Cash Game & Tournament Differences

[4CardStraight]

OK I dont think any have really gotten to some of the crux of the differences yet. I will list some:

1: Cash emphasizes deep stack ability primarily, where Tournaments last far longer through middle to small stacks, where BB stacks are 30 or less for a majority of most tournaments. This then means the players that are better at one and two street poker make far better players in tournaments. Preflop hand evaluation alone will never make someone an expert in deep stack cash play. We cannot rebuy so forcing early all in coinflips with a small edge, which shouldnt be passed up if possible in cash, might need to be passed up in tournaments. Chips are not cash.

2: You must always give your chips a premium value in tournament poker, and NEVER in cash games. Just because you post the blind doesnt mean its your money in cash. You should never forgoe a chance to win 50$ cash just because you risk losing 49 of YOUR dollars. This is totally not true in tournament poker. In tournament poker, you MUST give your chips a premium for three distinct reasons. First, we must assume we have an edge on our opposition and the chips in our hand matter more than incremental chips we win. Second, additional chips do not incrementally increase our chance at first place, so therefore no matter where our stack is, our equity in the tournament will never double by doubling our chip stack (except for odd satellites and seat satellites sometimes in a seat satellite doubling our chips infinitely increases our chance of winning a seat). Third, because our chair (or folding into cash) has value, which there is a distinct value to, so for each chip we lose, the remaining chips gain in $ value.

And finally,

3: As the hand progresses, sheer pot odds cannot dictate decisions in tournament poker. People will often fold on the river for their last 2000 chips in a 20k pot if they are fairly certain they are beat, so they do not bust their chair. This should never happen in cash. In cash pot size bets through every street are perhaps most appropriate. In tournaments each street can have smaller and smaller bet sizes, yet the power of each bet can remain the same. As we dive further into our stacks, our chips have more value yet.

So, each of these points is an aspect of chips are not cash, and its the crux of tournament vs cash poker.

4Card

[sharkscopeaholic]

#2+3=good post

[JammyDodga]

[ QUOTE ]
This then means the players that are better at one and two street poker make far better players in tournaments.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think this really gets to the heart of the matter. I'm a pretty good low-stakes tourney player (or so I think anyway) but I really struggle at cash, and its the later streets which I have the most problems with.

In tournaments, the two biggest decisions need to be made on pre-flop and/or on the flop.

These decisions are
1. Do I play this hand?
2. Am I willing to get all my chips in with this hand?

The first is obviously made pre-flop, the second needs to be made as early as possible and generally by the flop at the latest.

These decisions, once made, pretty much dictate play for the rest of the hand.

[hERESY]

tournaments are cool to win but in cash games i get more freedom to be really bad ass

[helter skelter]

[ QUOTE ]

1) Tournament villains are way worse on average than cash game villains. By worse, I mean tournament villains are bigger calling stations and overvalue weak hands more.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yea, that's me.

I've decided I need to visit the PL/NL forums before I play any more cash games.

There was a thread I read recently where this was discussed.

"Step into the tee box" by Jason Strasser

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/sh...age=0&vc=1