Benefits of Tournaments vs. Cash Games

Have you ever wondered why certain successful poker players, Chris Ferguson for one, choose only to play in tournament poker games? A bio of Chris Ferguson on Pokerzone.com explains he is interested in the game, not the money.

It seems rather interesting that Ferguson started out playing in online tournaments when online poker was just a baby. At that time, which was in the late 1980s and the early 1990s, online money games didn’t exist, so “play money” actually held value. The prize for tournament wins were tournament seats at live games, so play money wasn’t really “play.” It had a real worth and via these online play money tournaments, early players, like Chris Ferguson learned to play tournament poker. Keep in mind, at this time, there were no odds calculators either, so the playing field was actually more even.

Ferguson encourages players who strive to be professional players to begin online. Back in the day, Internet players were not respected, and furthermore, it wasn’t fathomable that poker could be truly played without sitting face-to-face with your opponents. That has all changed now, and players like Chris Moneymaker have proven that online players can bring home the wins, both online and at live tournaments. So, starting out playing Internet poker is not a bad idea, and Ferguson recommends playing in tournaments. They’re cheap, and Ferguson explains, “It’s a great place to learn. You get to play in tons of hands and really learn how to play, especially betting size and blind structure” (Pokerzone.com).

Ferguson enjoys poker for the strategy and the win. When you are playing in tournaments, try looking at your goal as a win and play to win. It’s a different mind frame than playing to win money. There is no true end to visualize reaching when you are playing to win money. You can keep playing forever that way; but with tournaments, you can focus on an end and develop a more in-depth knowledge of the game and a more well rounded strategy.
Practicing in online tournaments can sharpen tournament skills to train you for live tournaments, if you plan on trying your hand someday at a live table. Some online tournaments even yield live tournament seats as a win. The most famous example of this is Moneymaker’s win at a $39 buy-in satellite tournament on Pokerstars.comagainst 18 other poker players that landed him in another satellite tournament. The winner of this second satellite tournament would receive a $10,000 buy-in to the 2003 World Series of Poker, which Moneymaker won and went on to face the big guys, where he’d win again, live and big (Chrismoneymaker.com).

Other incentives for playing tournaments, according to Ferguson, are the variations in play that keep your mind from going numb. The increase in limits and blinds keeps the game interesting and ever-changing. For those who enjoy the competitive aspect of poker playing and the challenges of strategy change-up, tournaments can prove to be more fulfilling for those who see playing for money as a bore. Not that money is ever boring, but there is still money to be made from tournaments. The final event can warrant millions of dollars-just look at Ferguson and Moneymaker!