An adaptive segment control for controlling performance of a multi-segment cache in a storage system. The adaptive segment control segments the cache to operate at a selected working segmentation level. A plurality of virtual cache tables are segmented such that one table operates at the working segmentation level and the other tables operate at different segmentation levels. During operation, the adaptive segment control monitors memory instructions transmitted by a host computer to the storage system and stores the instructions in an instruction queue. While the storage system is in an idle state, the adaptive segment control performs hit ratio simulations on the virtual cache tables by executing a selected number of instructions stored in the instruction queue. The working segmentation level is adjusted to equal the segmentation level of the virtual cache table having the highest hit ratio.