Trying to educate new players about the realities of cash games after they have been subjected to the multitude of World Series of poker tournaments and National Poker League media coverage that exists all over the TV set is a difficult challenge to say the least.  After players seem to get the concept of poker tournaments ingrained into their mind, it can be extremely difficult to make them unlearn what they have learned from tournament play.  Cash games and tournament play feature completely different strategies that have nothing to do with each other.  In Cash games, it is more important for you to win the round, hand or match with as much money as possible.  In tournament play, the trick is to stay in the game until the bitter end, no matter what it takes.  In a tournament, the winner is the player who manages to keep his chips in the game for the longest possible period of time.

Because so many new players have been exposed to tournament play on television and through movies such as Rounders, it can be difficult making new players understand that the cash game has very little to do with the poker tournament strategy that they have seen displayed in card games that are popularized in American culture.  Cash games, the true heart and soul of the game of poker, require a steady hand and disciplined, patient maneuvering to bring the game to its eventual conclusion in favor of the player.  This focus on experience, skill and outright poker playing ability is the hallmark of the cash game and sets it apart from tournament play in the fact that the strategy is wildly different and generally culminates with one player earning the lion's share of the winnings, with less successful players dropping out of the game steadily while new ones are constantly funneled in.  Very rarely does one player continue to lose money in a cash game, as most skilled players will simply quit playing.

In a poker tournament, there is no option of simply not playing, as staying in to the end is the only way to win the World Series of poker tournament and other similar tournaments that require constantly escalating blinds and fast paced game play that would simply never occur in a cash game, where players are deliberate and careful about their wagering.

Keeping these differences in mind, it is important not to make the mistake of using poker tournament strategy while playing in cash games.