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Keep Poker Tournaments And Cash Games Separate
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12 May 2006
A common mistake amongst novice poker players is the idea that if you`re good at one type of poker game you`re naturally good at all the others. In fact, you need a different skill set, a different strategy, and in general a different approach if you want to succeed in tournaments as opposed to cash games.
I would argue that you also need a different style to play limit ring games as opposed to no limit cash games. But you certainly need to specialize in either tournaments or cash games when you start out. By all means try both, but focus your attention on mastering one format. My advice on the Experiment is to start with poker tournaments, because it is less volatile than any cash game in terms of your bankroll.
Let`s say you want to invest $500 at a poker room and your intention is to learn and become a stronger player, plus you`d actually like to show a profit. You are far far better off playing in 20 $20+$2 Sit `N Gos than in taking that money to $3/$6 limit tables. The standard of play is probably the same, or at least hard to distinguish, but you have a much better chance of ending up a winner following the SNG path.
So, if you start out playing tournament poker you will need to get out of the bad habits of chasing when behind, fishing for longshot draws, and generally being loose. You cannot survive in tournaments this way. Conversely, you can make a lot of money pursuing this style in NL cash games, specifically short-handed tables.
In a cash game with 5 players middle pair is often the best hand, and if you are behind and catch up at the end the rewards could easily outweigh the risks. If you get beaten you simply rebuy and try again. In a tournament if you do this and lose once you are out for good. For that reason you tend to be beaten if you flop middle pair and cannot shake your opponents.
It is not surprising at all to me that very few poker players are both good tournament players and good cash game players. The list is very short: Phil Ivey, Barry Greenstein, Daniel Negreanu (to some extent, although I`m not convinced he can hang in the big cash game and thrive), and obviously Doyle Brunson in his heyday.
Look at the guys who cannot do both: Chip Reese - phenomenal cash game player but hopeless in tourneys; Stu Ungar - bled millions in the cash games but possibly the greatest tournament player who ever lived; Phil Hellmuth - so many tournament titles and wouldn`t go close to the big cash games because he might be a loud-mouthed ass but he ain`t nobody`s fool.
This is a big topic and one blog cannot do it justice. My one point here is to focus on a specific game and variant of poker and become a winning player at it first. Choose Hold`em tournaments and play them religiously without trying your luck at a pot-limit Omaha cash game when you`re bored. You`ll be relying on luck, and just remember that it takes ages to become a skilled mixed-game player. It`s also not necessary to ever become one in order to become a successful poker player (namely one who wins overall)!
Posted by: Marc Weinberg at 11:25
0 Comments
Related Posts:
> Don`t Be Intimidated When You Step Up A Level
> You Can Learn To Play Poker Online
> Dealing With A Losing Streak
> How To Deal With Bad Cards In A Sit N Go
> Playing Heads-Up - Some Basic Advice
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