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Ring games, also called cash games or live action games, are poker games played with "real" chips and money on the line, usually with no predetermined end time. 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).

Players may freely buy into or cash out of a ring game between hands. 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". 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.

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 predeterminded 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 straddle is when you automatically double the blind from under the gun and are allowed to act last after all other players have gone. A chop occurs when both the players who are in the blinds agree to take back their blinds if no one else enters the hand by the time it reaches them.

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 the player is in a hand while a flop is shown.

An example of a ring game is broadcast on the United States television network GSN as "High Stakes Poker".

• Poker jargon
• Poker tournament
• Public cardroom rules (poker)