Tournaments (
freerolls and low buyin events), allow you to play extended periods of time, usually with ample amounts of chips to experiment with strategies as you learn what you can and cannot do, without impacting your wallet.
Low (micro) limit cash games offer the same luxury, however, you will see a slight up tick on swings (bankroll), as you flounder a bit learning and earning your way.
Folks like tournaments because it's a single buyin amount they can
fit into their bankroll and know that's all they can lose. But to be fair, if they tracked the hours spent chasing a payout, they would (most of them), see it's either unprofitable or break even at best. A small % would see a small win rate and even smaller amount a good win rate (ROI).
In cash games a person can win (in a shorter amount of time), leave when they are UP, add money when they desire to level the playing field, never have to feel pressured about blinds going up, have a better read on opponents (you see daily, they leave less often-not moved to another table), you can play when you have the time, need less time than a tournament to compete and succeed, and formulate strategies (unlike in tournaments), that work in cash games that don't in tournaments.
One last thing, although tournaments seem easier to master than cash games, there are 3 distinct stages of a tournament (not in a cash setting), and how you play in the beginning, middle and end of a tournament differs greatly.
In the beginning you are dodging loose players (too many of them at once), those who play for fun, those who have deeper pockets - unlimited rebuys for example, and many who just are gamblers, not poker players. While in the middle stages, after the break and addon usually, play differs greatly and players value chips more, start to make reads (more accurately), and begin establishing a table image and taking advantage of weak players remaining. At the finish it's another change, where set mining is no longer a plan, it's a pipe dream, short stacks are everywhere and you must know and be aware of stake sizes and how they play verse how bigger stacks play. Then a player comes to more heads up play, short tables, and those who are rather ladder climb than play for the win (although sometimes ladder climbing can lead to the bigger win).
I'm a proponent of cash games and learning how to play there, learning bet sizing, position, reads, and other strategies designed to win. They translate into good tournament play as well, however, the opposite does not work for those coming from tournaments to cash games. They say that LIMIT holdem players make a better transition to NL, and NL players make a hard switch to LIMIT and they are correct. Learning the basics, building a solid foundation is paramount to leading to a successful poker endeavor.
Okay, there I said it and believe it, although others can and will the opposite, so continue the discussion, it's all good. Al
