cash games and tournie differences at highest level?

[sweeng8]

I am curious as to why certain players seemed to excel in either cash or tournie poker but not both. of course some can do both, but for others there seems to be such a huge difference in skill in tournaments and in cash games. Phil Hellmuth for example, is of course one of the best NLH tournie players around, yet comparable to his own level of tournie play, he seems to be notoriously bad at cash poker. Why would someone who can crush any tournament in the world struggle in cash games, and in other examples,vice versa?
I think there is a consensus among poker players that the level of skill to beat a cash game needs to be higher than a tournie, or at least a level of consistency is needed. Though some top players seem to do both, why cant others? at that level, what makes the two games so different?

[Number27]

[ QUOTE ]
I am curious as to why certain players seemed to excel in either cash or tournie poker but not both. of course some can do both, but for others there seems to be such a huge difference in skill in tournaments and in cash games. Phil Hellmuth for example, is of course one of the best NLH tournie players around, yet comparable to his own level of tournie play, he seems to be notoriously bad at cash poker. Why would someone who can crush any tournament in the world struggle in cash games, and in other examples,vice versa?
I think there is a consensus among poker players that the level of skill to beat a cash game needs to be higher than a tournie, or at least a level of consistency is needed. Though some top players seem to do both, why cant others? at that level, what makes the two games so different?

[/ QUOTE ]

Cash game poker is played much deeper in terms of big blinds than tournaments. Even the WSOP Main Event starts you with 200bb during the first level and has two hour levels.

Comparably speaking almost any live cash game is going to see anywhere from 100-500bbs on average and the blinds aren't going to increase. This means there is alot more room for play after the flop. In a tournament it is common to see 30bb pots where the players are in an all-in race situation. It is much less common to see two players all-in preflop in a cash game because the stacks are so deep.

This means that most high stakes cash game players are better post flop players than equivalent tournament pros simply because they have a lot more experience playing past the flop.

Another difference between tournaments and cash games is the idea of leverage. In a tournament you can use your stack as a weapon because there is a fear of busting. This makes it much easier to isolate and force a short stack to a decision for his tournament life. In a cash game a player can always go back to his wallet.

On the flip side of this players who play nothing but tournaments will be much more familiar with how to manipulate the structure and utilize a shorter stack. Players who play ring games are usually unfamiliar with playing 20-50bb stacks.

There are many more subtle differences; but hopefully this gives you an overview.

[yi style]

I agree with the above poster

I used to play MTT's but now play 90% cash games and I think it's easier for a cash game player to convert to MTT's than vice versa, because IMO the postflop experience of cash players that the above poster mentions is more valuable in an MTT than MTT players' preflop experience would be in a cash game.

[PokeReader]

And all better tournament players than you, thank God.