Tournament vs. Cash Play Part 1

This is part one of two articles exploring the differences between playing tournaments and cash games, at more than just chip face value.
Investment and Return
One of the biggest differences between tournaments and cash games is your investment versus your return.
Bad beats aside, every player is guaranteed a significant amount of playing time in a well-structured tournament. The large ratio of starting chips to blinds allows every player to start as a deep stack.
The only monetary investment made in a tournament is the original buy-in. Bad beats aside, you are guaranteed to see a large number of hands for the price of entry.
In a cash game, with each chip being worth face value, the same investment can't guarantee you nearly as many hands.
The attraction of having a set maximum loss makes tournaments attractive to weaker marked cards players, who are not comfortable with the amount of money they may lose playing a cash game, or casual players who don't want to invest a large sum of money into a bankroll. This is one of the reasons a tournament will have an average lower quality of players overall than most cash games.
For a $100 buy-in to a large tournament, the winner stands to make upward of $8,000, depending on the size of the field and the payout structure.
Any player can have a spectacular day where everything works out for them. On one of these days, a player stands to win 80 times the original investment.
In a cash game, you'd be lucky if the same type of day made you 20 times your original investment. The allure of making big money is attractive to gamblers. More importantly, it's attractive to players who know their skill level is lower than that of many other players in the room.

Negreanu is one of the few players who is world class in both tournament and cash play.

Bankroll Differences
As a professional player, you must always be playing inside your bankroll. Playing tournaments requires a much larger bankroll than playing cash games.
In the short term, cash games are much more likely to yield a positive result for a professional than a tournament. But the amount of money made will always be far less than the winner's share of a tournament with an equal buy-in amount.
A top-notch tournament marked cards contactlenses player can expect to win somewhere in the neighborhood of one out of every 40 tournaments he enters. (The larger the fields in the tournaments, the worse this ratio will become.)
Ignoring all cashes that aren't wins, the player may stand to lose 39 buy-ins before they win. They will make good money in the long run but will have to suck up significant losses on the way.
Cash game play will have its own swings, and periods of loss, but they should never be on a scale as large as this. If you are losing 39 consecutive buy-ins at a cash game then you are clearly making some huge mistakes at the table.
Quality of Players
I don't want to be misread, and have people think I'm saying tournament players are less skilled than cash game players. What I am saying is that with an initial buy-in of a similar amount, you will find a larger ratio of weak players to strong ones in tournaments than in cash games.
Although there will be more weak players in tournaments, you will also sit with more great players then you would at a cash game. With the availability of satellites regular Joes can afford to get seats into major tournament events.
Everyone in a tourney buys in for the same amount and is seated randomly. Such an arrangement will see weaker players seated next to, and playing against, some of the world's best. The same Joe who won a satellite would never have been able to afford to sit at the pro's regular high-limit cash game.
In cash games, you're generally seated with a group of players who all have similar levels of skill and experience. Players who exceed the norm for that limit, and dominate it, move up to a higher limit.
Part two of this article will explore the final few elements that differ between the two types of games.

Playing No-Limit Hold'em with Deep Stacks

Deep-stacked, No-Limit poker is one of the most complex and challenging varieties of the game.
It's not something every player will face, but if you do, it pays to be forewarned.
The main reason it's so complex is with deep stacks you're forced to play all three streets.
All-in confrontations are limited.
Each decision is a subtle chess move, and with any mistake you risk losing not just a piece of your stack - you risk losing the whole thing.
In other words: deep-stacked poker is what separates the gender-neutral term for adults from the gender-neutral term for children.
All About Huge River Decisions
Deep stacks are defined as 200 BBs or more, and the biggest change in game-play is you actually have to play easy cards tricks the turn and river.
If you're playing with 50-100 BB stacks, by the time you have a bet and a raise on the flop, if you're committed it's always going in either on the flop or the turn.
The river usually ends up being just a card you have to dodge with all the betting already finished.
In deep-stack poker, you have to make huge river decisions.
The pot is big and you still have money left to bet.
The only thing worse than facing a huge all-in turn bet is facing that same-sized turn bet with more money left to bet on the river.
This is why pros love deep-stacked poker - because they can maximize their edge.

