There was a guy called Crash on another poker forum, who would only play for play money. A number of members would not take him seriously because they considered poker is played for real money not pretend money.

With play money, the site gives you some chips which have no value, then you play poker. The better players win more play chips, but nearly everyone ends up ahead because the play money is endless. If you lose you just get more play chips.

Some of the old time players have been making remarks about how sponsors’ money has changed the game pf poker. Devilfish said some young players would not be able to survive in the old days without sponsors’ money as they would soon go broke playing in that way, using their own money. Some of the “Late Night Poker” players have said they used to play with £2000 of their own cash, but now they are playing with sponsors putting up the cash.

With the amount of money being added to the game by sponsors, players don’t have to win at the table. Ever played in one of those play chip games? There are usually three or four all in straight away. If they lose they just enter another tourney, if they win they have a big stack. It’s all about the win. Similar in fact to the way a lot of kids play the game nowadays.

I have argued before that if you are not a good player then it pays to play the game like bingo. There is so much prize money around and so many players, the rewards for winning a big tourney are tremendous. It isn’t only the prize money for winning. If you win a big tourney there is the chance of receiving sponsors’ money too. You can be an overall loser at the poker table but still make a living at it. If you are a media friendly “character” too you will receive even more money. In fact the whole thing becomes a bit like a play money tournament. This is because of the high rewards for winning rather than just finishing in the money. Once you have a sponsor, they want you to finish in a high profile win. This means even more money. In the past, when players played with their own bankroll, there was the consideration of just finishing in the prize money. This still applies to the older less media friendly professionals I think. But sponsors’ money means a lot of over aggression and going for the win. If you are not playing with your own money there is no ROI to worry about. It’s different thinking altogether.

This isn’t the whole truth, it is merely an extra dimension that is now in the game. Sponsors’ money finds its way down to the less well known pros so everyone gains. But with a lot of people just going for the win, and some with nothing to lose, it almost turns the game and the type of play, into that of a play money tourney. This is maybe why long time pros now concentrate on cash games more seriously than tournaments. This has certainly been a tendency in the past, but is now perhaps becoming more true. The ones with more talent know they can earn a consistent living out of cash. The fame, title, and big money chasers go for the tournaments.