Home Game vs. Tournament vs. Cash Game
This piece is about three types of Texas Hold’em games. They are all the same game but should be played very differently. The reason I am writing about them is to try to explain them a little better or should I say simpler for you as a player or beginner to understand. You see you want to play every one of these venues different. Yes, every poker game is and will be different but these venues are different in many ways. You have their settings, the people and the way they are played or should be played. There are a lot more factors but I don’t want to waste your time, I also don’t think you want to read a bunch of mumbo jumbo. Plus I don’t have the time to get into all that, well I have the time I just don’t want to get into all that. Enough of me babbling on! The general statement I want to make is that these three venues are played very different although the game is the same. I see it all the time. How player play them the same, but to better yourself as a player you want to play them different. This will help you come out ahead and keep on building your bankroll.
The first venue I am going to talk about is the Home Game (sometimes called Kitchen Poker). This venue is play at your house or a friend’s house. The game consists of mostly a group of friends playing an enjoyable game to pass the time and have fun. Fun being the key word here, no player will become a millionaire playing this venue. There is not a lot of money invested in these games, the buy in is usually five to twenty dollars, so you can see there is not a lot of money to be won or lost. Even with twenty or more players playing and a pot of $400 total, the players don’t tend to think of the amount of money in the pot as they do socializing and having a fun time. Now for the type of players playing in a Home Game, you have the Newbie (a person that has never played), the Social Bird (all they want to do is talk), the Wanna be (a person that thinks they know everything about the game because they seen the movie Rounders a dozen times), then you have the Pro (the person that can truly play with the big boys but only if the rest of the players play by the book). In these games you will have a lot of people wanting to see every flop and a lot of talking, playing of cell phones and more going on. You will have the Wanna Be talking about every hand and how you or another player should of played it, the Social Bird talking about the weather or anything else he/she can talk about, the Newbie will look lost and the Pro will be mad (Steaming because they just lost a big pot to two pair like six of heart and three of diamond when they had pocket aces).
As the game is played, a hand might play out like this. There are five players left in the game. The blinds are fifteen hundred and three thousand. All the player call but one, so there are four at the flop. The flop comes seven of hearts, four of hearts and 2 of hearts. The first player to bet makes it a two bet (two times the big blind). All the players fold. He shows a Jack Ten of Hearts. Now you have two players saying why the hell did you bet and not just slow play that hand (laughing like the bettor did something wrong) Well if you really want to get in to it, if another player (remember there are four players to the hand) has a Queen of Hearts of better the odds would be 71.11% to 28.89% with two cards to come. Would you want to just check a hope they catch their card. If anything I would have bet nine thousand if I had that hand. Most important at a Home Game is to have fun and don’t think you are going to win. This venue is just way to loose of a game and most of the people are just there for FUN & SOCALIZING.
Tournament play is venue number two here. In a tournament you your goal is to make it to the final table or to the money at the very least. I will try to help you a little by explaining how to play. Depending on the buy in and the structure of the game, the blinds might be twenty and fifty. Sorry I should start out by telling you that in a Tournament you can’t cash out whenever you want. You can leave the table but you will be blinded out. Now back to what I was talking about before. The first thing you want to do is fold, fold, and fold. Watch the players at your table to see how they are playing and what type of player they are. You will have the same as a Home Game with some extra types in there. To define them a little more, you will have the Calling Station (a person who just calls no raises, just calls), there will be the Super Tight player (only plays premium hands). You will have the loose player (that what to see every flop and will chase a hand all the way to the river in order to catch the winning card) and you will have the same types of players as the home games. After you get a hand on how the others are playing you can start to play (remember your goal is to win and/or last as long as you can). A few ways to do this is, if a player goes all in and you call as well as another player or two calls. Check it unless you have the absolute nuts (best possible hand). The odds are better with two or more against one then just one on one. Remember your goal is to outlast everyone else. Yes I am saying this a lot because it is the most important thing in a tournament and I see too many players pushing everyone else out only to lose to the all in player.
In a Tournament game you want to play it different from a cash game. You want to play the hand different. You want to see as many flops as you can at the beginning of the tournament then slowly tighten (yet be aggressive) as the game moves on. You don’t want to drive out players when you have an all-in player yet you want them to run when you go all in. Playing tight yet aggressive will help you do this. Plus once you know or think you have the other player figured out that will help also.
