Holdem tournaments vs Ring Holdem

What is the major difference between a ring or cash game and a tournament in the game of Holdem?  The games are technically played the same and the card values are the same, so what is different in the games.  The one difference is the player can rebuy as long as they want and never be forced out of the game even if all the chips in the present stack are lost.  When the stack is lost in a tournament, the player is knocked out of the game permanently.  The fear of being knocked out of the game can be a determining factor on whether a player will call or raise or not.

Online you see a great many all in bets as the game is played with a great deal of pressure.  In live tournaments the online players play the same and the old timers took a while to get use to the pressure these young online players brought to the game.  They still do not fold if they think they have the winner, no matter what is bet.  However the fear of getting knocked from the tournament is an ally in the betting sequence.  Most players are ready to play, but they do not want to risk the tournament on one drawing hand.  In a cash game these all in bets would be called frequently as the only fear is losing money and that does not faze the well heeled players that play in the big cash games.

Another factor in many cash games is the players know one another.  In a tournament the players may have never played against each other.  The players do not have a book on each other like they do in big cash games in Vegas or elsewhere.  Another element of tournaments is many players play small suited connectors a great deal early in the tournaments.  There is a method to their madness in playing this way.  If the flop falls their way they can trap players with a big pair.  This can lead to some big pots and build up the stack for later in the tournament.  This is the reason that this play is seen a lot on TV tournaments.  It can work in a cash game too, as long as the betting does not get too rich.  At the beginning of tournaments there is a tendency for the players to be a little tentative in the play of their hands.

Tagscash, cash game, live tournaments, online players, poker online, pot, ring game, ring Holdem

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