Fri, 09/30/2011 – 05:17 – PokerPages Staff

Poker can basically be played in two ways, with people betting with real money or competing for a prize. Depending on your circumstances and poker ability, you may decide to play one or the other, or a mixture of the two types. If you’re undecided, take a look at this guide of the differences and try to work out what is best for you. If you still don’t know at the end, try a few hands of each and work out which is better. Online sites, like PokerStars, offer both types to give you a go.

Risk vs Reward

A cash ring game offers you the opportunity to play with real money at the table. The risk is high, especially in rooms like the PokerStars Daniel’s Room, where the minimum bet can get up to $100. However, the rewards can be massive. Tournaments offer players the opportunity to compete for cash prizes, with the entry fee paid up front. You do not bet with your own money in a tournament, only the chip stack you have been given. Events like the WSOP offer players the chance to compete for multi-million dollar prizes, but usually the buy-in for these events is very high.

Practicalities

Big tournaments have strict timings, where players must be ready to start on time. There are usually a number of single table ‘sit n go’ tournaments, where the tournament commences as soon as enough players are ready to play. Players cannot leave the tournament until they are eliminated, as their chips have no monetary value. Cash ring games are much more convenient, as none of the rules on timing apply to them.

If you don’t feel confident enough to take on the cash rings yet, visit the PokerSchoolOnline to pick up some important hints and tips.

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.