Cash vs. MTT vs. Sit N Go ?

[silversun87]

Not sure which to choose as my main game going forward. I will obviously continue to play all three but I keep wondering how much I should play each.

I always loved playing MTTs. I feel I'm good at them and that's what brings me most joy. However, I'm not sure if it can be profitable to play mainly MTTs. I watched Negreanu's masterclass in which he says that your main source of income should be cash games and only a small percentage of your winning should go towards MTTs.

My problem is I find cash games boring as there is no finish line, no pressure of the clock, people can come and go when they want, they can play random just because they can always rebuy, it's just not my cup of tea. Obviously I will continue to play some cash to keep my skills sharp as the overall quality of play is better than in tournaments but I don't think it will ever become my main game. It just feels too much like going to the office and I already have a day job.

When it comes to Sit N Gos I'm somewhere in the middle, I like to play them from time to time when I don't have time for an MTT and I usually do well in them.

How much do you play each type in order to enjoy yourself but still be profitable? Or is it wrong to consider enjoying when it comes to trying to make money?

 

[CKALLDAY]

I think it’s a reasonable question that many people have never really perfected.

From a personal standpoint, I think your approach is fine. If you have plenty of time to devote yourself to playing mainly MTTs, then there is nothing wrong with that. I believe it is certainly possible to be just as profitable playing them, if not more profitable, it can just be an extremely long time before the work pays dividends.

During this recent lockdown, I played mainly tourneys and sit and gos. I throw sit and gos in to practice things like short handed play, as well as to boost the morale because it can help confidence to play smaller fields and see results.

Soon I will be going back to work, and will likely see the chances to play MTTs diminish, but would like to continue playing sit and gos, and will likely throw in the odd cash game as well seeing as the amount of free time I have will now be an issue.

 

[fundiver199]

For me the number one format to make money in online poker is small field MTTs, because they are often incredibly soft. The downside is, you need to commit at least 5-6 hours to an MTT session, and this is not always practical.

Filling out those gaps, where you only have a few hours to play, with cash games, is not a good solution in my experience. Cash games require a very different mentality, and player pool tendencies are often quite different. So for me I would rather fill out the gaps with SnGs, since they are at the end of the day just small tournaments, and they are good practice for the final table.

The other option is to grind cash games and only once in a while play a few MTTs on Sundays for the excitement and entertainment. But I would almost prefer to not do this with my cash game bankroll, since moving up or down really should be based on, how you perform in the cash games, not on getting lucky and scooping a big sunday tournament.

 

[greatgame230]

In my case I play mostly MTT but it is because I feel more comfortable playing and it is where I have more successes, now you propose the modalities from a point of view different from mine I play for money but it seems that you are more attracted to the competition that's why I advised you to play where you feel most comfortable and enjoy playing

 

[Akena]

I play Cash to build my bankeroll and pay tournaments but I totally agree with you

, players can go all in at any time because they can rebuy and it's very unpleasant ... I take no pleasure, but I do from time to time!

I much prefer to play in MTT, it's more of a challenge and I love it! Maybe less paying compared to the hours spent and the money earned but the pleasure remains the same!
Do you have a tip when you are at the MTT final table? I never manage to rank in the top 3, I want to improve!

For Sit N Go, I play sometimes but especially when I have free tickets otherwise it is not a mode that particularly attracts me.

 

[silversun87]

@Akena I am by no means an expert so it's hard to give tips I've only been playing seriously in the last four months and made a final table twice. I do end up in the money quite often by playing tight though so I'm pretty happy with that. All I can say is go with your gut when you're in tough spots and don't second guess yourself. If it comes it comes, if it doesn't it doesn't. It will eventually.

@greatgame230 make no mistake I am interested in making money as well from poker to supplement my income but after 8 hours of work I'm not really looking for another grind. But yeah I love the competition aspect where you have a ranking. Maybe it's childish but when I play an MTT with over 1000 players and I finish in the top 100 I feel good about my game. If I rank higher then it's just a bonus.

@fundiver199 what MTTs do you usually play?

 

[hellboy3000]

gut

ganz deiner meineung

 

[fundiver199]

@fundiver199 what MTTs do you usually play?

