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Part I - A Two-Headed Monster - The Difference Between Tournament and Cash Poker
Tournament poker and cash games are like checkers and chess; they're played on the same board, but the structure and strategy of each game are quite different. So different, in fact, that most players who excel at one type of poker typically struggle to find success at the other. Certainly, there are players who have mastered both tournament and cash versions of poker, but the majority of players consider themselves either tournament poker players or cash game players.
More than anything else, the structure of either tournament or cash poker distinguishes it from its counterpart. Cash poker games afford players the opportunity to buy more chips anytime they go bust or wish to add additional ammunition chips to their arsenal. Poker tournaments on the other hand, with the exception of re-buy tournaments which allow players a small window of time during the beginning of the poker tournament to buy new chips, do not. When you're out of chips in tournament poker, you're out of chips period.
The safety net of always being able to buy more chips in a cash poker game, provided you have deep enough pockets, affords players a greater amount of flexibility and creativity within the game. Consider two both tournament and cash poker scenarios:
The first, you're playing no-limit cash poker with $1 and $2 blinds. You bought in for $200, and have $1800 in reserve tucked away in your back pocket. The cards you are dealt are A-10 of diamonds and call a $12 raise made by a relatively loose poker player who you've seen make raises with weaker cards than you're currently holding. The flop cards are A-6-2, with two diamonds. He makes a pot sized-bet exhibiting strength, but you don't give him credit for his ace. You call. The turn card is an off-suit jack and your opponent moves all in, putting you to a decision for all of your chips.
The second scenario finds you in a $200 buy-in tournament with no re-buys, and you've outlasted 400 of the 500 poker players who started. The top 50 finishers get paid and you are dealt the same cards being the A-10 of diamonds. The cards plays out the same way it did in the first scenario, and again, you're facing a decision for all of your chips.
Based on a strong feeling that your pair of ace is ahead and that another diamond on the river will give you the absolute best cards no matter what your opponent is holding, you are relatively certain that you currently have the best poker hand, but here's where things get tricky. When contemplating whether to call or fold his cards, though the hands are identical, each scenario requires an entirely separate thought process. A cash poker player, assuming he or she is operating under a sufficient bankroll, might have an easier time making this call because a wrong decision can be mollified by dipping into the bankroll for rebuy money.
Tough decisions in tournament poker, however, carry even tougher consequences, as one mistake could spell the end of a tournament. Therefore, a tournament poker player must consider a multitude of questions, many of which are non-factors in cash poker games, before making a final decision. We'll elaborate on this idea in part II.
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