Making the Adjustments: Tournaments bring different play style
Hey guys, I’m back today to tell you how to master cash games and tournaments. These are two totally different beasts and you need to change your style depending on the event you’re in.
For a long time, I would only play in the cash games but I heard that people could make good money in tournaments so I decided to check one out. As usual, I gave a call to my poker pro friend and he gave me the scoop on tournaments.
I don’t have as many opportunities to play in tournaments and am generally more successful in the local no limit games. However, lately I’ve had the opportunity to play in more tournaments and discovered the differences my friend told me about.
I thought it would be a good idea to go over just how different these two scenarios actually are.
Tighter Play
When you play in a cash game, the game tends to be looser than in tournaments. Players will limp in with all sorts of random hands as any of them has the chance to make them money.
I am not advocating this though. I believe that stronger hand selection is a long-term money winner but, it’s a fact that you’ll see people come in with hands such as big-little suited, any two connecting cards, suited or not, and try to hit with them.
Why do people do this? Well, in a cash game, making mistakes and going broke will only lead you to have to buy in again.
On the other hand, tournament players know better. Making too many marginal calls in a tournament will eventually cost you all of your chips and then you’re out.
You need to think of your chips as bullets. Save your bullets for your better cards and you’ll be rewarded by being able to take down those larger pots. Waste them away and you’re out.
AK gets played like a pair
In tournaments, people will raise and re-raise with AK, even getting all of their money in pre-flop. I saw many players either double up or get knocked out holding Big Slick.
Why? Well, at worst, when facing a pocket pair, these two overcards are a 48% underdog and players are willing to risk their tournament life with them.
In cash games, it’s rare that you see players go all in with Big Slick just because it needs help to win and you can stand to lose lots of cash, not just your buy in.
Any pair leads to aggression
Players are aggressive with virtually any pocket pair. In cash games, I see players limp in with small pocket pairs all the time, hoping to flop a set that will net them large sums of cash.
In a tournament, a pair is a premium hand and players will try to steal blinds with pocket pairs in the hopes they don’t run up against a bigger pocket pair. For example, in my most recent tournament, after a couple early position limpers, I put in a huge raise holding pocket 7’s and took down the pot pre-flop.
In a cash game, I wouldn’t normally make this play, looking to trap my opponents for more money.
People are more selective calling raises
In a cash game, it’s fairly common for a raise to be called by five players as the pot builds up.
You RARELY see this in a tournament as the players play tighter. Calling too many raises with marginal hands will eventually send you to the rail. People will routinely fold hands like A-J or KQ when someone shows strength.
When was the last time when you saw that in a cash game?
People will go all-in on draws more frequently
When you play in a cash game, you can make a big enough bet to make it mathematically incorrect for someone to call with their straight or flush draw.
However, in a tournament, it’s common to see a player make the all-in move when he is on a draw. I’m not sure if this is psychological or what, but its just more common in tournaments.
Fewer players see flops
In no limit games, you sometimes see family pots and frequently see six or seven players in a hand. Not in tournaments.
With no raising, you’ll generally have only two or three players in a hand. Everyone is looking to save their bullets for the big fights so you must adjust accordingly to what is going on around you.
In general, tournament play is tighter with more pre-flop stealing opportunities. If you’re mindful of the nuances, you too can be a successful tournament player.
Winning a major tournament is a dream come true. Do you have what it takes?
