Poker Strategy

Texas Holdem: Tournaments vs. Cash Games

A lot has changed about the way people play Texas Hold’em Poker. While tournaments shown on television have greatly popularized the game, cash tournaments bring an added dimension and excitement for avid Poker players. It’s still the same game, only this time the stakes are higher. In tournaments, poker players bring home praises and acknowledgment for their skills. In cash games, they play to bring home the prize money. As the motives for playing are changed, so do the styles of playing the Poker Games.

Tournaments

There is still money involved in playing poker tournaments. When you come into the game, you shell out a certain amount of money to get a specific amount of chips. However, the amount of chips you have does not necessarily equal the amount of money you give at the beginning of the game. A Poker player can pay $5 to enter a tournament and be given $1000 worth of chips. Your main goal is not to emerge as the winner but to come out near the top of the leader board and finish with as much winnings as possible.

Your Strategy: The Check Down

Teaming up with other players makes it easier to eliminate a competitor in a tournament. This strategy is called the check down. This happens when a player is all in and gets multiple calls. All players who called will then check to the showdown, increasing the odds of eliminating the all in player. As more and more players are eliminated from the game, you move yourself up the board.

Here’s an example of a bad play: player A moves all in, player B (A –K) and player C (9 – 9) calls. The flop turns out 9 – 10 – 2, with player C betting and player B folding. The cards are turned face up and player A has a hand of 8 – 7 and the turn comes Q and the river J. This means that player A makes a straight and is not eliminated. Had player C checked down, player B would have made a bigger straight, eliminating player A.

Whenever you get the chance, try to eliminate other Poker players in tournaments. The smaller the number of competitors, the better the odds that you will win – or at least finish way up in the pay scale. Another important thing to take note of is the stack size. Players need to control the number of chips they have because that is all they get. Also, you have to make sure that you can afford the risk of playing in a particular pot size and playing against a certain bet amount. Blinds will help you increase your win in a tournament so be sure you stay ahead of them throughout the game. High blinds when you are low on chips may force you to go all in with a weak hand.

Cash Games

In cash games, the amount of money you buy in for is the amount of money you play with. During the game, you can always top the amount you came in with to make sure you maximize your win when you get a good hand. Blinds remain at a fixed amount in cash games and checks are not necessary because your goal is not to eliminate your competitors but rather to make the most money possible for yourself.

Your Strategy: The Straddle Bet

Basically, this means you’re buying the big blind. A player under the gun will have the chance to increase the stakes to play at every hand. Let’s say the blind is set at $1/$2. The player under the gun can put in $4 before he gets his cards, buying the big blind. The stakes are thus increased for that particular hand and you will then have to put in the straddle amount to call. You can choose to double the straddle and the person next of the straddle can re-straddle. This creates action in the game because more people will be in the pot and the standard raises will increase.

When in cash games, your main goal is to make really good hands and get a good deal of money for them. Suited connectors disguise your hand strength and can help you stack your opponents. Unlike in tournaments where you need to take care of your chips, cash games allow you to dig into your pocket when you run out of money for playing. You can stay on the game as long as you wish. Here, there are practically no rules. You can show a card to your opponent or leave and then go back to play any time without paying post blinds.

Both are still Texas Holdem. It’s the same game. It’s just played on two different platforms. One good thing about playing in a tournament is the worst you stand to lose is the money with which you buy in. In cash games, you could lose a great deal more. So if you’re not the type who can risk a whole lot of money, just stick to tournaments.

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Holdem, Poker, Poker Games, Texas Holdem