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]
