Tournament Play vs. Cash Games Articles | Poker

By: Richard Bleuze

Tournament play vs. cash games

In both style of play, you use the same 52-card deck and the same general rules of poker of course.  However, your style of play  is very different if you want to be in the money. 

If you have only played in cash game poker and are now deciding to make the switch to tournaments, there are a few adjustments to your thinking that you need to make if you want to remain a winning player.

First off, your stack is finite in cash game poker play.  This is by far the biggest mental obstacle to overcome for many cash-game poker players wishing to make the switch.  Your stack is finite: when your chips are gone, you are out of the tournament.

In cash games, you can re-buy chips.  However, in a tournament you get the chips you start with and it is up to you from there. When you lose them, you are out. 

Because you only have a finite number of chips, optimal play is different.

In tournament poker you are forced to play a tighter overall game because there is no freedom to rebuy.

In a cash game, on the other hand, you are often willing to take a chance on lots of hands because even if you lose in the short term you will show a profit in the long run.
 
Just remember, when you play tournament poker. you will occasionally have to fold in a spot for all your chips where you may be a slight favorite since calling and losing will knock you from the tournament.  

In addition, the blinds in tournament poker increase at set intervals.  Generally, every 30 minutes to every two hours.  Unlike cash games, the blinds in tournament poker go up to force the action so that players can not just sit around waiting for aces all day.

Increasing the blinds in tournament poker makes a player's stack to blinds ratio go down.  Thus, causing players to play hands to keep up with the rising blinds, which of course knocks people out of the tournament.

What that means for you is that as the blinds go up you will need to become more active.  In tournament poker you will are forced to master many different stack sizes.  In cash games, on the other hand, you might only be used to playing with the same size stack.  Remember, as the stack sizes change in tournament poker, so will your basic strategy.   Or at least it should!
 
Just remember, that though you may start the tournament playing fairly tight, as the blinds increase and your stack to blinds ratio decreases, you will be forced to loosen up.

A tournament poker strategy that you should use is the act of stealing blinds. In tournament poker, unlike cash games, the blinds get big, making a steal may increase your stack by 10% or more.

You must consider the following when deciding when to steal:  position and hand strength.  Most steals in tournament poker take place from late position, because there are fewer players to wake up with a hand behind you.

In tournament poker, supplementing your stack with well timed steals is a necessity.  So practice well timed late position steals with solid semi bluff type hands.

Just remember, in tournament poker your opponents are raising light to increase their stack by stealing blinds, you know that they often have a hand that can not stand up to much pressure.  Thus, you can pick a hand and reraise him as a resteal more often than not late in tournament poker.  As I said, more often than not, you will find folds from these serial late position raises.

In addition, remember that when you make a move like a steal or a resteal you must have fold equity.  You can only steal and resteal if you believe that your opponents will likely fold!  If you do not have fold equity, you are just giving chips away.

In a cash game, you can just leave the table if you are showing a profit and wish to leave.  In a tournment poker game you play until there is only one player remaining.

The payout structure of most tournament poker games will pay 10% of the field.  This means 90% of the players go home empty handed.

This creates many short stacks.   And though 10% usually get paid in tournament poker, the payouts are almost always very top heavy with first place taking usually 40% or more of the entire prize pool.

Thus, you should supplement your stack by identifying the players that are playing tight/scared poker and exploit them with bets and raises.
 
Your goal is to win lots of cash and to win the tournament.  Remember, most of the money is at the top.  Thus, if you always play for the win, you will make more money in the long run.  

Though there are a few differences between the two,  tournament and cash game poker, when you get right down to it, it is really all just the same game - a game of playing solid cards, strategizing based on position and paying attention to your opponents.

If you make better decisions than the majority of your opponents, it really will not matter what poker game, tournament or cash game, you are playing; you are going to be a winner.

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