Is it necessary to stick with one game format?

Is it really necessary to one game type? As of now I've been playing Cash games, SnG and the tournament 4max shootout. But it seems It's not profitable for me. Money come and goes. Should I stick to one game type? As a beginner to poker any advice would be appreciated. TIA

Please make your thread title more descriptive. We should have some idea of what you'll be talking about before we open the thread.

Is it really necessary to one game type?

Click to expand...

To play one game type or to master one game type?
Well, in either case the answer is no. A lot of player like to play a variety of games.

The important thing is to adjust your strategy to your game type. If you play the same in both rings and tournaments, you are bound to lose money.
If you play HORSE like you play No Limit Hold'Em, you are bound to lose money. If you play full-ring the same way you play 6-max, you are bound to lose money. Hand strength, chip size, position, etc. have different meanings in these games so you need to adapt to the changes.

If you are not playing winning poker, and are moving around a lot, it might be difficult to learn. I'd suggest picking a game you like and concentrating on it until you are a winning player.

Thank you for clarifying. For a beginner like me can you suggest type of game that I should play? I've been playing turbos but it's like playing poker full of luck.

alvinpe said:

Thank you for clarifying. For a beginner like me can you suggest type of game that I should play? I've been playing turbos but it's like playing poker full of luck.

Click to expand...

You likely just aren't seeing the skill in it.

NLHE cash games and regular paced SnG's are probably the best choices. Turbo's are generally more profitable, but they have more variance. And when you're learning, variance is bad (because you can't tell what's bad play, and what's just variance).

And the play for deepstacked cash games is far different from the short stacked SnG's. I would start with either 1c/2c cash games, or $2 10 player regular speed SnG's. If you're playing SnG's, focus on fundamentals like button stealing, M levels, and correct pre-flop play in short stacked situations. If you're playing cash games, you should be reading about implied odds, value betting, and 3-betting.

Yes, you can play many types of games and be successful. However, those are probably the easiest games to learn. They have low variance, so if you're losing, its likely because you're playing bad. And when you know you're playing bad, you can fix it. The strategies are pretty simple to learn, and you can usually get an idea for the fundamentals just by reading the hand analysis forums.

That was probably some of the clearest insight I've read into how to determine what types of games to play. I personally have gravitated to low limit cash hold'em because it reduced my variance to nil (over many sessions). I no longer stress that my good play in a sit'n go will be thwarted by random luck. If I continue to make good percentage plays in my limit game, then I win over time. Now I want to learn how to increase my win rate, because I know its not that great. But I have plenty of patience to slowly grind up my bankroll.

Play the one enjoy most.
Focus on it.
Learn everything you can.
Profit will follow if you enjoy what you do.
If not at least you had Fun doing it.

Enjoy ........

Just my thoughts.

personally i like the small 5/10 cent cash tables. if you got a decent bankroll.

just sit down at a table and be PATIENT, i cant stress how important patience really is.

poker is not a get rich quick scheme at all

so dont play like it is.

I can't switch back and forth between cash and tourneys. If I have been playing cash for a while, I tend to be to NITty when I join a tourney--conversely, if I have been playing tourneys, and jump into a cash game, I sometimes get bored when the blinds don't go up, and self-destruct.

Pick one, and play it with all of your attention. This way you can find your leaks and fix them a lot easier.

MainEventOrBust said:

I can't switch back and forth between cash and tourneys. If I have been playing cash for a while, I tend to be to NITty when I join a tourney--conversely, if I have been playing tourneys, and jump into a cash game, I sometimes get bored when the blinds don't go up, and self-destruct.

Pick one, and play it with all of your attention. This way you can find your leaks and fix them a lot easier.

Click to expand...

Same here... I have to stick to one or the other for a stretch. Tourney play requires a lot more discipline and (overall) tighter play. It's like playing tennis and racquetball -- you can play both well, but you can't play them both well in the same day.

alvinpe said:

Is it really necessary to one game type? As of now I've been playing Cash games, SnG and the tournament 4max shootout. But it seems It's not profitable for me. Money come and goes. Should I stick to one game type? As a beginner to poker any advice would be appreciated. TIA

Click to expand...

