Thu, 07/28/2011 – 11:22 – PokerPages Staff

Looking at the various rooms on offer at PokerStars,beginning poker players will notice that in addition to the various variations of poker available, there are two ways to play the game, in tournaments, and cash ring game tables. The main difference to these methods of play is to do with the way you stake your money, and the prizes you can win.

Cash Ring Games

A cash ring game is the sort of game you may find played in a room at a party, and it’s certainly what you will have played if you’ve sat down at a poker table after just walking into a casino. Cash ring games consist of players staking their own money for each bet, and winning real money for each hand that they win. The risks and rewards are higher for this type of poker, as the stakes can become high.

Tournament Play

In tournament play, rather than betting with your own money, an entry fee, known as a buy-in is paid. This buy-in purchases a stack of chips that you use to bet in play. These chips have no monetary value, and you play until you either run out of chips or opponents. Players cannot walk away and cash in their chips in tournament play. Usually the number of players who cash in a tournament is predetermined, and is based on how many players have entered. In some tournaments, players battle it out for massive sums of money, like in the WSOP Main Event, where players can earn multi-million dollar prizes for a $10,000 buy-in.

Want to learn more? PokerSchoolOnlineis the Internet’s #1 source for poker information.