Tournaments, sng's or cash games?

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whoami

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I find myself switching my focus often between different poker formats: tournaments, sng's and cash games. I would like to focus on only one of them. Now I have reasoned to myself that I am going to focus from now on only on tournaments. The reasoning behind this goes as follows:

(Let's assume that I am (or will be) a winning player at whatever format I choose to play.)

In order to gain significant money from cash games or sng's one would have to grind them very hard. I don't have interest to grind all day every day, so I would only be able to make small profit out of them. But from tournaments it's possible to make significant money without too much time investment, for example by binking a big tournament. Of course that isn't very likely and certainly tournaments aren't going to bring any steady income.

So I don't care for a small and steady profit out of poker if it requires too much grinding. I'd rather have a chance (altough small) at a significant amount of money with a big probability of ending up about breaking even. (Definitely though not losing!)

So it would be great if I could play only tournaments (to maximize chance at a significant money), but that way my bankroll would generally go downhill until I hit a big score. (A large portion of mtt grinder's profit come from top 3 finishes, doesn't it. And those top 3 finishes don't happen very often.) So I would have to play some other format in addition to those big tournaments and I think that 180 player sng's (on pokerstars) would be a natural choice for a tournament player.

What do you think about my plan and reasoning? Is there any reason to play cash games or stt:s (instead of mtt sng:s) alongside big tournaments? Is the variance even in the 180 man's too big as it is in big mtts?
 
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whoami

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And how have you chosen your preferred format? Do you have any other reasons than what you enjoy the most or what you (or others) think is most profitable format?
 
toots babos

toots babos

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play sit and gos and use profits from sit and gos to fund your tournaments, eventually you will see a jump from a deep run in one of your tournaments

good luck
 
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whoami

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play sit and gos and use profits from sit and gos to fund your tournaments, eventually you will see a jump from a deep run in one of your tournaments

good luck

Thanks for your recommendation!

Would you recommend single table sngs or multi table sngs? Or does it even matter?
 
Marcwantstowin

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Hi Whoami - The answer is "I don't know who" - hehe. I prefer to play tournaments as well. In fact I only play cash games when I cannot find a tournament to play !! - Bad idea!!

I also like S'n'G's but find the 180 man on PS a bit limited, by that I mean that the structure is not to my liking. I think the pay outs go too low. I prefer to play 6 man as they only pay top 2 and I find the Hyper speed one's the best, although some may think they are a "shit or bust" tourney, they can also teach you how to play late in a tourney when the Blinds become large compared to the average stack size. Gl in your endeavours and hopefully see you on WCOOP Main Event Final Table one day..............:D :D :D
 
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thatgreekdude

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Play whatever you enjoy more and/or are best at. I find sticking to just one can get very tedious and I myself like to switch it up every now and then.
 
toots babos

toots babos

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Thanks for your recommendation!

Would you recommend single table sngs or multi table sngs? Or does it even matter?


whatever you do best in :D

try some single table games and try some larger sit and gos and see which ones you prefer and which ones make you the most money to use in your tournaments
 
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jj20002

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i play mtt and sng (not cash) because i have more fun, i consider cash games quite boring

mtts are generally longer than sng and you can multitabling the same sng (same buyin) however you can not play the same tourney 2 or 3 times the same day (at least at PS) so once you bust you have to wait till next day to get in the tourney with the same buyin, obviously there are different buyin but should stick to a range of BI

indeed you need to reach top 3 time to time to keep your BR because most of the time you bust out of money or with a min cash
 
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whoami

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Thanks for all the comments
 
Farseer

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MTTs, because it's most fun format usually with worst players. Hate cash game, and generally sit&go:s too because they become very boring after a while.

Like to switch formats a while. Usually play Texas NL, Omaha PL or Omaha Hi-Lo (NL / PL), but sometimes also play other formats to keep things interesting. I also love leaderboard tournament series and other special tournaments (and who wouldn't love added prizes).
 
rogerdelpk

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i think that sit and gos are great but really really need a good internet conection for playing them..........otherwise cash games......i had to migrate to cash games because of my horrible internet service.
 
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i prefer cash games just in case of internet issues.
 
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badalhoco345

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Normally I play much more tournaments than SNG's or Cash games. But sometimes I play some SNG's, usually one table tournament, and I take the profits to invest or in tournaments or in sat's. But this is me. In your case, you have to feel what is the better for your kind of game and skills. For exemple, if you are not a pacient guy, it will be hard for you play long tournaments. I will not recommend to you cash games if you do not have a good bankroll. But if you really want to be a pro poker player one day, I think you should focus on tournaments and learn as much as you can with them (with the moves, with your hands, with the other players hands...
 
VizziVizo

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I think to play tournaments and sng*s it is the best way to win something in poker.Many tables sng and sunday storm and sunday ,illions are my favourite.I dont can play cash, I just dont can.
 
micalupagoo

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its really personal preference,
mtts my fav, but dont always have time to commit
thats where SnGs are great 9-180 man
if you dont want to grind long hrs for sm profit, try the 90/180mans for awhile
its a mini mtt, good pay for top spots and wont keep you up all night

cash games is another thing all together
you can make the cash fast (or so Ive heard lol) but can kill a roll even faster

Ive found playing what you enjoy the most is always the best thing,
its not just about the money (if it was you'd grind 20hrs a day)

maybe just do small cheap satellites, then you can win your way into some nice bigger buyin games
 
Sil3ntness

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I actually enjoy all NLHE versions, but in order of my favorite to play:

MTT > SNG STT(no SNG MTTs on my site) > SNG DoN > SNG Turbo > SNG Hyper Turbo > Cash game.

haha cash games are dead last. I just get bored quickly playing cash games like someone else said. There's no end point unless you leave the table.

