Cash Game Moving from tourney to cash game (1 Viewer)

[Virtus]

Since joining and browsing this site I'm very intrigued about hosting a cash game. I've only ever done tourney style games before, I guess because that's what we always saw on TV when I first started playing. It seemed to be the best option when we would only do $10-20 buyins and play winner takes all. I really do enjoy playing tourneys but am itching to try something new, and I would like to eventually go play in a casino.

I've recently started playing with a second group who I think would be more willing to play bigger games, probably starting around $50-100 for a session. If we did a cash game I imagine we would do .25/.50 blinds so still low stakes compared to what a lot of you play.

Just interested in your thoughts on what the key differences between having a home tourney and cash game are. Which style do you prefer? Any advice on hosting or going to a first cash game? Would it be better to just increase our tourney buyins to $50 since that is what we are most familiar with? Anything else to consider?

Thanks!

 

[manamongkids]

A lot of people who play tourneys like u describe do it for the social aspect as much as the liking of playing poker, many people do not have disposable income. So if you have a tournament for $20 a week, the most someone can win or lose is $20. When you switch to cash games it gets much more competitive because you are playing for actual money.

If your group has disposable income then the switch might go well, but if your group doesn't have money to throw around, friendships can change drastically over money.

My 2c

 

[Shaggy]

To me, the main selling point for cash games is... You don't leave if you bust out... You reload. There is nothing worse when you bust out of a tourney, but still want to play more poker. If your players enjoy playing poker all night, the cash game is the way to go. If they are only willing to lose $20 in a night, play even smaller, 25c/25c or 10c/20c. Also, with cash games, generally several people leave with something and only a few lose... vs the tourneys you used to run where everyone but one lost $20... Just because they buy in for $50 in the cash game, doesn't mean they lose $50.

Also, they can show up late... That doesn't work in a tourney.

 

[p5woody]

We play both cash games and a tournament on the same night. We start the night playing cash dealer choice games for the first 1-2 hours. Not everybody can get there at the same time, so as soon as we have a couple of players we start playing and as people arrive they join in. Once everybody arrives we we start the tournament, typically 2 hrs. Some come late because they don't like to play cash and others leave after the cash games, normally because they have other plans. However, most play both cash and the tournament.

This is a monthly game among friends. We typically have of 8-12 players.

 

[detroitdad]

On tourney nights we do the tourney first. Its usually a 20 player game. As soon as enough players are eliminated that want to play cash they will fire it up. Sometimes it starts three handed. Sometimes it starts 5 handed.

When I host. Its normally just a cash game.

I'll start at 7. About 75% of the players arrive within 15 minutes of the start time. Again, as soon as enough is here, we start. Other players roll in for the next 60-90 minutes. Its rare that players will join the cash game after 10. However it has happened.

We play .25/.50. I recently moved the buy in to 100 and I think I prefer playing a little deeper. For some reason its easier to manage re buys. Anytime a player dips below 100 they can add chips to get back to 100.

Another thing for hosting a cash game. Make sure you have a cash bank available to make it easier to cash people out as they leave. I usually have 20 in ones and 80 in fives. I just use this as my initial 100.00 buy in. Most of my players know that I have a bank on hand. They all buy in with 20's or 100's. Makes cashing out pretty easy.

We also set up a timer to run a double board every 30 minutes. Probably shouldn't introduce that into your first cash game.

Good luck, and keep us updated.

Bill

 

[Psypher1000]

If we did a cash game I imagine we would do .25/.50 blinds so still low stakes compared to what a lot of you play.

Don't fall into a trap of comparing stakes. We all play what we're comfortable playing, and there's no shame in enjoying the game of poker using chips with values of nickles and quarters. I can enjoy playing NL games up to $1/$2, but anytime we play cash games at my house there is always at least one table that runs a spread limit dealer's choice circus game for $.05-$.25. Microstakes are *always* welcome at The Armory!

Since you don't specifically state, I'm assuming you play NLHE at your games. If that's the case then you'll want to gauge your players. If they play pretty fast & loose then you might consider bumping it down to $.25/$.25 with buyins between $20-$30. That way they can bring $100 to the table and still swing with 3-5 buyins. If they play more conservatively w/little all-in action, then $.25/$.50 might work.

 

[Craig D]

I love 10c20c NLH or 10c10c PLO

We mostly do $20 starting buyin with rebuys to half the big stack

I'm not every well off money wise and enjoy it, other are very wealthy and love the social aspect of the game

 

[RagsPoker]

Some of the most fun I've had has been sitting with friends at a .05/.10 NL game, $10 min buyin / $20 max.
You could also play limit or spread limit.

 

[links_slayer]

Some of the most fun I've had has been sitting with friends at a .05/.10 NL game, $10 min buyin / $20 max.

this x 1 zillion

 

[Mental Nomad]

Just interested in your thoughts on what the key differences between having a home tourney and cash game are. Which style do you prefer? Any advice on hosting or going to a first cash game? Would it be better to just increase our tourney buyins to $50 since that is what we are most familiar with?

