What are the major differences between poker tourneys and cash games besides the obvious?

Like which one is more profitable?


I'm a pretty good tournament player but never tried cash games.


What strategy should I use in cash games in comparison to tournaments?|||Different skills in cash games and tournaments.





Which is more profitable? Depends which ones you play better.|||You don't have to worry about being knocked out in cash games. And you don't have to worry about blinds going up. I would say no-limit cash games are more profitable given the time that you must invest in tournaments. In large, scheduled tournaments there are many variables and you can spend hours playing without even making it to the bubble. Plus you are out your buy-in and tournament fee.





With cash games, you can spend a couple hours at a table and sit on a big stack and wait for cards. Of course, this will work if you have the patience and skill to play accordingly. In both games, I'd still recommend playing tight-aggressive. In the early rounds of a tournament, you want to play especially tight. Many bad players feel they need to play loosely because a) the blinds are small and they can afford to play a lot of hands and b) they think that if they can build a big stack quickly, they have a better chance at playing and c) they'd rather take the chance of being knocked out early than wasting their time without making it to the bubble. In my experience, you'll see a lot of bad beats in the early stages of tournaments because bad players play lots of bad cards, and you'll see a lot of bad poker plays and suckouts. You can become the aggressor in the mid stages, when everyone is trying to make the bubble rather than go deep. This is the time you can buy a lot of pots.





In cash games, it's a similar strategy except for that like I mentioned before, there are no blind raises and you aren't playing for 1st or 2nd. You are playing to eat chips. The best way I find to win at cash games is develop a tight table image and try to show down big hands early. This can take a while if you are not getting cards right away.|||if you are cashing regularly playing tourneys then there is no need to change, no shame in only knowing how to play one game if you are winning, you can always watch a cash game while you are playing a tourney (although you should be concentrating)


in a cash game you can reload if you have enough money in the bank so you will play a lot more 'loose' than you would in a lose all tourney situation, so although you can win faster you can also lose a lot faster too


also, if you get to top 2 or 3 spots in tourney cashes then the rewards vs investment is much higher


it might affect your tourney game if you play too much cash


i say stick with tourneys, manage your money sensibly and climb the stakes accordingly, if your bank flow allows you to play a $100 buy in then do so, if it dictates that you should only play $1 tourneys then play the $1 tourneys until you have enough to raise the stakes


you can always play satellites for pennies to make big bucks


watch high stakes poker on youtube, very educational|||cash games are good to play if you can read people, u can make money pretty fast depending on the blinds... i prefer playing tourneys, u always get beginners in them and easier to win :)