I have played a lot of MTTs on 888 Poker, mostly up to the 22$ level, only a few "shots" above that. Recently I have played a bit more on pokerstars again but mostly their SnGs and multi table SnGs. Took 4. place in a 11$ "big" yesterday though for a 220$ score

 

[silversun87]

I have played a lot of MTTs on 888 Poker, mostly up to the 22$ level, only a few "shots" above that. Recently I have played a bit more on PokerStars again but mostly their SnGs and multi table SnGs. Took 4. place in a 11$ "big" yesterday though for a 220$ score

Nice! I'm only playing on Pokerstars currently. Wanted to try 888 as well at one point but I head some negative feedback about them regarding freezing funds and bad customer service so I gave up on that thought.

I like playing Sunday MTTs as they pay better but I play all week in MTTs ranging from $2.20 to $11 dollars. Congrats on your win last night! I tried my luck at the Sunday anniversary as I qualified in a satellite but it didn't go well for me. A little more aggressive than what I'm used to. Maybe next time.

 

[Polytarp]

Not sure which to choose as my main game going forward..

Your post is among some of the best I've seen within this forum...you're to the point. From what I've learned about myself playing poker you need to play with as much variation as possible to understand where your strengths, natural and acquired, exist. By variation I mean all of the different poker games that exist, NL,Omaha, Stud.., their different buy-in levels (goes to your comfort level) and the sites they're played on. Player traffic is important..so when you slice and dice the player strata relative to that site then zone in on player statistics you'll see opportunities for making money, for learning something (paying table tuition accordingly) and possibly for the fun of it which combines everything. Basically, understand the rules of the games..like chess, GO then understand games that contain a lack of or misinformation which contain the element of chance. After this it's earning your way forward and optimizing ways of extracting your hard won funds (and conversely subsidizing your play with the least vigorish). Minimize exchange rate fees, service fees, table tax (rake) and maximize interest rate returns. Just my tuppence, cheers.

 

[Akena]

@Akena I am by no means an expert so it's hard to give tips I've only been playing seriously in the last four months and made a final table twice. I do end up in the money quite often by playing tight though so I'm pretty happy with that. All I can say is go with your gut when you're in tough spots and don't second guess yourself. If it comes it comes, if it doesn't it doesn't. It will eventually.

@greatgame230 make no mistake I am interested in making money as well from poker to supplement my income but after 8 hours of work I'm not really looking for another grind. But yeah I love the competition aspect where you have a ranking. Maybe it's childish but when I play an MTT with over 1000 players and I finish in the top 100 I feel good about my game. If I rank higher then it's just a bonus.

@fundiver199 what MTTs do you usually play?

Thank you for your message. I don't lose hope of arriving first one day

 

[fundiver199]

Nice! I'm only playing on Pokerstars currently. Wanted to try 888 as well at one point but I head some negative feedback about them regarding freezing funds and bad customer service so I gave up on that thought.

I have never had any bad experiences with 888 Poker as far as customer service and payouts are concerned. Usually when people tell these stories about "frozen funds", there is some reason for it, which they dont always share in a completely honest way. And you can find those stories about any of the poker sites including PokerStars. Just try to search the forum, and you will find several threads.

As long as you are not trying to cheat by using VPN, multiaccounting, presenting fake papers and so on and so forth, I think, both 888 Poker and PokerStars are extremely safe places to play. I would also include partypoker on that list, since they have also been around for decades, and they are licensed in many markets.

 

[gryphon3005]

I found somewhat the same thing. Cash games just didn't interest me all that much. There were lots of sharks multi-tabling the cash games banging away at the fish. If the cards weren't running or the fish left then the sharks would depart and look for another table leaving you with a busted game. I loved the challenge of the MTTs but the time spent was often ridiculous. The SnGs, on the other hand, were 30-40 minutes long and good practice for final tables. I found I preferred the higher stakes SnGs where the competition was a little more intense.

In the end I decided to play a few SnGs every day and then add one maybe two mtts. But, I switched to playing turbo mtts with a registration period of around one hour. These tournaments tend to be just short enough to make the time spent seem worthwhile.

 

[ROYALROAD]

I think the growth by which a cash game is a poker is earliest.

But, after there is capacity which doesn't reduce the price so much.