Poker is played in two main formats:
Ring Games (also known as Cash Games) and Tournaments. While the rules of the game are the same, the structure, strategy, and bankroll management are entirely different.
Chip Value
Ring Games
Chip Value is Consistent: The chips used in the game directly represent the stakes of the table. When you sit down at a 1/2 game, the blinds and chip values are fixed for that specific stake level.
Duration is Flexible: You can join the table, play for a few hands or a few hours, and leave whenever you want, leaving with your chips on the spot.
Reloadable Stacks: If you lose your chips, you can simply add more (reload) and keep playing, up to the table's maximum amount.
Tournaments
Chip Value is Only for Score: The chips you play with are essentially points used to track your standing in the event.
Duration is Fixed: You must play until you are eliminated or are the last player remaining. You cannot leave and cash out early.
Finite Stacks: Once you lose your chips, you are out of the tournament (unless you're able to re-buy in the tournament before late registration closes).
Blinds and Pacing
Ring Games
Fixed Blinds: The Small Blind and Big Blind never change. They remain the same for the entire session.
Strategic Impact: Since blinds do not increase they do not cut into your overall stack size putting pressure on you, you can afford to be patient and wait for only the highest-quality starting hands.
Tournaments
Escalating Blinds: The blinds (and often antes) increase at set time intervals. This is done to force the action and ensure the tournament concludes with a winner.
Strategic Impact: The rising blinds constantly reduce your chip-to-blind ratio, forcing you to play more aggressively and take risks to build your stack and keep pace. The game changes drastically from deep-stack play early on to shallow-stack (all-in/fold) play later.
Payout and Risk
Ring Games
Payout Structure: You profit on a hand-by-hand basis. If you win a pot, those chips are yours immediately.
Lower Variance: Winning players tend to have consistent results and fewer huge swings. You are likely to be profitable in a majority of your sessions.
Tournaments
Payout Structure: Payouts only occur at the end for the top finishers (usually the top 10%–15% of the field) with the exception of bounty style tournaments.
Higher Variance: Tournaments involve massive risk for massive reward. You may lose many times in a row, but a single deep run can result in a huge payday (many times your buy-in), making up for all your losses.
Playing the Long Game: The strategic focus shifts to survival when you're on the bubble or close to being in the money. It is often more valuable to protect your stack and avoid elimination than to win a small pot during this time frame.