For the episode of Justified, see Cash Game (Justified)
Cash game
Cash games, also
sometimes referred to as ring games or live ☀️ action games, are poker games played with
"real" chips and money at stake, often with no predetermined end time, with ☀️ players
able to enter and leave as they see fit. In contrast, a poker tournament is played with
tournament chips ☀️ worth nothing outside the tournament, with a definite end condition
(usually, only one player left), and a specific roster of ☀️ competitors.
Rules [ edit
]
Players may freely buy into or cash out of a cash game between hands.[1] However, it
is ☀️ normally prohibited for a player to remove a portion of his or her chips from the
table. This is known ☀️ as "going south".[2] For example, if a player buys in forR$100,
then winsR$100 (for a total stack ofR$200), the player ☀️ may not remove the originalR$100
buy-in while remaining seated. He would have to forfeit his seat, possibly wait to
rejoin ☀️ the game, and buy in again forR$100; however, many cardrooms prohibit the
practice of buying in again unless a certain ☀️ time period has elapsed before the player
rejoins. Similarly, cash games are played for table stakes. If a player attempts ☀️ to put
additional money onto the table (from his/her wallet) in the middle of a hand, he may
not do ☀️ so until the conclusion of said hand.
In "no limit" poker cash games, some
cardrooms have a maximum buy-in for cash ☀️ games. In limit poker games, there is seldom a
maximum buy-in because betting limits already limit the amount a player ☀️ can wager on
each hand.
In a casino, a rake is usually taken from a pot if a flop is shown ☀️ and the
pot reaches certain values.[3] Some games take a time rake instead of a pot rake. In
these games ☀️ players pay a seat charge every half-hour.
Ring games [ edit ]
While the
terms "ring game" and "cash game" are often ☀️ considered synonymous in common usage,
opinion differs on the true definition of "ring game". For example, in the glossary of
☀️ Doyle Brunson's Super System 2, a ring game is defined as "A game with a player in
every seat, that ☀️ is, a full game—as opposed to a shorthanded game".[4] As such, the
term "cash game" may be considered a more ☀️ precise depiction of the kind of game
commonly found in most casinos or home venues; that is, a non-tournament game ☀️ played
for actual money (or chips representing actual money), without regard for the number of
players seated at the table ☀️ at any given time.
Comparison with tournament games [ edit
]
Tournaments and cash games have different basic strategies. One difference between
☀️ tournaments and cash games is that the blind/ante structure of tournaments increases
periodically over the course of the tournament, whereas ☀️ the blind/ante structure of
cash games remains constant. Another difference between the tournaments and cash games
is that a tournament ☀️ sticks with a predetermined style of poker, and cash game players,
depending on house rules, may have the option of ☀️ playing other types of card games.
Some online cash games offer a variety of choices limited only by the game
☀️ software.
Other differences between cash games and tournament poker are that, in cash
games sometimes straddles and chops are allowed. A ☀️ live straddle is a dark bet of two
big blinds by the player first to act, who is then entitled ☀️ to bet again if the bet is
not raised. A chop is an agreement between the players in the blinds ☀️ to retract their
blind bets if no one else has bet. A chop prevents the casino from taking a rake ☀️ from
the pot. Also, cash games sometimes allow players to reduce the element of luck (often
called "variance", especially by ☀️ professional players) by splitting large all-in pots.
Since online platforms can instantly calculate each player's pot equity at the time
☀️ they go all-in, some online cash games allow such pots to be split based on this
equity. Players who opt ☀️ for such an arrangement will receive a share of the pot based
on his or her odds of winning (from ☀️ the time all players still in the pot exposed their
cards) once all of the cards have been dealt. An ☀️ alternative method of reducing
variance, used both online and in live games, is to run the board multiple times to
☀️ ensure that the person with the best odds of winning gets the largest share of the pot
more often.
Examples [ ☀️ edit ]
An example of a cash game is broadcast on the United
States subscription-based streaming service PokerGO as High Stakes ☀️ Poker. The Bellagio
casino's "Big Game" is a high-stakes permanent cash game, featuring a wide variety of
rotating poker games ☀️ with and without limits.[5]
