Ring games, also called cash games or live action games, are poker games played with "real" chips and money at stake, usually with no predetermined end time, with players able to enter and leave as they see fit. In contrast, a poker tournament is played with tournament chips worth nothing outside the tournament, with a definite end condition (usually, only one player left), and a specific roster of competitors.
Players may freely buy into or cash out of a ring game between hands.[1] However, it is normally prohibited for a player to remove a portion of his or her chips from the table. This is known as "going south" or "rat-holing".[2] For example, if a player buys in for $100, then wins $100 (for a total stack of $200), the player may not remove the original $100 buy-in while remaining seated. He would have to forfeit his seat, possibly wait to rejoin the game, and buy in again for $100; however, many cardrooms prohibit the practice of buying in again unless a certain time period has elapsed before the player rejoins. Similarly, ring games are played for table stakes. If a player attempts to put additional money onto the table (from his/her wallet) in the middle of a hand, he may not do so until the conclusion of said hand.
Tournaments and ring games have different basic strategies.[3] One difference between tournaments and cash games is that the blind/ante structure of tournaments increases periodically over the course of the tournament, whereas the blind/ante structure of cash games remains constant. Another difference between the tournaments and cash games is that a tournament sticks with a predetermined style of poker, and cash game players, depending on house rules, may have the option of playing other types of card games. Some online cash games offer a variety of choices limited only by the game software.
Other differences between ring games and tournament poker are that, in ring games sometimes straddles and chops are allowed. A live straddle is a dark bet of two big blinds by the player first to act, who is then entitled to bet again if the bet is not raised. A chop is an agreement between the players in the blinds to retract their blind bets if no one else has bet. A chop prevents the casino from taking a rake from the pot.
In "no limit" poker ring games, some cardrooms have a maximum buy-in for ring games that prevents players from buying a chip stack size advantage. In limit poker games, there is seldom a maximum buy-in because betting limits on each hand already limit the advantage of having a larger chip stack.
In a casino, a rake is usually taken from a pot if a flop is shown and the pot reaches certain dollar values.[4] Some games take a time rake instead of a pot rake. In these games players pay a seat charge every half hour.
An example of a ring game is broadcast on the United States television network GSN as High Stakes Poker. The Bellagio casino's "Big Game" is a famous high-stakes permanent ring game, featuring a wide variety of rotating poker games with and without limits, and a minimum buy-in of $80,000.
In other games
The term can be applied to other card games and to non-cards gambling activities. For example, in pool (pocket billiards), the term refers to multi-player games or series of games in which players may enter and leave as they wish and as their wallets and luck permit. Some pool games are by their nature played almost exclusively as ring games, especially three-ball and killer. In pool, "ring game" can also mean a multi-player game with a participant roster that is fixed after the contest begins; the annual Derby City Classic hosts (among other competitions) a six-player ten-ball ring game of this sort with a pot of $18,000,[5] and the popular three-player game cutthroat is a game of this sort.
References
