The subject of tournaments and cash games and the differing strategies when approaching each of these types of game is one of much debate. Some are of the opinion that your best cash game strategy is your optimum tournament strategy and vice versa and others like myself prefer to take a much different approach to each particular game and each aspect of them.
One reason I am of that opinion is because, it’s often said that the best poker players are the adaptive and read how there table is playing and adapt accordingly.
In a cash game your goal is to make as much money as possible and in tournaments your goal is to win all the chips in your respective tournament. These differing goals require differing strategies, one being the all in factor. In tournaments due to increasing blinds and the sheer speed of the game you are required to move all in multiple times to keep up with the increasing stack sizes and blind changes. While in cash games, all ins are less frequent because players are trying to extract the most money possible from their opponents so as a result they bet significantly smaller to entice lower ranked hands into the pot.
The differing strategies are of course more complicated than what I have just outlined, it involves a lot more detail, research and concentration to actually pull these off. For example you have to take into account the number of players at the table, the table mindset (e.g. Aggressive, Loose, Tight, Maniacal), the skill level of the player for example if the player is a beginner you may not be able to make more advanced plays on the player, you might have to stick with the basics. On the other hand if the player is more advanced and knows a lot about the game and how people play, you may have to take that into account. They will understand the types of plays you make and realize what you are telling them with the bet though you may have to mix up your play more as they will be able to come up with a counter play a lot quicker.
Different Strategies For Playing Different Player Types
Speaking for the opposing school of thought that your best cash game strategy is your optimal tournament strategy. They look at it as all one big game which is poker. You play to extract the maximum amount of chips possible from your opponent and you get those chips in your stack though any means (within the rules) possible. This is good until final table time and then you need to alter your strategy in accordance to your stack, the number of players at the table and also take into account how many players are playing to cash or win.
That’s why I prefer to start with the differing strategy and adapt towards the tables needs.
As with everything in poker though, there are two sides to everything and they will always throw an “It depends” in there somewhere. A good think is always required to determine your mindset on the subject. Whatever you decide is optimal, It can be a winning strategy. Only if you work at it!
