Theoretically in a cash game you are limited to the amount of money you can put up, and therefore lose, by the table stakes, but in reality you can reload at the table so easily that effectively your whole bankroll can be played bit by bit.

So the gung-ho approach that tourney players can take with their tourney chips is based in part on the knowledge that the downside is firmly fixed at the cost of the buy-in.  That same attitude in a real cash game can lead to real bad consequences.