If I'm short on time, I try and play some turbo/hyper turbos. If nobody is playing the turbos/hyper turbos. I try and find a cash game table that isn't filled with the usual REG cash game grinders that play on 4+ cash game tables.
 
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badalhoco345

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It depends of your poker style and how long you play poker: for exemple, if you are not patiente it would be better play S&G because they last less time than the tournaments. S&G it's a little tournament.

In my opinion it's better to play tournaments because, usually, you start with more chips, the prices are better, you can risk a little bit more... But playing S&G it's a good practice before you decide to start playing tournaments (especially if you are new in poker).

If you have or when you have a good bankroll, while you play some tournaments, you can open 1 or 2 S&G for exemple.
 
horizon12

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It all depends on how you play postflop game , if good MTT , if no SNG....
and also with push/fold ability to properly play preflop need more in SNG..

Still depends on the time, if you have it a lot, you can choose MTT...
 
rytciaq

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Both have their ups and downs, but for me personally, MTT is much more fun and entertaining to play, if you win- you win big.
 
Arjonius

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In order to gain significant money from cash games or sng's one would have to grind them very hard. I don't have interest to grind all day every day, so I would only be able to make small profit out of them. But from tournaments it's possible to make significant money without too much time investment, for example by binking a big tournament. Of course that isn't very likely and certainly tournaments aren't going to bring any steady income.
You seem to be making generalizations to support your preferred course of action. For one thing, how much you have to grind depends on your relative ability and how much you want to win. Some people can make $X per year while playing a lot fewer hours than others. Also, while you can bink an MTT, what if that doesn't happen for a long time? Are you prepared for the possibility of scraping by or even losing a good deal of money before this happens?
 
DonV73

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play sit and gos and use profits from sit and gos to fund your tournaments, eventually you will see a jump from a deep run in one of your tournaments

good luck

+1

I do the same. Cashgames are not for me. They don't fit in my playing style.
 
thetick33

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i play cause love to play and love tournaments more than ring. Yet could honestly make money quicker easier better by doing 10 people sng's or playing say 2-4 limit or nl holdem. I just like tourneys better is not style or whatever just always have. One day maybe get serious and grind a bit like have in past right now building bankrolls.
 
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whoami

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You seem to be making generalizations to support your preferred course of action. For one thing, how much you have to grind depends on your relative ability and how much you want to win. Some people can make $X per year while playing a lot fewer hours than others. Also, while you can bink an MTT, what if that doesn't happen for a long time? Are you prepared for the possibility of scraping by or even losing a good deal of money before this happens?

I don't want to have to deposit more money to my account so I don't want to lose all of my bankroll. So that's why I think I have to play sng's in addition to tournaments to keep me (at least) breaking even until I bink a tournament.
 
rancidcarp

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when my regular game is bleeding and im on the wrong side of variance mountian lol i find sit n go double ups always heal what ails me. pretty easy to make a slow steady profit.
 
Sil3ntness

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You seem to be making generalizations to support your preferred course of action. For one thing, how much you have to grind depends on your relative ability and how much you want to win. Some people can make $X per year while playing a lot fewer hours than others. Also, while you can bink an MTT, what if that doesn't happen for a long time? Are you prepared for the possibility of scraping by or even losing a good deal of money before this happens?

Speaking of binking a tournament. I just played a god awful 6 HR 30 minute plus MTT last night/through early morning. I made the final table, but I was dead tired at my actual job because it didn't finish until 2:30? 3:30 AM CST time. I can't remember, but I'll never make that mistake again. I wanted to pass out in the office. Note to self: Don't enter deep stack tournament that starts in the evening.

I placed in 4th or 5th can't remember exactly, but the guy that placed 1st was a straight up BULLY to me. Every time I would raise, he would 3 bet me or 3 bet shove. I kept folding my hands, but I kept notes of his aggression. I had finally picked up a low pocket pair so I tried to trap him. I did another small raise & he insta-shoved on me. I snap call & he hits a 7 on the flop to win with a pair of 7s. (3 bet shoved me with A7o) If he would of bricked the board he would of been out of the tournament (instead of placing 1st), but instead I got crippled into a short stack. *sigh* MTT variance for yeah

He won the FIRST hand heads up for 1st place shoving A10s against another guy's Q10o to win the tournament. I'm not sure I would have called that shove with Q10o. Unless I knew his shove range was super wide. Oh well he binked a tournament and took home the big prize while I got no sleep & 4/5th place prize money. Next time I choose sleep though :(
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Damn sorry I went on in rant mode: I agree though! If you don't have time to play deep stack tournaments, don't enter them! If you're running good and finding yourself set up for the final table, be prepared for a long day and/or night. Turbos can be fun because they end a lot faster than deep/super deep MTTs. Also a lot more action & showdowns = more bad beat anger fests.
 
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