You ever wonder why some players who are great at poker tournaments are considered to be some of the worst cash game players out there. Without mentioning names I can tell you that the chatter at larger limit cash games often include quotes like “hey, guess who’s at the final table of the WPT, I hope he wins”, followed by laughter.

This isn’t meanness on their part, it’s just them hoping the player wins because they know he’ll make a beeline for the cash games and that’s exactly where they want him.

There are others who curse the game of Chinese Poker. Now I’m not saying there isn’t skill in these games of Chinese, especially those that play it with 2-7 or Kansas City Lowball in the middle. What I am saying is that Chinese is a action junkies game, meaning you are in 4 out of every 5 hands dealt at the table. So why are cash game players mad that Chinese has become so popular? Well which one of us doesn’t want the action junkie with a big wad of cash sting at our cash table?

Why is making the transition so hard and what is the complete reversal? Broken down very simply Poker has three components. Your position at the table, the chips you have in front of you and the cards or hand you’re holding, and depending on whether you’re in a cash game or tournament, the weight of importance on these three items change.

In a Tournament, the order of importance is:

1.       Your poker chips (because if you run out, you’re out!)

2.       Your position (because position is always important at the table

3.       Your cards or hand (least important because if you play position right you often don’t have to show it.)

In a Cash game the order is exactly reversed:

1.       Your Hand (because in a cash game you often end up at showdown)

2.       Your Position (because you want those crazy/or sly players on your right)

3.       Your poker chips (Least important here because you can always buy more)

The players that bring their tourney strategy to the cash game table are often doomed. When they do win they often win large because they’ve trapped themselves in a big pot and luck brings them from behind, but in most cases they’re destined to lose.

Lastly, many players that hit a big tournament step-up to a larger level than they’ve ever played before, and this can be a formula for success. There are players at that table who are very comfortable at that level of play and often a new tourney winner is not.

Win a big tourney, Congrats!! Stay within yourself and move up slowly and most of all don’t create the reversal of fortune!

Betsson Poker