Cash Game vs Tournaments

oldmangrimis · #1 08-06-2007, 10:09 PM

I think both cash game and tournament require skill be that different skill set for each. I feel cash game give a player more control over the game with less variance. I don't think bigger stack have edge over small stack in a cash game. In a cash game you looking to win money, in a tourney you have to out last a player to finish higher then them to earn money. I like cash game for this reason, every hand is a new hand on equal ground, in a tourney two player can go all in and one will have an edge on you from the start.Another big difference is that in a cash game "time is on your side" (i.e. the game favors the patient player)... however, in a tournament, depending on how fast the blinds are raised, "time is not on your side"... IMO poker is the kind of game that favors the patient over the impatient player in both cash and tournament play, but the degree to which it favors the patient is less than it is in a cash game situation.

Also the income from tournaments is potentially greater but more erratic (more return, but with more variance/risk). Income from cash games may be less dramatic, but is more predictable. In a cash game it's not uncommon for 50% or more of the players to go home winners (especially if there's a big whale at the table), whereas in tournaments usually no more than around 10% of the players go home winners...

Since the first goal of a professional player is income rather than action, IMO a pro should structure the majority of their play around the more reliable cash game, with a smaller percentage of their action in tournaments... unless of course they have a day job outside of poker