Cash games, also known as ring games, are the original—and, in some respects, the purest—way of playing poker. When friends get together to play poker around the kitchen table or at the local tavern or social club, they almost invariably play cash games. And while poker tournaments have been getting the most publicity thanks to big televised poker extravaganzas, there are always excellent poker cash games available at both brick-and-mortar casinos and at online poker sites.

The Distinguishing Features of Cash Games

Of course, poker is poker and Texas Hold’em is Texas Hold’em. The fundamentals of the game do not change, but there are nevertheless significant features that differentiate cash-game poker from tournament poker. These are the most important:

• The game goes on forever. Individual players may get up and leave, and new players may come in and take a seat at the table, but the game itself has no start and no finish. (Poker tournaments start at a specific date and time and end when all players but one have been eliminated.)
• Blind levels remain the same. The Big Blind and the Small Blind are set and they never change. (In poker tournaments, the Blind levels are raised at pre-determined intervals, for example, every 15 minutes.)
• Chips represent money. Whenever you want to leave the game, you can cash in your chips for money. $100 in cash-game poker chips can be cashed in for 100 real American dollars. (Poker Tournament chips have no cash value; they merely indicate your competitive position in relation to the other players.)

So there you have it: the main features of a Poker Cash Game in a nutshell.

Playing Cash Games (Ring Games) at Everygame Poker

In the Everygame online poker room lobby, you will find three ways to play poker online: Ring Games, Tournaments, and Sit-and-Go. Remember: Ring Game is a synonymous term for Cash Game, so if you want to play a Cash Game, Ring Game is the pick for you.

At any time of the day or night, you will find a long list of available Cash Games. You may select your desired game based on the criteria of:

• Game Type: Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Omaha HiLo, Telesina.
• Stakes: Blinds range from $0.01/$0.02 up to $50/$100, with a vast selection of intermediate stakes in between.
• Limit: Fixed Limit, Pot Limit, or No Limit.
• Table Size: Two, Six, Eight or Nine seats.

As you can see, Everygame Poker gives a lot of options to choose your favorite way to play poker online. Then, after you choose your game, you may select your seat at the table and buy into the game by placing your chips on the table. As soon as the current hand in progress finishes, you will be dealt in to the next hand and now you are in the game!

Paying the Rake

The difference between poker and other casino games is that in poker you are playing against other players, not against the casino. When you lose a bet in blackjack, your money goes to the casino; when you lose a bet in poker, your money goes to another player. How, then, does the casino make any money?

The answer is the Rake. The rake is a small percentage of each pot that is taken by the casino before the pot is awarded to the winner of the hand. Taking rake is a universal practice that is found in all poker rooms, both online poker, and land-based poker. Basically, the Rake is what enable Everygame Poker to pay the software developers and website designers who make your online poker experience possible. Nothing wrong with that.

Good Luck and Have Fun!

Any day of the week, any hour of the day, no matter your skill level or your bankroll level or your favorite poker variation, you can always find a good cash game at Everygame Poker. So pick a game and put your chips on the table. Good Luck and Have Fun!