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Is there value in playing online cash to practice for tournaments?
I’m talking very specific practice of a technique or flaw in my game, not just getting playing time in on the felt.
Examples might be trying to increase my 3 betting post flop, or improving my range vs range hand reading mid-action.
Are tournaments too varied to cash to get good value out of these practice sessions? The ability to dip into a cash game at any moment, and then leave at any moment, would open up a lot of extra practice time in my schedule. But I’m a tournament player at heart and don’t want to skew my skills in the wrong direction!
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4 Replies
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Poker is poker, but the games are different particularly in the ranges people play and the lack of antes. I think there are benefits to the playing online cash for postflop play improvement, but practicing the different stack sizes can be difficult. Further, no ICM pressure in tournaments changes things, even if not every player is aware of ICM. I think that playing a single table SNG would be better (those can be time limited depending on the structure) and is likely a bet analogue to MTTs if that is what you are trying to work on.
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There is some value to online cash games as preparation to tournaments. You can practice your postflop hand reading skills in deep stacked situations. But overall there are significant differences between cash and tournaments that affect strategy, especially in preflop strategy.
The goals differ, therefore it follows that strategy differs. In cash games your goal is to maximize chip EV in a raked game. Each hand is a separate event. The blinds, SPR, and effective stack sizes don’t change except when a straddle is on or you’re in a hand with a short stacker.
In MTT’s your goal is to win every chip in room, with milestones along the way that introduce Bubble Factor. There is no rake. The blinds escalate. This causes significant differences in preflop ranges as compared to cash games. Lower SPR’s cause changes to postflop strategy. So does Bubble Factor.
Good advice in poker and everything else is to practice the way you play. Stick to tournaments to practice tournaments.
A good alternative for your practice is Advanced Poker Training. It has both tournament and cash game practice. If you subscribe, use discount code MONKIE to save money.
Best of luck to you!
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Monkie makes a good point about APT or DTO simulators but I feel strongly that you can definitely use cash play to practice your tournament skills – as long as you focus on the right skills. It’s all about stack depth, so keep that in mind with your preflop ranges, and then you should be in good shape to drill on whatever you are working on. Fast-fold games are also good for this because you can quickly move from hand to hand. One note: Game selection matters because your foes might respond differently in cash than they would in tourneys, depending on the stakes I think. Thanks for posting!
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Thanks everyone! Not heard of simulators before, so will give them a look.
Good point on stack depth and specific skills Jim. Should we be treating cash as vaguely similar to early deep tournaments where everyone has 50bb+?
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