Live Play: Tournaments or Cash Games?

I am making my first trip to Tunica, Mississippi on Thursday and can't decide if I want to play in a couple of tournaments, or stick with the cash tables?

I want to limit my first trip to just one or the other. What are some pros and cons of each, according to those that have played before?

Cash games IMO.

Casino tournament structures (unless you're playing something with a high buy in) are usually terrible and you have to work to their schedule.

Just find yourself a seat in a nice juicy cash game. You can come and go as you please and you can buy back in straight away if you go broke.

I agree with Oz, the cash tables are the way to go, just don't be a donkey and you'll be ok,

Cash. Wait until about 10PM to start playing, and make sure that at least 2-3 people at the table are pounding beers.

^^ Agree with OzExorcist & Zorba & cnh13no3 --> cash games; if you don't like the table you're @ (too loose, too tight, too whatever) you can always ask the 'floor' to change tables (not an option in tourneys). GL & have fun!

I agree that the cheap casino tournaments are bad.

My local casino will give u something like 4000 chips and the 1st two levels are 45minutes. Then after that they go up every 20/30minutes. The levels jump up alot too from:
25/50
50/100
100/200
200/400
300/600
400/800
500/1000

There's no antes which does make up for it, but it can b hard to play decent poker when a 3xBB preflop raise and a cbet in the 200/400 can cripple u allmost if u dont have a stack of 10,000+.

I like to play them anyways as I don't play much live poker due to my job and the buy in's are cheap-ish.

If I were u tho i'd find a cash game which u have deep pockets for.
In my local casino they play £1/£2 (I havn't played cash yet as i'm not comfy playin with £200 behind me unless I was rolled) and i've been told ur gonna have to have deep pockets for it bcos ppl there will call raises and play any 2cards. (sounds like a goldmine to me but im not rolled for it and would b p!ssed if my AA lost to summit like 53o, jus bcos sum guy can't fold pre + post flop lol.)

One old-ish man was so loose than he was limpin in blind, callin flop bets blind etc. Bcos he was playin blind sum kid with QQ thought he was well ahead untill the old man shoved on the river to call to find out the old man had 59o to hit his runner runner on the river lol.

Stay with the cash tables, but watch your tells there alot there that wait for somebody trying to hit it rich

Play both the cash games at the horse shoe in tunnica are real easy.The gold nugget(which is about a 1min walk away has some pretty good tournys).You have to have a players card before you play at the nugget which i think is retarded.So my best addvice is play the daytime tournies during the day play the cash games at night,cash games are harder there during the day(more regs).

The thing is...I don't really want to lose more than a couple of hundred dollars. Don't get me wrong, I want to win, but worst case scenario...I would like to only lose about $200 given that it's my first time to play live. I have more money to play with, but I don't want to lose too much.

Will be minimum buy-in for most cash tables be $200?

If i was you then i would play at the shoe.Play 1-2 you can buy in for $100 so do this but don't start playing there till about 7pm on the weekday on the weekend it realy don't matter alot of durnks there all day.

Play both and have fun !!!!!!!!
Cash games are good, but dont be afraid to bet. 100.00 starting roll is tough, most of the time the 1/2 tables will end up being 1/2/10-20.

Have fun is the most important thing............

I would go to the casino, play at a table, if I see that the level I like I stay on the table ... or if you prefer to do the same with the tournament so would, but I would start with a table, if not going well I would go to the tournament ...