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Many of today's newer poker players come to the game
through television exposure - not too surprising given the explosion in
poker programming over the last three years. This means they're accustomed
to the style of play they see in tournaments, rather than that of the cash
games that make up the bulk of the poker games played around the world. A
lot of these players also start off playing in tournaments - not only
because they are more familiar with them, but also because the amount of
money that they can lose is capped. Those players who try to learn to play
poker by jumping straight into tournaments, outside of the occasional
wunderkind who grasps the game immediately, only increase their learning
curve. There is nothing to say you can't learn a lot and enjoy great success
as a tournament beginner, but there are plenty of reasons why anyone new to
the game should begin by playing cash games instead of tournaments.
Poker's Scoreboard
It's been said before that money is the only true scoreboard in poker. A good
cash game player will regularly see his score increase. Winning players
generally show a profit of about 2 to 3 big blinds per hour - so chances are
that any time a winning cash game player plays a good session, his bankroll
will show a definite positive. Compare that to the bankroll fluctuations of
those players who focus exclusively on tournaments. Today's multi-table
tournaments are the biggest poker minefields the game has ever seen; a
reasonably good player can expect to play many good sessions with the
possibility of having nothing to show for their efforts. For most players,
cash games are the surest way to increase the bankroll.
Early Success
One of the most encouraging things a person can experience when learning a new
pursuit is to enjoy some early success. The math of tournament poker says
that for most people success is unlikely. In a generous pay structure, 10%
of the tournament field will make the money. That means that 90% of the
players, no matter how well they paid, are still losers. Now, imagine being
in that bottom 90% for the first twenty tournaments you played - what are
the chances you're going to keep playing long enough to find out how many
you can lose before you win? Without anything to hang your hat on, losing
gets old quickly.
In a tournament, you have to outlast 90% or more of the field to be a winner.
In a cash game, you only have to outlast one other player on a single hand
to be a winner. Long-term success in cash games is a different matter
altogether, a mixture of study and practice, but in the short term something
as simple as a little luck on a single hand can make you a winner and give
you something to feel good about. And that's the most important factor in
continuing to pursue poker as a hobby. You can't play poker for very long at
all if you don't feel good about the game at least occasionally
Tournament Strategy
Despite the large role that luck can play in tournament poker from one hand to
another, numerous tournament pros have proven that skill is a long-term
factor in the game. Like Mike McDermott said in Rounders, there's a
reason you see the same guys at the final table of the WSOP every year.
Tournaments are really tests of two separate skill sets: skill at the game
of poker, and skill at adapting to changing circumstances. Whether they're
in the biggest tourneys in the world or in $5 and $10 tourneys at a small
online card room, the players who have studied the game and practiced often
have an edge over players whose approaches might win in a cash game but
don't hold up in the facing of escalating blinds. Anyone who is less than
adept at both skill sets is giving up a big edge to his fellow players, and
is probably better off in a cash game where the blinds are constant.
Time Commitment
Finally, there is one big advantage to playing cash games: you can leave
whenever you want to. Because winning money in a tournament only comes to
those who outlast the field, you're signing away a chunk of your life to
play in a tournament. Compare that to cash games, where's there's no rule
that you can't stand up, even if you hit a monster pot on your first hand
and want to quit on the spot. Beginning players who aren't yet completely
immersed can get bored if they have to play for longer than they're prepared
to pay attention - cash games are much more suitable until they can
appreciate the game enough to play for long stretches without losing focus.
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