Poker Cash Game Betting

Introduction

Reading some articles about playing poker you’d be forgiven for thinking that all any one ever plays in are poker tournaments. Whether you like playing casino poker games or prefer online poker games the chances are you’ll actually be playing in a cash poker game, also known as a ‘ring game’. Naturally the aim of any poker game, whether it's a tournament or a cash game, is to win it; but the significant difference between a cash game and tournament poker is in the way the betting plays out.

Tournament compared to Cash game betting structures

In a poker tournament the betting is ultimately designed to engineer a situation where someone makes a big mistake to knock them out of the game, thereby reducing the playing numbers so that the tournament can progress to the next round. This situation comes about because the betting hasn’t got a fixed structure; indeed in a poker tournament the betting levels increase raising the chances of a confrontation between players to bring about an elimination. But, in a cash poker game the betting structure is a fixed one. Here the antes/blinds and therefore the lower and upper betting limits stay the same throughout the game. The fixed nature of the betting in a cash game can, thus, be a feature in determining your short and long term strategies to stay in the game.

Using a cash game betting structure to win

A big advantage of playing online poker games for cash is that they are offered by the online poker and casino websites at levels to meet every pocket. After all, for one person betting limits of $1/$2 might be all that they can afford to play in an evening’s poker online and yet satisfy their poker playing desires. If some one else can afford $10/$20 or even $100/$200 limits - then good luck to them; but by offering various betting levels online poker can truly be enjoyed by any player - without having to risk financial embarrassment. And that is another key to consider in your long and short term strategies to stay in a poker game - choose a betting level you can stay in, one that is well within your means, rather than having to bow out after a few hands because you’ve run out of funds. Don’t forget as well, in a cash game you can cash-in anytime you want, there’ll always be someone waiting to take your seat at the poker table. So if you’re on a winning streak - finish your session as a winner by cashing-in when you’re ahead.

Full-hand or short-hand table?

You might also want to consider whether you’re best off joining a cash game on a full or short table. A full-handed game will have all 9 or 10 seats at the table filled, this will suit you if you’re the sort of player that likes to bet when you need to play with patience waiting for a strong hand to occur. Conversely a short-handed table, perhaps with only three or four players at it, will be better suited to loose players who like to adopt an aggressive attitude to their betting or, if you prefer, are more willing to gamble on hands that might not be all that strong in truth.

Have a poker bankroll

Generally speaking it’s always a good idea to have a poker bankroll to act as potential limit to your betting in poker games. Whether you decide your bankroll is $50 a night or $500 a week etc doesn’t matter - but having some sort of limit to what you’ll allow yourself to lose according to the betting levels you use is a good idea. Of course, if you hit a winning streak and your bank-roll grows - well that can either be spent on even more poker games or a treat elsewhere.

Don’t let the betting go to your head

Ever wondered why professional poker players can make a living out of the game? Simple, it’s not down to wearing a lucky pair of sox or having a pet MoJo in front of them; no, apart from the skill they have in playing their cards in cash poker games it’s because they know when to quit betting. One thing you do have to be wary of when playing online poker is tiredness creeping upon you, making your betting decisions fuzzy. At such times any bets you make in the game might not be the ones that you’d have made when you started out playing poker. The same is true of drinking alcohol when playing online poker, the later it gets, the more you’ve had - the fuzzier your betting decisions will be. Returning to our professionals for a moment, a pro poker player simply will not allow themselves to play if they’re not 100% sure that they’re both physically and mentally alert to the game. So, if you want to emerge a cash winner from your poker games - when you begin to feel tired cash-in and don’t overdo the booze!