Why cash games are harder than tournaments?

[ammytyagi]

Because in cash game, players can wait for correct hand but in tournament player does not have this liberty as blinds are increasing every 10 mins. So generally people are more aggressive in tournament as compared to cash games

 

[BrunoFabri01]

in the cash game, in my opinion, opponents play more aggressively, any 2 2 is already a reason to bet high, for these reasons I prefer tournaments

 

[DonSeppi]

Cash Game should be "harder" to beat longterm, but the variance in tournament poker is way way higher.

 

[jonaselloco]

Hello brother.
I tell you that it happens to me very similar to you and it really costs me a lot to improve my cash game.
I think it's because in general what I saw is that in cash not everything is just going with high cards or monster hands but they pay you with hands that you wouldn't even think of paying in an MTT.
It happened to me once that I entered a 0.02/0.05 table with US$10 and played 20 hands only 3 that came to me AA and all 3 paid me and I lost. That is, every time I had AA I lost and reloaded and so on. Since it was no longer my night hahahaha and I left very angry.
The difference for me I read in a previous comment from a colleague who said that in the MTT you would not go with junk hands against a monster hand because you would quickly be out of the MTT.
On the other hand, in cash, if you think that trash hand can win, you simply pay, if you lose reloads and if you win, you continue to increase your profits.
Also another colleague is right that it is very useful to read in posts how cash tables are played to improve your game in them.
I at least prefer the MTT or the Sgn I feel more comfortable, I think the cash tables are a great butchery.
I leave you to see a hand that I found in a post on the site so that you can analyze how they play at cash tables and see what you would do in the same situation in an MTT, if you want, send me a comment later.
Very good post, thank you. Greetings from argentina. Carlos

 

[blueskies]

For me, what I like about the tournament elimination format is that you can use stack sizes and the situation (near bubble, bubble, etc.) to get information and/or apply pressure.

In cash, stack sizes really matter only when considering implied odds. It's much harder to get people to fold since they can just rebuy. There's less at stake if they make a dumb call.

 

[coolDadJimbo]

i used to like tourneys.... but, i prefer cash for many reasons:

- less flips. i ahte having to shove AK and lose to QJ in a tounrey. i think success in tourneys comes down to a certain amount of luck, where cash is more skill
- cash you can sit down or leave whenever you want. you don't have to wait for a start time or spend 4 hours to win back your buyin
- cash is a more consistent game, where your stack isn't always shrinking. tourney requires a lot more GTO push/fold type practice to play the different stack sizes
- i think cash you would have more winning sessions. cash you could be up almost every day, tourneys could take weeks before a big score.... i can't wait that long! lol. losing flips for weeks.... no thanks! lol
- cash games you can look for the tables with the fish and sit there until you stack them. in tourneys your opponents are always changing and it's hard to build a range
- cash games are easier to multitable, in my opinion. i play 8-10 tables. once i find the good tables and setup my screen i can play for a long time using the same strategy on each table. tourneys you have open lobbys, wait for start times, adjust for different BBs, stages, etc, etc... too much hassle to win infrequently...

anyways, that's my opinion. i think regardless of what you like, it's good to pick one game and play it exclusively to learn it completely. that way you can develop your game for that style. switching between different formats is too hard for a beginner. when i started i read harrigntons tourney books and played cheap tourneys. eventually i got harrignton's cash books... then found nate williams, john little, jame sweeney, sky at Smart Poker Study, greenbeanvideos....

i definitely spend 50/50 playing/studying... i have about 10 paper books and 35 PDFs. i've been playing since 2014 and have only been a winning player for the last 3-4 years... mostly by switching to cash

peace

 

[monkeytilter]

1. Cash games are played more aggressively, any marginal but profitable edge is pushed to the maximum, a bit more caution is applied in tournaments because busting out is the end, where as a cash player can simply reload.

For example, a cash player will be delighted to get AA all-in pre 100% of the time if he can even in 4 way pot where as Tournament player may not be happy that he is ~40% to get beat and be knocked out on the bubble say to the point were it is mathematically correct to fold.

2. Cash games are played with deep stacks, 100BB+. This means mistakes are amplified and considerations of implied and reverse implied odds become important. For example in a tournament having a 25BB deep villain set mine you should not be a concern, where as 150BB deep in cash game it's a major consideration for your AA/KK!

3. Cash tables may not break for hours meaning very specific villain reads (e.g. 4 bet tendencies) can be developed and exploited, this may never happen with large MTT player pools. Even with zoom tables we are playing hands against the same villains time after time for thousands of hands potentially.

4. Cash games have less of a "luck" factor. The pressure of rising blinds in tournaments means everyone has to take marginal all in spots preflop eventually, this removes the edge a better player will have post flop. You can get lucky and cash in tournaments after a few hours, where as a few hours at a tough cash table may see you 20 buy ins down, luck is not going to save you (most days)

5. Low buy in Tournaments tend to have weaker player pools than cash games, for the reasons mentioned above. Weak players go broke quickly at cash games and quickly move away from them if they can't face the pain. where as tournaments offer them a lot more poker for their $$ and a little more opportunity for luck.

