Tourney Or Cash Game?

[cemo76 0]

Recently I have watched Daniel play on the HIghStakes Poker Show and I am wondering if his style is more suited for tournaments rather then cash games. I know he had a bad run those 3 days but he is getting run over. He doesn't show the same confidence as on the Tourney Circuit. He kinda looked dumbfouned when Doyle slowplayed his tight against his flush. The only guy looking more crushed is Hellmuth,( Man that was funny seeing him go on Tilt). So this brings us to the question of the hour. Is playing tourneys alot easier or harder then playing live cash games. I mean these pro's look so much less confident playing cash games, is it because there is alot more at stake then your original buy in. My theory is that precisely. Simple but true. Even the pro's seem to change their game when it is a cash game. They look More stressed out and tighter then usual. Yes, lets point out that this cash game is including the greats of the game thus making it tougher but at these stakes I'm sure only the best or richest play. So in closing cash games are thus harder to play because of the amount that can be lost in a matter of minutes. Sounds fairly simple but I wonder if anyone would disagree

[cfinnn 0]

I think cash games are definitely more difficult than tournaments. The structure of tournaments makes them a completely different beast, and if you know the beast well, you have a whole range of tricks up your sleeve to give you an extra edge over your opponents. Plus, if you lose, you only lose the buy-in.NL Cash games are always more stressfull from my perspective. That's real money on the table, and your swings can be huge. All those little tricks you can use in tournaments won't help you in a cash game. All you can do is play every hand the best way possible and make correct decisions every time. And if you're playing great players like on high stakes poker, mix it up or you're going nowhere.I don't think watching a couple sessions of a cash game can tell you much about which DN's better suited for. For the most part he's made good decisions and gotten unlucky. It's long term results that will show which he's better at, but if both are profitable then what does it matter?Oh, and the way Hellmuth was playing, even I would have cleaned him out!

[DanielNegreanu 141]

One thing is for absolute certain, I wasn't getting run over by anybody. I was in control of the game for most of the three days. Of course I took some sick beats and ran into some sick cold decks, but I have more cash game NL experience than most of them. In fact, my game is MUCH better suited for cash game play since it's heavily dependant on implied odds. The reason the play looks more cautious is because that's how deep stack poker works. In tournaments the blind/stack ratio is much smaller, so moving in with 77 pre-flop is generally not all that bad. Try that in a cash game and it's suicide.

[rbakken2504 0]

IMO, cash games and tournaments are two totally different beasts. I think cash games are easier, and my hourly wage is higher in them, but I love the competition of tournaments. In tourneys the EV you're gonna see is mostly in tourney chips and not immediate cash like in cash games, therefore in tourneys you may give up a small +EV situation to survive longer or avoid losing all your chips, where as in cash games you'll take the smallest of +EV situations that you can get all day long.

[nutzbuster 7]

One thing is for absolute certain, I wasn't getting run over by anybody. I was in control of the game for most of the three days. Of course I took some sick beats and ran into some sick cold decks, but I have more cash game NL experience than most of them. In fact, my game is MUCH better suited for cash game play since it's heavily dependant on implied odds. The reason the play looks more cautious is because that's how deep stack poker works. In tournaments the blind/stack ratio is much smaller, so moving in with 77 pre-flop is generally not all that bad. Try that in a cash game and it's suicide.

Daniel, is there any short cut or a "quick and dirty" method you use to figure implied odds? Most recently I read about it in Gordons Green book regarding this topic and my head started hurting. Seriously, how much math are you using during play?Thanks!

[chrozzo 19]

people play poker for money now! sweet, I was getting sick of those skittles!

[getarealjob 0]

One thing is for absolute certain, I wasn't getting run over by anybody. I was in control of the game for most of the three days. Of course I took some sick beats and ran into some sick cold decks, but I have more cash game NL experience than most of them. In fact, my game is MUCH better suited for cash game play since it's heavily dependant on implied odds. The reason the play looks more cautious is because that's how deep stack poker works. In tournaments the blind/stack ratio is much smaller, so moving in with 77 pre-flop is generally not all that bad. Try that in a cash game and it's suicide.

Thanks for clearing this up. Couldn't sleep at nights thinking that you might not be the greatest living poker player in the universe. I'm thankful that the hierarchy that I worship is still intact:1. God 2. Jesus C (not F), and 3. Daniel Negreanu. phew. (sw)

[BuffDan 0]

As far as level of confidence goes, you also need to remember the fact that in this cash game the level of play is MUCH stronger than in any random tournament table, so I suspect any player would me more confident at a tourney table than at this particular cash game...

[Outlaw_IA 0]

I thought DN was playing fine, just some sick rivers, and a few bad calls/bets.Phil Hellmuth however looks like he wanted to come and show everyone what DN meant when he said "yum yum"

[cemo76 0]

Yes, I guess the cards weren't falling for Daniel and that did contribute to his losses. Overall though Greenstein looked most in control of the table although he is so irritating to watch. He just rubs me the wrong way and I can't explain why. He has a weird arrogance to his play that i just don't like. although this being said, Daniel did put a mark on himself by buying in for 1 million. I mean the other guys were kinda of gunning for him. I think they felt he was showing off. Didn't you guys sense that too? Well regardless Daniel is still my favourite Tourney player because he makes the best reads I have ever seen. In the cash game he couldn't read the players as good as I am use too seeing him Probably cause it was CAsh, Top Players and Like the other guy said there isn't a threat of being eliminated. Daniel should start dominating Tourneys again and go for PLayer of the year. Leave the cash games on the side for now. TAke down FOXWOODS!ps. Are you going to play any underground tourneys in Toronto. Let us know.LAtes

[Birdie10 0]

One thing is for absolute certain, I wasn't getting run over by anybody. I was in control of the game for most of the three days. Of course I took some sick beats and ran into some sick cold decks, but I have more cash game NL experience than most of them. In fact, my game is MUCH better suited for cash game play since it's heavily dependant on implied odds.Hi DN, First off I would just like to say you definatley should be in that game or any high limit game for that matter. I have watched every high stakes episode on GSN and taped them and have watch them a great deal. I am with you on the cold decks you really didn't get very many good starting hands and you were forced to play alot of marginal preflop hands espescially if it was cheap to get in. You said "you took some sick beats" this is where I debate with you alittle bit. You did get out drawn on some pretty big hands but I am not sure if you could call them sick beats I think you were just unlucky. It just seemed that people always had the best draw against your big hands espicially Farha and the hand against Tran your bet on the flop was in your case to try and extract money from her and she hits the queen on the turn and your sunk but again you got what you wanted with her call but then got unlucky when the queen fell you could have won that hand with a bigger bet. Anyone who thinks you do not belong at that table are crazy you made some ****ing huge lay downs and other than Harmons ace queen bluff you were right every time. Also if you are going to play alot of marginal hands preflop bad beats are going to happen. But there is no debating the fact you belong and now in my opion are one of poker elite and congrats to you becuase you have work very hard to achieve that. I really hope that more of those types of shows will be coming on TV because I believe it will help cash game play a great deal because there is a HUGE difference between cash games and tournments and also there is a great difference in education between the two and hopefully the there will be a rush of cash game TV so that people skill wise can catch up. I also am Canadian which makes what your doing even more enjoyable. Stay Humble