Deep-stacked poker is a thinking man's game.

 

Position Even More Important With Deep Stacks
It should be pretty apparent that position is the most important factor in poker.
If that isn't obvious to you, stop reading this article and go read this one.
Position becomes even more ridiculously important when the stacks are deep.
If your decisions were hard out of position before, just wait until the pot is 150 BBs on the turn, you both have 300 BBs left in your stack and you are out of position.
That decision is going to be very difficult. And that's just it: playing in position makes everything easier for you.
You get to have the final say whether you want to raise, check, bet or call.
When you're out of position, you're left guessing. And when you're left guessing with deep stacks, you're going to end up making mistakes.
When you make mistakes, you lose money. It's as simple as that.
Deep Stacks Change Hand Values
Deep stacks change the value of hands drastically.
With a 20 BB stack, a hand like A-J can be very strong.

Deep stacks change hand value.

 

When you hit a flop, your opponent will likely call off your small stack with a potentially worse hand.
And when you're behind, you only lose that same small amount.
When the stacks are deep, your opponent is not going to want to put in a lot of money with a one-pair hand that you can beat.
So when you win, you win small. When you lose, though, you lose big.
Try playing three streets on ace-high boards with A-J. The times you win, it will be a small pot.
Those times you lose, you're going to lose a boatload.
Top Pair Hands Go Down in Value
That being the case, top pair hands go down in value. But that doesn't mean you should stop playing them.
They're still valuable - you just need to play smart, exercise pot control and of course maximize your time playing in position!
If top pair hands go down in value, which hands go up?
Big-pot hands do - hands like suited connectors and pocket pairs. Hands that make sets, straights, flushes or full houses all drastically rise in value.
With deeper stacks there's just more money to be won with big-pot hands.
In deep-stack situations, implied odds are through the roof because betting on the turn and river is almost guaranteed.
So in reality, a hand like 8♥ 9♥ is more valuable to you on the button than A♣ T♠ would be from early position.

The key is putting it all together.

 

Putting It Together
The "secret" is to put those two concepts together.
You want to play your big pots in position with big-pot hands.
You want to control the size of the pot when you have one-pair type hands, and you want to build big pots with big hands in position.
Let's look at a few examples.
Example 1
$1/$2 NL Full Ring. Effective stacks $600.
THe under-the-gun player limps as do two players from middle position. You raise to $10 with 7♣ 8♣ on the button.
All three players call. There is $43 in the pot.
The flop comes A♣ T♦ 6♣. The UTG player bets out $20 and the other two limpers fold.
You raise to $65 and your opponent calls. There is $173 in the pot and the turn brings the 9♦. UTG checks, you bet $135, he calls.
There is $443 in the pot now and the river comes 2♠.
UTG checks, you go all-in for your last $410. Your opponent tanks and then calls.
He shows A♦ 9♠ and your straight rakes in a huge $1,200 pot.
Why Deep Stacks and Suited Connectors Go Hand in Hand
This hand is a great example of why deep stacks and suited connectors go hand in hand.
When you hit, you have the potential to win huge pots. When the stacks are deep, hand value normalizes.
It becomes less about the cards marked cards and more about how you play them - skill is put back into the game.
When the stacks are deep you also have room to get creative with a wider range of hands because there is such a huge upside.
Weak Ace Out of Position is Doomed From the Get-Go

Weak aces out of position are doomed.