Let’s talk about how a hand might be played out. There are 7 players at your table and 38 players left in the tournament. (This is important to know to help you and the other players decide what to do. Remember your goal is not only to win but to make it to the money.) The blinds are $400 and $800 seat 3 being the small blind and seat 5 being the big blind (4th was taken out earlier), you are sitting in seat 10, seat one is the dealer. Alright the players in sixth seventh and ninth seats all fold. You look at your hand and see the two of hearts and the two of clubs. This is a weak pocket pair but, remember you are in a good position. (I would raise 2.5 to 3.5 times the big blind.) The dealer folds, the small blind calls, now the big blind likes to see the flop (a calling station). The flop is an Ace of spades, 7 of hearts and the two of diamonds. Now the player in the 3rd seat goes all in, seat 5 calls. Now with trip twos you could go all and most likely be safe but. What if one of the other players (mostly the all-in Player) has Ace Seven, Pocket Aces or Pocket Sevens, I would rule out seven two at this stage of the game unless they are just a crap player. The turn card is an Ace of Clubs. This is kind of good for you because the odds of one of the other players having Pocket Aces is a little lower with two on the board. Seat three is all in remember, seat 5 checks. You now have a full house (sometime called full-boat). You could bet here, but I wouldn’t. The all in player just might have pocket sevens to win. Most likely they don’t but you never know. This is where two players against one are better than one against one. The river card is a nine of hearts. Seat five goes all in (this is where that player makes a big mistake), you call. All of the player flip over their cards. Seat three has Ace of Hearts and a Six of Diamonds, Seat five has a Seven of clubs and a nine of spades (hope you noticed that he would of lost the pot to the all-in player if you folded.) and you have the full house twos full of aces. You take out two more players moving you higher up the ranks. I hope you see the main point I am trying to tell you. That is when you are in a tournament play slow (take your time) and play smart. It is better not to drive out players when you have an all in and multiple callers.
Last but least is the Cash Game. This type of game is where you want to lose the least amount when you lose and win the most when you win, if that makes sense. The main way to achieve this is to see a lot of flops. On cash games you want to see flops, you want to see the cards and you want as many players in the pot as you can get. You just don’t want a player in there that has a better hand than you. If you get a good hand you don’t want to go all-in or raise the pot so high that everyone folds right away. You do want to raise it high enough to drive out the weaker hands yet keep the medium hands in. Most poker books will tell you to do this by raising it three times the big blind. I however don’t do that. If you have ever watched High Stakes Poker on the television pay attention to players like Daniel Negreanu and Mike Mizrachi they both mix it up between two and a half times to three and a half times the big blind. If you are going to do this, mix it up don’t bet or raise the same way. If you bet or raise the same all the time you might develop a tell (meaning give away a sign by the way you bet or act). One time raise two and a half times the blind the next raise it 3 times. To even add to the mix and help you get into more pots, limp in every once in awhile (try to catch two pair or three of a kind with a crap hand like seven four offsuit).
If you are just starting out playing Texas Hold’em or you can’t afford to lose at least $100 you might want to stay away from cash games. Cash games can build a great bankroll but it can also break a player. For instance in a one two game (blinds being one dollar two dollar) you would want to buy in for a minimum of $100 and in a three six game your minimum buy in should be $300 (see the Pattern?). If you are a beginner and want to try your hand at cash games start out playing only the top ten hands.
1. Pocket Aces
2. Pocket Kings
3. Pocket Queens
4. Ace King
5. Pocket Jacks
6. Pocket Tens
7. Ace Queen
8. Pocket Nines
9. Pocket Eights
10. Pocket Sevens
The better you are and the more you can get yourself to fold an Ace Six offsuit from early position the more pots you can get in. The reason I say this is what I see all the time and it will happen to you is that a person calls or raises real big with an Ace seven or lower and they get stuck and keep calling or betting only to lose to an higher Ace. They will even go all-in with a weak Ace because they have not seen a good card in ten or more hands.
This brings me to the end of this blog. You can use everything I have told you in all of this or you can just learn for yourself. Pocket is not about just winning or all skill. There is luck involved and the goal is to win big when you win and to lose little when you lose. Try not to go on tilt (Get Mad and let your anger do your betting). If you do go or feel yourself going on tilt get up or fold until you calm down. If you can get some good friends that will help you as you can help each other by telling each other your tells (if you spot them) or what they might be doing wrong. I for one always think back on how I played an hand, what I could off done better, and most important I watch the hand even when I am not in it. Oh, just about forgot one thing never show your cards if you don’t have to. I only do this if I plan on bluffing or I bluffed and want to trap down the line (I wouldn’t recommend doing this until you feel comfortable enough to do it, because it might not work).
Thank-you for reading this and I hope it helps. Remember if you are ever against me at the table your best off if you fold. GRIND ON!
