20 Jan 09 Cash Game Vs. Tournaments: Going All-In

I just got through playing almost a month of just strictly cash game poker. There were no good tournaments in the area worth driving to, and January is usually a good month to sit down at the regular tables. Why? Because everyone that got poker goodies for Christmas are now at the tables trying to show off their new card protectors and implement some new strategy from the first few chapters of whatever poker book they were given. That puts a lot of loose money in play at the tables, and with that loose money comes loose play.

What really struck me during these sessions is just how many newly minted novice and intermediate level cash game players have no problem bringing their tournament strategy with them over to the real money games. I got stuck at a $5-$10 no-limit table ($500 min buy-in) and more than half the table was calling to see the flop almost every hand regardless or not if the pot had been raised. Then the flop would come, someone bets, most call, a few fold, then the turn makes an appearance and bam, someone goes all-in. And I’m talking about this going on ALL night. And usually there wasn’t more than $100 in the pot at any given time when someone went all-in for their whole bankroll, which in some cases exceeded $600-$700 in chips. Ummmm, huh?

Maybe there isn’t an economic recession like I’ve been hearing about on the TV, but that still doesn’t make it ok when someone is willing to risk $600 to win $100. Now often times this resulted in the other players at the table folding, but a few times the pushers would get called and turn over rather shocking hands, usually just top pair, and by glancing at the board you could see all the ways that they easily could be beat and called by someone with the right hand.

The reality is, way too many inexperienced poker players are playing cash games like it’s a $50 buy-in tournament, and they’re losing their shirts because of it. Look, someone’s only going to call your $600 all-in in a $5-$10 game if they got you crushed, almost no one is going to call while on a draw. So if you make that move three times to win a $100 pot, your risking a total of $1,800 with the possibility of only winning $300 in the long run. That sound like good poker to you?

If the above strategy sounds familiar and you find yourself playing cash games like you’re holding worthless tournament chips, you need to step away from the table. For that same $500 buy-in you can enter a dozen $35 tournament and get a lot more enjoyment from those. Buy some books that focus on cash game play and by the second chapter you’ll notice the stark differences between tournament and cash game play. Trust me, I love to play against players like that because I can make a substantial profit from just winning a single, calculated hand, but I just don’t feel like letting my readers get sharked up like the rest of these fish in the tank.

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Tags: Cash, Game, Going, tournaments