Lesson overview
Cash Games and Tournament Basics
Know what your chips mean before you sit down
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Inside the full lesson
Does doubling your chip stack mean doubling your money?
In the full lesson, you work through this scenario with interactive examples.
Cash chips have a money value. Tournament chips keep you competing for prizes. Compare the two formats before choosing a seat.
What you’ll learn
- Distinguish cash value from tournament chips
- Convert stacks to big blinds and identify effective depth
- Read entry fees, re-entry rules, blind levels and payouts
From the full lesson
Measure depth in big blinds
Referenced activities and other examples are available in the full lesson after sign-in.
Stack ÷ current big blind = depth in bb. A $200 stack at $1/$2 is 100bb. A 12,000 tournament stack is 60bb at 100/200, but only 30bb after the big blind rises to 400. Antes add to the cost of an orbit; they are not the divisor.
Heads-up effective depth uses the smaller starting stack. With 150bb against 45bb, each player can match at most 45bb. Multiway hands can have different effective amounts against different opponents, creating side pots.
From the full lesson
The seat-choice check: format, time, cost
Referenced activities and other examples are available in the full lesson after sign-in.
Format: cash chips have a stated money value; tournament chips compete for the published prizes. Time: cash players can usually leave between hands. A tournament follows its event clock, and blinds normally continue while you are away. Cost: read buy-in limits, fees and re-entry rules. Set an affordable spending and time limit before playing; count every top-up and entry.
Neither format guarantees a profit. If the cost or commitment does not fit, choose a smaller game or skip play.
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