NL - The cadillac of poker

Where does my profit come from, in NL cash?

Sklansky put it well when he said: "Everytime opponents play their hands differently from the way they would have if they could see all your cards, you gain." (Theory of Poker)
So simply put my profit comes from the mistake of others, yet that doesn't say that much about how to play.

• Stealing blinds

A small part of my profit comes from stealing the blinds. I raise it and everyone folds. Another profitable move, that I employ is the Barry Play - as seen in High Stakes Poker on GSN, named after the player Barry Greenstein. The move is to raise it up after a couple of limpers, hence not only aiming to steal the blinds but also the money from the limpers.

• Continuation betting

Cont. betting accounts for another small part of my profit. If I am called, by one opponent, after a raise I very often bet out again regardless of what flopped. In effect I state that my hand was best pre-flop and it still is. If the flop failed to hit my opponent he is likely to fold.

• Having the better hand

A substantial part of my profits come from having a better hand at showdown. I aim to play a little tighter than my opponents, thus more often than not having them out paired, or out kickered. Sometimes your opponents are so nitty tight that you'll profit more by loosening up and trying to maximize your profit from Stealing Blinds and Cont. betting. But mostly it is more profitable to aim for a tighter pre-flop hand selection, than your opponents.

• Set hunting

Flopping a set and taking an opponents entire stack, when he flops top pair or has an overpair to the flop, accounts for quite a noticable part of my profits.

• Drawing

Some part of my profit comes from hitting a flush or straight draw. Offcourse the odds, actual or implied, have to be there before drawing becomes profitable.

If I should venture a guess as to the proportion of the fives profitability, this would be it:

1. Having the better hand - 45%
2. Other - 20%
3. Set hunting - 15%
4. Drawing - 10%
5. Continuation betting - 5%
6. Stealing blinds - 5%

These number are again just a guess, not even a well thought out estimate. Also I imagine the numbers change as you move up or down in levels, or from site to site.