I definitely prefer cash games over tourneys, both as a player, and a host.

Personally, if someone shows up two hours into game night, I never want to say, "sorry, late buy-ins already closed..." and if someone needs to leave early for whatever reason, I never want their chips to be lost.

If you guys normally do a buy-in of, say, $20 total, and that's the max that most people spend, I suggest you play a big blind of a dime (assuming NLHE.) Then a $10 buy-in gets you a full stack of 100 big blinds... but people still have the opportunity to rebuy anothe $10 if they run badly, or maybe top up with $5 twice, and still be at the $20 mark. Some people will prefer to buy in for $5 and start short-stacked; some people enjoy starting that way.

People will need a little time to get used to it, but a five & dime game can be a lot of fun and very competitive if you remember that while the money may not be big enough to be a wild gamble, but it's still the way to keep score.

Anything else to consider?

Yeah, plan on your bank and chips being a lot more accessible, and don't expect to pre-count all the buy-ins. People can and will buy in for weird amounts, especially when buying in after losing an all-in. Since you'll see unusual amount, make sure to have every buy-in and cash-out double-checked by someone else; you WILL make errors. I prefer when I count it out, the player confirms it, and a third person confirms it - because I've been a professional dealer and I routinely saw and continue to see mistakes being made and being caught.

Your bank is really, really important when it's not "winner takes all." Instead, it usually becomes "last cash-out gets screwed," unless the bank is right. Make sure the bank is right.

 

[Trihonda]

I typically do cash games (1x/month), but maybe 4x/year I host a multi-table tourney. My tourneys are always fun to play (and host).

On tourney nights, I start with the tourney (always offering a chip bonus for those seated on time). I can't completely eliminate the late-comers (and I don't really mind a few people coming late once in a while), but offering the chip bonus encourages people to show up on time, which makes less work for me registering people AS I'm playing.

As players bust, cash games start up. Typically $.25/.50 NL. If I'm still in the tourney (as often is the case), I'll take short breaks to help bank the cash game, give out rebuys, etc... This is def a bit of work, as some of my cash game players are very loose. I had one player, at my last post tourney cash game, rebuy 5 times ($60 ea) while the tourney was going. Apparently, he was shoving 120bb anytime he had face cards? In any case, this is why I always situate the table I'm at next to the chip cabinet.

Running a tourney can be work, but we get more newer players show up for those, as they're less intimidating. I used the new Blinds Up app to run things, and it's amazing.

 

[mooremo]

I enjoy playing both tournament and cash games, with the cash game being far easier to host in my opinion.

 

[detroitdad]

I enjoy playing both tournament and cash games, with the cash game being far easier to host in my opinion.

Amen on that.

 

[joker80]

You don't need a clock or blind levels for cash games. The late arrival thing is nice for cash. The game changes in tournament play as the night goes on. The short stacks will shove and the large stacks will call. There seems to be less of this in cash games as the large stacks will be less likely to call all ins.

 

[abby99]

@Mental Nomad has pretty much nailed it.

Working backwards, determine the dollar amount that most players are willing to risk, divide that by 2 or 3 so that everybody has 2-3 bullets if they want to use them, and divide that by 100 to determine the big blind. For example, if most players are willing to risk $30, set your maximum buy-in at $10 and the blinds at .05/.10.

In general, it's better to err on the small side. It's much more palatable to increase the stakes and blinds than to reduce them.

Another advantage of cash games is that it's easier to mix things up from week to week or even from hour to hour. Mixed games, dealer's choice, whatever your group wants to play. There's more to poker than NLHE.

 

[Dale_Doback]

15 years ago when my friends and I were first starting to play (when we all had a small print out of what beats what lol) we did $5 tournaments. We'd do like 10 a night. Then we went to $10, $20 and so on.

After about five years of only playing tourneys, I tried a cash game...and haven't played another tourney in the last 10 years.

I love cash games bc as other people stated, if you lose all your chips, you can reload if you want or you can just go home. You don't get knocked out with no option of playing again until the tourney is over. I also like it bc while you can get knocked out you can also win a lot in a single pot or multiple pots if you go on a heater.

My advice would be to keep it to a $20 buy in and $.25/.50 for your first few games if your friends are new to cash games and then you can always raise the stakes after everyone gets used to cash game play. Bc don't forget, as players rebuy, the amount of $ on the table goes up so bets can sometimes get higher. At least they do with my games.

I do $1/$2 NL with a $200 max buy in. We usually start with about 7 players so say $1400 on the table but after 6-7 hours of playing (especially if a player goes on a heater) that can be 4-5 times that on the table so naturally if players have more in front of them, they're going to increase their bet sizes. So that's why I'd suggest keeping it $20 max buy in, unless your friends wouldn't mind larger stakes from the get go.