 

As for your opponent's play? Well, he was doomed from the get-go.
Playing a weak ace from out of position with deep stacks is always a recipe for disaster.
Also, he got married to his hand and you put him to tough decisions the entire way down.
Out of position, it's difficult to know where you stand and deep stacks worsen the situation.
If the stacks were a shallower, say 100 BB or less, chances are the money would have been in on the turn.
Because the stacks were deeper he was forced to call that would-be all-in bet on the turn and yet another larger river bet to see if his hand is good.
Now let's look at a top-pair style hand.
Example 2
$1/$2 NL Full Ring. Effective stacks $600.
UTG limps. You make it $8 with A♣ Q♠. He flat-calls and you take a flop heads-up. $19 in the pot.
Board comes A♦ 7♥ 8♣. He checks and you bet $13. He flat-calls.
$45 in the pot now. The turn comes 2♠. He checks, you check behind.
The river comes 6♦. He bets out $35, you flat-call.
He shows 7♦ 7♠ and his set rakes in the $115 pot.
By being in position you control everything.
You eliminated the turn as a round of betting and only allowed him to get one real street of value in. You have the last say in everything.
He, on the other hand, is in a tough spot. Out of position, he chose to slow-play the flop and once you check the turn the pot is small.
He can't very well bet $200 into a $45 pot so he is forced to bet a reasonable amount.
An amount that, thanks to your expert pot control, is easily callable.

Don't be predictable.

 

I know what you're thinking: If I play all my top pair hands super weak and all my big hands strong, won't I be easily read by my opponents?
They'll just fold when I bet big and call when I bet small.
True, if you always play that predictably.
Of course you should always mix up your play - so occasionally you will have to bet three streets for value with TPTK or run up a three-barrel bluff.
This is just a rough guide on how to play deep stacks.
It is not a cover-all, push chart. For deep-stacked poker, no such chart exists. Deep-stacked poker is an art that needs to be played by feel.
The only thing that can truly help you master deep-stack strategy is experience and the willingness to learn.
If you put in the time to review your hands played and constantly try to come up with the optimum way to play hands, you'll be unstoppable.
Just remember:
The more you put your opponent to tough decisions and the more you avoid tough decisions yourself, the more time you're going to spend stacking chips and the less time you'll spend second-guessing yourself.

Partial Reinforcement Part 2

Last week we examined the "partial reinforcement effect" (or PRE).
Editor's note: Make sure to check out part one of this blog to catch up if you haven't already done so.
The PRE is the finding that behavior that is rewarded on an irregular, unpredictable schedule becomes more likely than behavior that has been rewarded every time.

This may seem paradoxical, but the effect is very real, in poker and in the rest of life.
Try this: Imagine a game where you win a fixed amount every time you play particular hands - say you get $1 each time you hold big slick. OK?
Now imagine a game where you averaged a $1 win with A-K but on a wildly varying schedule. Sometimes you won a huge pot, sometimes you got felted and sometimes you just stole the blinds marked cards. This latter situation is far more desirable.
That's the PRE and I want to use it to take a look at a familiar character: the chaser, aka the calling station.
I'll start with three hands from a recent game. I had just gotten knocked out of a tournament and was not a happy puppy. When I am unhappy, I drop down in stakes, for I am not always playing my A-game.
I took a seat in a $1/$2 game along with the usual suspects. After a while a new player sat in the 10 seat. It quickly became clear that he was a gambler who had come to mix it up. Implied odds? "Don't need no freakin' odds!" Position? "Whassat?" Player styles? "Who gives a flyin' F!"
I was as card-dead here as in the tournament, so I just sat while calluses formed on my butt and tossed away J-6, T-2, 7-4 ... For an hour an a half I literally saw two flops, and those were BB free passes. Of course, I missed both.
I'm pointing this out not because I want sympathy, but because it's important in understanding "Mr. G" in Seat 10.
About one orbit later a woman open-raises to $8 UTG (which is pretty standard). Mr. G calls from the cut-off, as is his wont.
They see a T♠ 9♣ 3♣ flop. She bets $20. He calls. The turn is K♠. She bets $40. He calls, and the 2♠ lands on the river.
She hesitates, stops, thinks, wrinkles her nose - all of which screams A-K to me - and bets her last $45. He calls and turns over 6♠ 3♠, smiling while raking in the pot.

