Rules and Strategy

Getting To Grips with Cash Games

Cash games represent the most hands-on possibility for making (or losing) money in every online poker room. Players just join the table from the main lobby, make sure they have the minimum amount of money required to take a seat and they start playing. Now then, what are the peculiarities of cash-play against the more popular single and multi-table tournaments?

If you’ve been playing online poker for a while, I’m sure you already know that cash games are not the recommended way for rookies to attempt building their bankrolls. The reasons are quite simple.

Cash games tend to be tighter than tourneys. Since in cash games the blinds never level up (they stay the same) there’s nothing to compel a player to act. There is no pressure involved whatsoever, so in that respect, you’ll be able to focus and follow through on your strategy. The problem is, all the other players involved in the game will be able to do the same. That’ll tighten up the game, and make it more difficult for everyone to win.

Protecting your bankroll is tougher in cash games than in tournaments too, because of the fact that you’ll be paying rake on every single hand that you play. Rookies often misunderstand the situation and figure that the rake is only paid by the winner of the pot, thus they’re safe as long as they stay out of the action. Well, this is just wrong. Everyone involved in a hand pays the a certain part of the rake, so yes, you will be paying rake even if you just take a peak at the flop and then fold every time. Furthermore, there is nothing you can do to avoid paying this rake when you’re in a cash game. In tournaments you never pay a cent of rake on any of the actual hands that you play. You pay a registration fee at the start of the tourney, and whatever happens, you won’t have to pay anything more. This means, you can play hands in a different, much more active way than in cash-games,, simply because there is no pressure on you.

Another strategy-related issue you’ll be faced with at cash tables concerns the stack-sizes. Playing under-bankrolled cannot occur in a tournament because everyone starts with the same number of chips. Those who have more money at their disposal though, can mount an unbeatable advantage simply by joining the table with the maximum allowed chips. Under bankrolled players, (rookies trying to make it big quick) will be at a huge disadvantage here.

Since a larger stack always dominates a smaller one, cash-games will leave under-bankrolled players defenseless against sharks. Sure, most poker rooms have a clearly defined limit concerning the number of chips you can take to the table, but at most high-stakes/limits tables, stretching that limit to its full extent is usually enough to have at least a few of the opponents under-bankrolled.

By their nature, cash-games only reward winners, and when it comes to Texas Holdem, simply winning once or twice isn’t enough either. One needs to thread together a constant and solid winning spree to break ahead at the end of the day. Losses will happen, but you’ll always have to win more than what you lose plus the rake. When you look at it like that, it doesn’t look simple at all anymore.

In tournaments, holding on is possibly more important than winning. By simply managing to hang on and not bust out too early, one can already earn money, in fact almost a double return on the investment required.

Bottom line is, in cash games, the importance of each and every particular poker skill needs to be stressed. You have to be constantly 110% in every respect to walk away successful in the long run. Tournaments are more forgiving in this respect, and thus the odds that they offer to the average player are better.