Cash games vs. tournament poker?

[jrutledge]

I mostly play cash games, but I've been starting to play some more tournaments. The fundamentals obviously carry over but when I make decent runs into tournaments I often find myself a little bit outmatched by some of the players, even in really low buy in tournaments.

 

[Luvepoker]

You should play what you enjoy the most. Yes the games are the same but the strategy in tournament poker late in the game are different that in cash games. You should look at the older post here and see what would be the best strategy to help you deeper in the events.

 

[LanaRhoades]

I prefer cash games.They are more exciting than MTTs.Tournaments delay too much.

 

[jrutledge]

I prefer cash games.They are more exciting than MTTs.Tournaments delay too much.

Yea big MTT tournaments are an absolute grind

 

[andsws]

I prefer tournaments, too many sharks on cash

 

[Shooter74]

it depends on how long I have to play ... but usually I prefer the tournaments ...

 

[MatMackenz]

I prefer to play MTT tournaments over cash games, I find the format more exciting and enjoy the satisfaction of making a deep run.

I prefer to play in small/mid size field MTT's, as these have a good balance between your chances of making the FT and the total prize pool.


Some MTT formats however can run an extremely long time. You can find yourself playing 2-3 hrs+ and still not even make it "in the money". These are typically your large field tournaments (2000+ players) w/rebuys, 10-15 min. blind levels and long late registration times. A considerable time investment is needed for these games, as a very deep run can go on for several more hours.

 

[123cards321]

tournament poker

I really enjoy tournament poker since the amounts you can win compared to the buyins are significantly higher, you are risking more at cash games but you can also win a lot faster depending on the stakes you play.

however you need to have enough time to be able to play the tournaments since they usually take approximately 3 hours and some a lot longer.

 

[levidoff]

I prefer tournaments. cash connect if bored))

 

[Jon Poker]

Tournament play is alot of fun - the big difference here is that your blinds will steadily inscrease and if you arnt playing any hands / making any moves - you will go broke and bust out pretty quickly. The drawback here is in the lowest of stakes, players will be getting it in with near to nothing and you are going to have to navigate through some pretty terrible player fields. Myself, recently ive come to love such a challenge. Ive cashed in 3 CC daily freerolls and i think ive only played 6? Maybe 7? Anyhow, those numbers should not be sustainable but overall i am.very happy with my performances.

Cash poker is the same fundamentals - but the blinds (or stakes) never change. You can lay in the weeds as long as you like waiting on your top 10% hands. Cash is also where you see some players loosen up, if UTG opens to 3x the BB - which looks very strong - its not uncommon to see hands like 78s or 55, etc, flatting the raise in late position.

Playing $2nl last night i had AA UTG+2, i made it .06 to got and got 3 callers - one of which was a huge fish - flop cam 345 with 2 clubs, i held the Ac so i feel pretty good, bet about 65% pot or so on the flop, got a call from my fish and a jam from my other opponent for .61

This is where i screw up the hand - i normally start to consider i am beat here but i also have a huge fish to my left whos calling almost anything and stacked just as deep as i am - if i am losing i need to try and build a side pot...well i threw that logic out the window and like a brand new player to the game i insta shove over the top and my fish does tank, but ends up folding. My opponent shows 67 of hearts flopping the nut straight and i am effectively drawing dead...owch lol.

So again, cash is an entirely different animal, you can sit back and be patient and grind it out, get your money in with a very good hand - but in tournaments, you've gotta make those moves and grow your stack before times up and you're outta there!

Good luck playing both as they are very fun

 

[vashsv]

Cash vs MTT

Play them both, play cash a few hours durring the week and MTT on weekends

 

[FrothyGoodness]

I like tourneys , unless I'm at a casino with larger cash games. At my local casino during the week 1/2 is the main game. At 1/2 people can be so tight that it's not enjoyable and taking down $3 pots isnt really profitable unless you're taking down every hand for 2 hours. With tourneys of you are at a tight table at least it's somewhat profitable because no matter what the blinds increase so if they want to hold onto until they get AA that's fine because my chip stack will just increase. You also get better reads on tourney players , with my local casino they have so many payouts for so many different hands a lot of people in cash call $90 pre flop with 2-4 suited just to try and hit the progressives.

 

[kkonicke]

I prefer tournaments as well. One other note on cash games is you can rebuy if you like your table but get unlucky against a poor player. In a tournament, generally once you're out...you're out.

 

[milka1605]

I prefer tournaments. Although they certainly make a long play.

 

[milo79]

i like cashgames

but in tournaments the danger to loose a lot of money is lower

so i try a mix of both

 

[TheDude6622]

Each one has their pros and cons. Cash has less variance and a bigger chance to leave with profit. Tournaments has the potential for a big payout, but as we all said, it's a grind. It just depends on what you're up for. I'm usually up for the grind and my patience pays off. In cash, you're allowed to be more patient since the blinds don't change.

 

[MadMan999]

You can start play cash and stop it when you want. It's very big plus of playing cash. But in MTT you can boost you bankroll very good and in MTT many bad players.

 

[helpspb]

I get too bored playing cash games. You can earn money more easily at micro limits cash games, but I miss the excitement of MTTs. You gotta put much more time into it, but it pays off once in awhile.

 

[ammje]

You're right, the basics are the same, but the strategy is different.
Some do not like tournaments because they can sometimes have 3, 4 hours in a tournament and go out with AA vs a bad beat.

Will take you a while to master tournaments, many players with more experience than you.
To improve your tournament play you can seek help from a more experienced player, or you can follow pro player, I recommend to bencb789, he is definitely the best.

gl