The games you've mentioned here are vastly different from one another (as far as strategy goes).
As a new player I'd personally suggest to stick to one type and learn all you can about it. I'd also recommend that as a new player you might want to read up on & play strictly 9-plyr SNG's & low buyin MTT's (and of course the private freerolls here on Cardschat... they are an excellent avenue to learn the game as the play in them is generally quite good).
The experience gained in the CC freerolls can be taken to the other games online (consider the 180-plyr. non-turbo games on Stars). OR..check out the Daily Dollar on Fulltilt (I believe it is doublestacked (3,000 starting chips) which would give you a bit more play).

When I started out online I jumped around all over the place as well... going from 9, 18, 45, & 90plyr SNG's, MTT's and FullRing & 6-MaxNL cash tables. If I had it to do all over again.... FOR SURE I'd just stick with one main one and that would be 9-plyr. non-turbo SNG's & MTTs.
Turbo SNG's are good too.... but you really want to be familiar with ICM & High Blind play..... you need a good preflop, latestage game to do well in these (push/fold game) - - there is no room for error in the turbos.

ALSO... read up on some decent SNG Strategy Guides. It'll make a HUGE difference in your results.
If planning to play in MTT's, you would do well to read the Harrington Series (Harrington On Holdem Vol. 1 & 2, Tournament Play). Good chance you can pick these up via your local library on an inter-library book loan.

GL on the tables!

Tournaments/SnGs - Hard to make a living at and can be extremely frustrating

9 Player Cash games - Set grinding and playing TAG will only make you so much.

6 max cash games - This is where I've played most. Because of the smaller amount of players your range of cards opens up quite a bit and you can play more poker instead of just playing the cards.

Heads up - Best way to make money as long as you handle variance well and aren't a huge tilter.

I decided to stick to tournament poker. I played cash games a couple of days. But I feel bored about it. And do break even.

From what u have just said maybe your better off staying with cash tables if you break even. Best way to start off. Your start learning how to make money if you keep grinding on cash

But I dont enjoy cash games that much. Anyway should I be sticking to 45man sng? Or tournament? I havent made final table yet in tournament. But i itm some. Can I practice on Sng and do it on tournament tables? Is the strategy being used in SnG and tournament the same?

Well I consider myself a MTT nlhe player.
I change my game style up quite a bit when playing an MTT.
I stick to some of the basic rules of tournament play,but I do change up my situation depending on the situation at hand.
Alot of books will tell to you to change up your game,you leave people never knowing what your holding.
That is the objective to me.

I used to play just NL hold em MTTs. I found I played better when I went to other formats. Just switching to Limit made me focus on playing better starting hands. Playing HORSE forces me to pay more attention to the table. Hard to play multiple HORSE tourneys.. but I can play up to 3 NLHE tables at once (and get real sloppy). My advice is to find a game you enjoy, play it a lot, read a lot, and supplement it with other types of games which challenge you to improve parts of your game which are weaker. Good luck!

alvinpe said:

But I dont enjoy cash games that much. Anyway should I be sticking to 45man sng? Or tournament? I havent made final table yet in tournament. But i itm some. Can I practice on Sng and do it on tournament tables? Is the strategy being used in SnG and tournament the same?

Click to expand...

There are differences for sure. There are differences in play even between 18plyr sngs & 9plyr sngs. There are plenty of articles that can be found online that outline different principles & strategies for each game type, getting quite specific with each (whether it be a 180plyr. sng, a 45 plyr. turbo, etc. etc.).
I'd recommend picking one or two variations of sng's & the occassional MTT. If you think you'd like 45plyr. sngs... then try to learn what you can about them. I just think it's much better to not jump around to a bunch of different games so that you can get very familiarized with and play optimally in one or two (while hoping to build a bankroll).