There are a number of different poker variations, and most online poker rooms offer an excellent selection of games including No Limit Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha, 7-card Stud, Razz and Badugi.
On top of the wide variety of games available, most online poker rooms offer both cash game and tournament options for most poker variations.
Taking The Well Trodden Path From Cash To Tournaments
While many players will specialize in either one or the other, it is highly recommend that you put some time in playing both to become a well rounded player. This will require educating yourself on the differences between the two and taking the necessary transitional steps.
Since the vast majority of poker players start out in cash games, most players will need to make the transition from these to tournaments, rather than vice versa.
Even though a No Limit Hold’em cash game and tournament are fundamentally the same when it comes to which the hands are played in which positions, the format of a tournament will require that you make some very important changes to your game in order to stay one step ahead of the competition.
Adapting To The Difference In Blind Structure
The biggest difference in a tournament versus a cash game is that the blinds and antes will increase throughout the event, normally every 15 to 30 minutes – and sometimes even more rapidly.
What this means is that if the current blinds are $20-$40, at the end of the level they will increase to $30-$60 or even $40-$80. The reason for the increase in blind levels is to force the action rather than let everyone in the tournament sit there forever and wait for pocket aces.
To adapt to this you will need to study up on hand selection, especially as it applies to positioning, so that you will feel more comfortable playing a wider range of hands when you have to.
Tournaments Require Quicker Reading Skills
Another massive change you will experience when transitioning from cash games to tournaments is that you will play against a large number of different players in a relatively short period of time, rather than the same eight to ten people you are likely to spend an hour playing against in a cash game.
As a result you will have less time to try to pick up on their betting patterns and tells, making you more reliant on your own abilities and your skills at quickly deciphering an opponent’s strengths and weakness.
On top of learning the new things mentioned above like blind/ante levels, you will also want to go online or buy a few books and read up on tournament-specific strategies.
The way you play pocket aces in a cash game against someone that can easily re-buy back in if they are busted will be different than the way you play pocket aces against a player who is low on chips in a tournament and is risking elimination from the event.
Educating yourself on tournament tactics will take your game a lot farther than simply trying to adapt your cash game strategies on your own.
Key Points
• Gain experience by playing in cash games and tournaments
• Blinds and antes increase throughout a tournament
• Tournaments will see you play against a larger variety of people
Chris
- Chris Laquinta is a magazine editor, content specialist and poker fanatic with 10+ years writing experience and over 1,500 published articles. Chris is a naitive of Southern California, where he spent his entire life learning gaming concepts and theories from relatives that had been former professional gamblers. He currently resides in Torrance, CA where he works as a professional content writer and part-time SNG professional.
