Can you use cash game strategy in a tournament setting

medeiros13

medeiros13

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I was thinking about this as I was playing a 10 man sng. As I've said in previous posts, my cash game play has improved significantly between reading here at CC and watching YouTube videos. I think that my aggressiveness that I use in my cash game both helped and hurt. It seemed to hurt early in the tournament where there aren't as many decent players who are willing to fold but it really helped out as I got to the bubble and then heads up. I am a Harrington disciple who is starting to morph off of that a little bit; I simply tell you that so you can understand my basic strategy when it comes to tournaments. So, what's your opinion?
 
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likesithere

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i play a lot more tourneys than i do do cash. in cash being aggressive at the start of a hand reduces the players in the pot. in tourney doing the same is not the same result. people have to take into account their stack size as well. more tourney player play their stack rather than the cards if that perception can be brought into your thinking your tourney game could improve a lot rgs tom
 
detroitjunkie

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you could
depends on your cash game strategy, and the play of the others in the tourney

but typically no, because in a tourney the blinds go up, and up, and up, and up, and so on, and a lot of cash game strats are based off of this not happening, as well as being able to 'top off' if you drop below your starting stack

different rooms also have different rules between cash and tourney especially when it comes to the outer-game - checking in the dark, showing cards heads up, and so on.

in the realm of all poker exists common strats that will work in any game format, so some will work
but there are a bunch that do not (do you shove AI in cash game with J 10 suited because you only have 8 BB's left? Maybe you do i dunno)
 
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fordman427

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I would say some of the strategies you could while others would be strictly for one or the other
 
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jerohit

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best thing from cash that i use in tourney is raise big preflop and if missed flop then give a c bet..
 
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PW300

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I use same strategies in tournaments as I do in cash games but with very different results. Whereas I can make a steady profit in tournaments, generally I lose in cash games. Tournament play, with blinds increasing all the time, can sometimes force people into playing hands they don't really want to play, especially when they are short stacked. In cash games people just rebuy if they are getting short stacked so i would defnicely say you have to use different strategies.
 
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UrbanBourbon

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I don't think so, MTT's are all about staying alive to make more money where as cash games are about instant value.
 
John A

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If you become a good cash game player, you will easily become a good tournament player. It's not necessarily the other way around though.

As a cash game player, you have to learn to play a lot more complex deep situations, where you don't do that very often in tournaments. It's usually 1-2 bullets and that's it (except at the very beginning).
 
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galojmi

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my strategies are almost same for cash and in tournaments
 
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Aces74

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Change up if it works for u in a tournament then use that!

Not my style though.
 
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JaneMars312

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cash and tournament strategy are different radically
 
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paulsmall007

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I agree with the above cash players tend to do well In tournaments as there used to making hard decisions more often and tournaments is about longevity and staying alive, a lot of times I've seen cash players not have the patience to play tournaments either and get caught up fighting for hands and not worrying about busting cause there used to just reloading
 
mbrenneman0

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Most of the time, no. You'll get run over. Adjust to the relative stack sizes right and the blind levels and you'll be okay.

I agree though its easier to go from cash to tournament than from tournament to cash.
 
Gh0stL

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For me es diferent because the players not are the same and the numbers the player are diferent, and you need know how to play your oponents to do good play.
 
VizziVizo

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No, cash mtt and sng's - every one has diferent strategy
 
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coachlary69

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There are some similarities, but MTT's are different because you have to take into account antes and blinds, whereas in cash, you can just keep topping off to keep your stack at a certain level. I definitely adjust my play when it comes to the two games, and I tend to play looser in cash games, versus playing tighter in the early stages of an MTT.
 
PapaC

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I been seeing this post, but just now got around to replying to it because I just wanted to play cash and MTTs at the same time to see if I play differently in one or the other. I don't see any difference. So am I making a mistake by doing that? GL you you
 
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TheImperator

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Cash games and tournaments are radically different strategies.

Every decision in a tournament is based on the size of your stack and the size of the blinds. Neither of these are a consideration whatsoever in a cash game.

I could never find a reason for making a shove with QJs preflop in a cash game, but I can think of a bunch of situations where it would be the right play in a tournament.
 
TeUnit

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dont think "cash skills" apply very much to a game like a 10 man sng, the shallower the stack sizes and the less people the more icm is important....but with deep stacks the "cash skills" become much more valuable
 
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TheImperator

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Playing a tournament like a cash-game is completely sub-optimal, so I have no idea why you would wish to try.

Cash-game strategy is built around being able to go to your pocket to reload. You try to exploit even the smallest of edges in cash, because if you're getting the money in good, you'll win long-term.

Tournament play, you bust you're done.

I would think that just this small blurb will explain why trying to play a tourney like a cash game is a bad idea. :D
 
nelo80

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i dont think so , have a diference with cash and tournament , never do that.
 
Micro Maven

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only in deep stacked tournaments. You should always be considering effective stacks and adjust your play accordingly.
 
mbrenneman0

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Playing a tournament like a cash-game is completely sub-optimal, so I have no idea why you would wish to try.

Cash-game strategy is built around being able to go to your pocket to reload. You try to exploit even the smallest of edges in cash, because if you're getting the money in good, you'll win long-term.

Tournament play, you bust you're done.

I would think that just this small blurb will explain why trying to play a tourney like a cash game is a bad idea. :D
^^^^^
 
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