A Trip Into Town For Live Action. MTTs V. Cash.

It's the morning of Day 15 and as mentioned in a previous post I think it's time to get involved in the live arena. The last few days has been a case of swings and roundabouts and I logged off last night after a successful session which had me $400 up this year. Unfortunately, this morning was a disaster and I blew $200.

Now with live play many considerations need to be taken into account. Most live MTTs that cost around £40 or under to enter are a cheap evening's entertainment but are effectively donkfests or glorified lotteries. When you sit down to one of these MTTs you're essentially playing limit poker because you limit yourself to the buy-in and entry fee. Every time you risk an all-in or a big raise, at worst, you're only risking that small buy-in that you paid at the beginning. It's a very "safe" and "cosy" way to play poker. Although there is a small skill element at work, most players are clued in to how these play, and I don't really consider these as proper poker anymore. Unless you get down to the final table they're a bit of fun and that's it. I'll even act the fool at the table in these, once in a while, just to ease the boredom.

Cash games are a different beast altogether. For a £1/£2 game you need to take a minimum of around £200-£300 to the game but £400 is ideal. I believe a £1/£1 game at The Fox now allows players to bring a maximum of £200 to the table - and that's really what you should sit down with if you mean business. But which ever way you cut it, cash games require more of an outlay and are a much bigger risk on a short term basis. They require bigger balls to play (because you're often risking more), they're more exciting and studying how opponents play actually means something because you're not forced to move tables every 10 minutes! Every cash game table is different and has a different dynamic and all these elements just go to show that this is how real poker should be played.

Now today, after I've got off my fat arse from writing this twaddle, I plan to go into town. I'll withdraw the maximum of £250 from the cash machine and leave my debit card at home. I'll get a long-overdue needed haircut, maybe buy myself a nice sweater, possibly down a few beers, maybe even take in a film, and then settle down to play a bit of live poker.

The quandarry is always whether to pass on an MTT and play cash straight away or kick off the evening with an MTT to get into the swing of things. Unfortunately, when I get knocked out of an MTT I always wonder why the hell I entered it in the first place and, furthermore, if I get knocked out cruelly it can interfere with the thought process when sitting down to a cash game. (In other words, even though they're donkfests, a cruel exit from an MTT can cause tilt.)

Nevertheless, to overcome the possibility of over-exposure to MTTs, my list of dos and don'ts for 2011 tells me that I must restrict myself to just "one live freezeout tournament per month." Well, I guess today is probably going to be that one day in the month. Unless I get the urge to play cash and blow the whole lot before the MTT starts, I'll be playing in the £35 freezout that starts at 7PM at The Fox and then, depending on my mood, may sit down to play some cash.

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When all is done and dusted, I plan to write a short trip report. BRING IT ON!