Not this Mr. G.

Ten minutes later the somewhat passive fellow on my right opens for $7. Mr. G is the only caller. The flop is J-8-7 rainbow. The raiser bets $18. Mr. G calls. The turn is an offsuit two.
The raiser, who, remember, is a pretty passive player, shoves for his last $110. Mr. G. calls. Mr. Passive turns up A-J suited. Mr. G doesn't show. The river is a T. Mr. G, in case you need to be told, now flips over T-2.
Mr. Passive loses it. "You called the flop with a gut-shot? You called a hundred freakin' dollar bet with bottom pair? What the f'in' hell is wrong with you?" Mr. G just laughs. He is having a wonderful time.
My evening's dénouement comes some 15 minutes later. I still haven't played a hand, so when I see A-J suited in mid position, it looks like wired bullets. There were two early limpers so I make it $20 to go.
Mr. G calls, of course. The limpers muck. The flop is A-K-7 rainbow. I bet $50. He calls. The turn is some rag. I shove my last $90. He calls. The river is a K and, yup, he turns up K-3.
If I hadn't been so tired I'd have reloaded, 'cause unless he racks up, those chips weren't staying there. They're juice cards, as the saying goes, "just visiting." Instead I went home to write this column.
Mr. G's poker game is psychologically fascinating. It's clear he's a bozo, a chaser, a calling station. Bottom pair is like a pheromone to a moth. And there are a lot like him, especially at the lower limits.
Why do the Mr. Gs keep coming back to the tables? The PRE can help us answer that question.
Yes, the humongous reinforcements that arrive on nights like this are a factor, but, importantly, it isn't just the amount he wins when he's hitting cards, because anyone who plays like this will lose far more when he isn't.
It's the fickle and unpredictable nature of these magical nights that regularly entice a Mr. G back to the tables. Players like this never know when they're going to hit that three-outer but when they do (as we noted last week), dopamine floods the synaptic clefts in their limbic systems.

The impact of Erica on the brain is enormous.

The impact on the brain is enormous, and overcomes the effects of the hammering they take on other nights.
But there's another, subtle element here: why did he play that last hand against me? I've been the very personification of nit, a veritable rock, mucking some 50 or 60 hands in a row. I raised; bet when an ace flopped and pushed on every street. How stupid can someone be?
Back to the PRE for insight: it turns out that when unlikely but wildly reinforcing things occur at irregular intervals the resulting cascade of dopamine creates a kind of mental fog that makes danger difficult to perceive. Big reinforcements like the first two suck-outs actually compromise thinking; obvious dangers tend not be appreciated.
Interesting, yes?
In passing, note that this analysis gives us additional insight into two topics we've discussed in the past, specifically the "I'm playing my rush" syndrome and the links between poker and economics.
The "rush" effect is due, at least in part, to the drop-off in thinking that follows a series of big wins. The unwise decision making that we've seen, to our collective pain, in the world of finance as well as at the poker tables is fueled in part by the erratic schedule with which reinforcements arrive in both domains.

Squeeze Play

The term “squeeze” refers to putting someone or something under pressure. In poker, a squeeze play marked cards is a bluffing opportunity that presents itself after a player previously raised and at least one other has called. To squeeze you would put in a big re-raise or three-bet, which can be very effective against loose aggressive players (LAGs) as the chances are they likely don’t have a hand they can call with, allowing you take down the pot before the flop a lot of the time.
EXAMPLE “A player open raised to $ 4 from UTG+1 and another player calls from the CO. Based on my assessment of the UTG and CO players, holding pocket queens in the SB I decide to squeeze raise to $20.”
The Squeeze play can be used in both tournaments and cash games although it must be a big bet game like no limit hold’em or pot limit omaha cause in limit games you can’t raise big enough to expect the players to fold.