Poker Tournaments
Let’s take the tournament vs. cash game idea from the bonus/promotion connection to a full view of the online-poker tournament. Many of the of the features and tips that apply to online play will, of course, apply to live tournament play as well.
Poker: Learn By Watching Or Learn By Doing?
Almost every piece of advice we see about learning to play poker includes some reference to new players who “learn” to play by watching tournament poker on television. Most experienced players don’t believe that true poker education can take place from a spectator’s seat. There must be some playing experience and even some studying of the tips and strategies of successful players. But even this may only prepare a player for some success in tournaments. Playing in a cash game is the proverbial “horse of a different colour.”
We mentioned earlier that there may be a difference between tournament play and cash-game play online, when it comes to determining bonus points and bonus levels. When you are looking for the right online-poker site, make sure you know if the new-player bonus level can be achieved with tournament play or if you have to play raked hands in cash games.
Online Poker: Tournament versus Cash Game
Now, why would you choose to play tournaments online rather than cash games? It could be because this is what you are familiar with. As stated earlier, a lot of new players are introduced to poker during televised tournaments. But there is another key reason for new players to try tournaments. If an individual has a limited bankroll, online tournaments can be a good learning tool because your losses are automatically limited.
Let’s assume you are on your favourite poker site and pay $2 to play in a multiple-table tournament. Whether 15 players sign up or 150 sign up, your investment is $2. You will probably get $1,500 in chips and you play until you go all in and lose or until you are the last player standing. In contrast, if you take $10 to a small-stakes game online not only is your $10 at risk but you can stay in that game by simply going to the cashier/your account and getting some more money. The only limit is your will power. (Some might say this is true with tournaments too. If you play a lot of tournaments with higher entry fees, you may be risking more money too.)
Play Lots of Tournaments
The opposite side of this coin is the chance of playing above-average poker over a long period of time in a tournament but getting busted out on the “bubble.” Let’s assume that there are 100 players in the online tournament. The site will probably pay 10 percent of those – 10 players. Ten players will be “in the money.” The person finishing 11th has probably played well and got some breaks along the way but has nothing to show for it. The argument here is that a good player has a better chance of increasing the bankroll in a cash game. One professional stated in an interview that he didn’t see how anyone could make money in tournaments without playing a lot of tournaments.
Here is a page on the various types of online poker tournaments.
