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Even though the rules of Poker Texas Holdem are constant, you can play it in many different ways, and the type of game you choose has a crucial influence on game strategy and tactics. Poker games may be divided into two different types: cash games and tournaments.
Cash games are characterized by stakes as well as a maximum number of players. You can join and leave the game at any time you want – you may join a table, play a few hands and finish the game. Depending on the stakes, tables may be divided into limit (raise limit, low limit, fixed limit, pot limit) and no-limit tables - the most aggressive and exciting. Because of the number of game participants, tables can be further divided into shorthanded (maximum of 5-6 pelayers) as well as full-ring (up to 10 players).
What adds to the cash games is a possibility to finish the game at any moment - if you have a while, you can start the game again. Remember, however, that you constantly have to be concentrated as an unguarded moment may cost an inexperienced player the loss of all the tokens. In cash games you need to make difficult decisions but, at the same time, you can win the most money.
Tournaments have a specified start and an end. To join a tournament the player usually needs to pay a registration fee (buy-in). Tournament start at a fixed time. In the beginning, each player has an equal number of chips. The player's aim is to eliminate other participants and win all chips. A tournament ends when, through elimination, there is only one player left at the final table - the winner of the tournament. Every participant who has lost all their chips is out of the game and finishes at a certain place in a tournament. It is worth mentioning that the prize money is not only awarded to the winner. If a participant has reached a suitably high position in a tournament (the so-called "in the money"), they are awarded a prize money.
Tournament games are divided into small sit'n'go games which are mostly single table games as well as MMT - Multitable Tournaments games for a greater number of players. Free of charge tournaments but with real money to win (the so-called freerolls) and the satellite tournaments in which you can win the right to play in a bigger and more prestigious tournament are also worth mentioning. If you decide to choose a tournament game for a start, remember about the wise management of your bankroll. Even though you cannot lose here any more than the amount of your registration fee, as opposed to table games, you still need to choose an adequate registration fee level.
If you seriously think about playing poker, remember that it does not make sense to take part in tournaments with $50 buy-in when your budget, for example, amounts to $200, as in this case you need as few as four unsuccessful tournaments to lose all your bankroll. In a tournament game you need to prepare yourself for a completely different structure of income. Although in cash games a good player may expect nearly all poker sessions to end with some smaller or bigger profit, you cannot expect the same in multitable tournaments. You need to play many tournaments in order to achieve success, and the prize will certainly be big enough to compensate for the waiting time and cover all the game costs. |
