Here at PokerPlayer we get quite a lot of emails from inexperienced players asking about the differences between tournaments and cash games. And we often give the same well-trodden answer about how in cash games the blinds don’t increase, the stacks are usually deep, and each chip is worth an actual monetary value rather than a tournament value. But what we don’t touch on is why you’d choose to play one format over another or which suits each individual best.

Until now, that is. Because recently I got thinking about the two very different formats of poker and why I play one pretty well (tournaments, where I’ve probably won close to $35,000 in MTTs over the past two years) and one pretty bad (cash games where I’ve probably lost close to $35,000 in the… no, I’m only joking, but you get the picture).

I would love to be able to play cash games well and build my bankroll as quick as Brian ‘sbrugby’ Townsend, but it ain’t going to happen. To be honest a big part of it must come down to the fact I’ve been schooled in tournaments – sit-and-gos, MTTs – and have become so used to the tournament formula that translating the same strategies and thought processes to cash games just doesn’t work.

Don’t get me wrong I’m competent and am aware of the basic and advanced strategies in cash games (and I’ve had some great sessions both online and live) but on the whole I just don’t get them.

For some reason I get myself in horrible situations where half my money is in the pot and I have to fold, but I don’t, and then I lose a buy-in. Online in particular I somehow play far too loose, too aggressive, don’t give people credit for good hands, and am constantly convinced people are bluffing me.

And I don’t have the same concerns that I get in tournaments about losing my money or chips – I actually give more respect to my tourney chips than I do my real cash, which is just bizarre whichever way you look at it.

One-track mind

Anyway, I came to the conclusion that cash games aren’t for me, that I should stick to what I do best – tournaments. And that’s the message I’m going to impart to you – find the format you prefer, or are making the most money at (or losing least at), and really attack it, study it and look to improve your game. Because I’ve found the constant switching between game types is a distraction from the main goal of improving, winning and making money.

If you find you’re regularly going deep in tourneys, play more. Or if you never seem to make the money in MTTs or STTs but regularly have winning cash sessions, channel all your efforts into that. You’ll start to see the difference in no time. And when you feel like you’re a consistent winner and strong player at one, you can always look to convert to the other format at a later date, whether that be six months, a year or a decade.

The games are never going to go away and you’ll be a much more confident and competent player going into the other game if you’re already winning at one.

So that’s what I’m doing from now on. Cash games are dead to me. I’m plugging my leak. I’m also going to ignore the cash game players who dismiss tournaments as ‘donkaments’ and claim that cash poker is ‘real’ poker. Both formats warrant the same level of respect but for very different reasons.

Tournaments require strong mathematical and observational skills, coupled with aggression and patience, and provide a real buzz when you go deep. They’re for making a big score, while cash games are for regular earnings. (Although try telling Sorel Mizzi and Annette Obrestad that you can’t grind out a successful living in online MTTs.)

Sure, they can also be frustrating and you might lose 20 in a row on a bunch of coin-flips and bad beats, but it only takes one big win to propel you to fame and fortune. So put this magazine down, have a look at Poker Tracker or your spreadsheets, or even just go off gut instinct, and choose your poker path for the next 12 months. You’ll thank me at the end of the year.