Several members of this website have sent me letters asking about the differences between tournament and cash play. They aren't sure which they should specialize in and want to know from an insider which games would be most profitable to them.
This is a question that vexes a lot of poker players. I admit that early in my career as a poker player it kept me awake at nights.
It takes years of play before a person becomes a decent cash player. And I would say it takes even more years to become a really good cash player.
Most poker players do not start out playing tournaments. One reason is that the other players intimidate them. They know they are playing against some of the best players in a casino as well as some of the worst ones and are not sure they can handle the competition.
I was living in Southern California when I first began playing poker for serious money. We didn't have the Internet or countless books by the pros to practice our strategy. To learn poker, you simply walked into a casino or card room, bought chips, and sat down to play.
In those early days, there were a lot of angry poker players. Angry words and even fist fights were common. Card rooms banned the worst players from competition for anywhere from 24 hours to permanently depending on the nature of the offense. You had to have a tough skin to be a poker player, especially if you were a winner.
When the Sahara Dunes added tournaments to their weekly schedule, I at first shied away from them. I was making a steady living playing in the limit cash games. Why should I jeopardize my bankroll by playing in tournaments
But as tournament popularity increased, so did my interest. One night after a couple of beers -- I was a drinker in those days -- I decided to enter a tournament.
The game was five-card lowball with a joker. If I remember correctly, the entry fee was $25 and for the first hour, there were unlimited re-buys that cost $15 each.
Well, I went through my tournament chips pretty quickly and paid for a re-buy. This time I got lucky and within an hour had quadrupled my stack. I ended u placing second in the tournament and winning over $900.
I began playing in tournaments, developing my own strategy as I went. One of the early rules I gave myself was sto not go crazy with raises in the early stages of a tournament. A person could not win a tournament in those beginning stages, but you could sure lose one since your chips were limited.
I also began bluffing more to steal blinds and to take chips from weak players who didn't really understand the game. I learned how to double and triple my chips so that I would be in a position to win when and if I made it to the final table.
After a while, I discovered I was finishing in the money in 10 percent of my tournaments. The other players were impressed and complimented me.
One thing about playing in a tournament is that you can limit your losses. You never have to commit yourself to any more money for a buy-in once you lose your initial stack.
Tournaments have changed in sstructure over the years. Today it is rare for a tournament to allow a busted player to make a re-buy once he has lost his stack. He has to leave his seat and play in a cash game.
I know tournament players who have never made a final table. They are good enough players but they don't have that killer instinct to make the final table and the money. I feel sorry for them, but they have to live with their choices.
I think players shoould test themselves on cash games as well as tournaments. Then play whichever one they feel best at playing. There are many choices in life and this is one of them. Good luck. Let the games begin.
Author: Geno Lawrenzi Jr.
(Geno Lawrenzi Jr. is an international journalist, magazine author and ghostwriter and poker player who lives in Phoenx, AZ. He has published 2,000 articles in 50 magazines and 125 newspapers. If you want to share a gambling story or book idea with him, send an email to [email protected] ).