 

[TerryBLE]

They are different dynamics, it requires adaptation, a valuable thing that you can do in cashgames and cannot in tournaments is the table selection, the question of profit or I don't believe it will vary according to the profile/style of play of each one, in both.

 

[slevinzed]

I think it depends on ur profile, I find it way better to play cash games rather than a tournament

 

[Igor Popadyk]

it’s just that something suits each person more, you just need to try and play what suits you and brings money

 

[olejean]

I think it depends on ur profile, I find it way better to play cash games rather than a tournament

It seems that the essence of the “Why cash games are harder than tournaments?” is in the manifestation of emotions. We make one cash contribution to the tournament and play for some time spending more or less equal emotions. Cash poker usually pass with a lot of crucial emotions after each next hand you play.

 

[300HPGOD]

Its because its a different game. Cash plays are played (or should be played anyway) deep so the game is less about pre flop and more about post flop actions. Since it is more of a post flop game there are more decision points in a hand and hence, easier to mess things up. We are also playing every hand with 100 BBs or more (usually) so the consequence of the error is much larger in a cash game hand than in a tournament.

Tournaments at the beginning play a little like a cash game but as the blinds move up then it turns into much more of a pre flop game than a post flop game. So there is only street to make a key decision (more often as our stacks approach 15 BBs) than in cash games where all streets are in play. Add in the fact that you can probably be a so so post flop player in tournaments and still be successful as all tournaments eventually come down to push/fold. If you know push/fold well and calling ranges against shovers coupled with your opponents lacking in these areas then you will be a winner in tournament play. Even if you are not post flop savvy. In cash games if you dont know what to do post flop you will be exposed quickly, turn into a spot at the table and the only thing that will then save you is running good.

 

[oleg8519]

I don't think it's harder, I would say that the cash game is dynamic

 

[mssmotilda]

when we play a tournament we can beat many people, maybe hundred, or sometime thousand, sometime we can reach bubble and win. but its difference if we play cash game. cash game is more tilt than tournament. more difficult, more traps and other. anybody can answer that reason? bacuse many time i can win tournament but in cash game mostly i get lose

Winnings will come with experience. On the contrary, it is more interesting for me to play cash games, because there is a real poker game, and not continuous all-in betting.

 

[kitchy65]

when we play a tournament we can beat many people, maybe hundred, or sometime thousand, sometime we can reach bubble and win. but its difference if we play cash game. cash game is more tilt than tournament. more difficult, more traps and other. anybody can answer that reason? bacuse many time i can win tournament but in cash game mostly i get lose

The reason for this is you most likely play 'bingo' poker in tourneys, and don't have to think, so you don't.

In cash games, we're less likely to pay to enter a pot with garbage. Unfortunately, you haven't learned this aspect of the game... and it's costing you money.

 

[Daniel72]

tourneys attract mostly the fish and recreationals...because of the dreeeaaam WIN BIG
in cash games fish go broke rapidly ... i see it all the time ...its real money and pure poker...more difficult and deepstacked
and then they dont play cash anymore after this negative and expensive experience
cash is also more "boring" in the eyes of many players...and you cannot win huge amounts in a session like in mtts
and they dont have the patience for ring games too
and in tourneys you pay one buy in and have some entertainment for many hours

 

[MK_]

I play cash tables a lot, it's much more about playing the player, so a good read is necessary, also not being so tight and scared to play a hand, .....it's a totally different mind set from tourneys

 

[nerobs9]

In my opinion, cash games are more stable and the players at the tables have real money, not starting chips, and everyone understands this. If a tournament player is short stacked and can move all the chips to the center of the table, cash players will more often try to keep all their money and not go all-in (I could be wrong as this is just my opinion and I haven't played enough in cache). There is no increase in blinds in cash games, which means that players will open only strong cards more often, and, unlike tournaments, the player himself decides which table to sit at.

But still I love MTT discipline more

 

[ratbat615]

I have spoken about this topic already but in summary I think 🤔 cash 💰 games are easier than tournaments 🏟.

1. The blinds don’t go up ⬆️

2. You only need to Double 1 or 2 times. In tournament 🏟 you are in a coin 🪙 flip most of the time.

3. You see flops more in cash 💰 games.

 

[heguli82]

Cash games are more fun cause you can do more moves then tournaments, or you should do more. Feels more poker to me

 

[valeski 28]

Good morning.I think cash games are harder than tournaments because , in tournaments when you are eliminated ,you only lose the money invested in each tourney while in cash games not only you can lose your initial stack but also your entire bankroll ,especially If you are not patience and don't follow a good bankroll management.

 

[rapione98]

I don't think it's more difficult, it varies a lot from strategy and quality of your game.