it like a business. And their business partner, their spouse, is not having to worry about the ups and downs. Players have to have a bankroll that’s set aside separately from paying the mortgage, car payment or credit card debt.

Overall, how have cash games changed?
Five years ago all you could find were limit cash games. They see people move all-in on TV and that’s what they think they should do in a no-limit game. Because when a player makes a mistake, they make a huge mistake. In limit, a bad player can make the wrong decision, but still have the right price to make a call.