There are many reasons why poker is one of the most popular card and casino games in the world. Its skill requirements are extreme on both ends of the spectrum, making it a one-of-a-kind game. Texas Holdem, the simplest and most popular poker variant, has straightforward rules and game mechanics. That means it’s easy to learn and get into poker. However, poker manages to retain its depth of skill for all players. No matter how good you are at poker, there’s always more room to learn and improve. That duality of being easy to play yet hard to master is what makes poker appeal to everyone and makes it incredibly rewarding to learn.
The other reason why poker is so popular is the variety it offers. To be good, a game has to be replayable, and poker is one of the best examples. It has many different forms, each with its own rules, meaning everyone can find the perfect kind of poker they enjoy playing. Even with Texas Holdem, there is still variety in terms of game type. The two main game formats are cash games and tournaments. While the poker gameplay is almost the same between the two, they have vastly different mechanics that cause them to appeal to different people. This poker guide will cover what makes cash games and tournaments so different and their strategic differences.
Cash game format
Cash games are the quintessential form of poker that most players are introduced to upon starting. Everyone sits down at the table and plays with real cash. The chips they have directly equate to dollars. Players can both leave to convert their chips to cash and join the game whenever there isn’t an ongoing match. Players exchange money for a starting amount of chips to join the game, known as a buy-in. There’s a minimum and maximum buy-in amount based on the stakes. Cash games use blinds as their forced bets, and blind amounts stay the same. Finally, losing in a cash game simply means you have to pay the buy-in again and can rejoin in between games.
Tournament format
Tournaments are much more complex than cash games. Unlike cash games which are only played on one table, tournaments are enormous events that span multiple tables. Instead of playing with chips directly equating to cash, tournaments have players compete for the top spot until one player has all the chips. Players are paid based on where they finished in the tournament. When you lose, depending on the tournament, you can either only rejoin within a certain period, or you are unable to rejoin at all. Buy-ins and starting stack sizes are fixed, but the blinds aren’t. They steadily increase throughout the tournament and forced bets known as antes are also introduced. Antes also ramp up throughout the tournament, and every player must pay them.
Strategic differences
The differences in the game formats mean both tournaments and cash games have wildly different strategies. Here are a few strategic differences between the two:
Where to play online poker
We hope this article taught you about the types of poker games and which you should choose. If you want to improve, you should play on sites like GGPoker, the world’s largest poker room. Online poker is excellent for learners since it gives convenient access to all game types. You can play from anywhere, the games are faster-paced, and you can even use poker tracking software to analyze your gameplay and find mistakes.