Cash Games Or Tournaments?

When you play for real money at PartyPoker.com you can either choose a cash game or tournament. The two are very different beasts and you will need to understand their differences so you realise just how much of your hard-earned bankroll is at stake.

Cash games are the staple of many a poker pro's income. They've always been where the real money is made.

Their importance may have been overshadowed by the glamour of the tournament circuit, but in reality cash games are one of the best and most consistent sources of income for a poker player. Cash games also train you to play 'real' poker rather than just wait for the blinds to get high so you can move all-in and hope for the best.

Read our Cash Games page where we've prepared six golden rules to help you feel comfortable sitting down at a cash game.

Sit & Go tournaments are great fun and usually over within an hour. They are a good way to improve your strategy and can also be extremely remunerative once you get good at them.

The best way to start is to play in the dirt cheap $5 games where you will find plenty of loose-aggressive action. Then, as you improve your game you can 'trade up' to the $50 and even $100 tournaments.

Unlike cash games, you're entire bankroll is not at risk in a tournament. You pay a buy-in and that entitles you to set number of chips that every other participant receives for the same buy-in. As the tournament progresses you gamble with these chips and whoever holds them all at the end wins the tournament.

Find out more by reading our Tournaments section.