Cash Games Or Sitngos?

[VernonME 0]

Hi, I've recently joined Stars and deposited 50 dollars as a micro player, hopefully i can get to low-medium blinds soon. I've climbed my way to 120 dollars but am facing a problem. By playing cash games, (.01/.02 and .02/.05), I might have made around 15-20 dollars, but the rest of my money have come by SitnGo winnings (1 table, 9 ppl for $5.50). Now I want to know what I should do, continue winning small amounts thru cash games or keep risking 5 dollars in SitnGos. I dont really like my cash game, I cant seem to steadily increase my chip stack. I usually lose a good amount of my buy in money, than go all in (at the right time) and win back my money. As for the SitnGo's, i feel quite confident in winning, i have cashed out in 1st place 6 out of 8 times, but im afraid if i go on a bad streak, the 5 dollar buy ins for the sitngos will amount to a big loss. Should i continue with my lucky streak in these sitngos or try to play it safe and play cash games? tyand on a side note, what blinds should i be playing if i get to a $500 BR, what is the ratio?

[Actuary 3]

in NL, play with about 20 buy ins as a minimum to be safe.$500 = 20 x $25So play 0.10/0.25 NL with $500.as far as SitnGo vs Cash, heck, play what you enjoy.,You should have about $150 to be playing $5 SnG's; but if you win regularly, you wouldn't need that much.Secondly, if you can stay focused after a downswing and not tilt, you'll recoup usually.Just don't be afraid to move down limits as you go thru rough patches

[Head_Trauma 0]

Placing 1st in 6 out of 8 sitngos is a pretty incredible run, but there's no reason to think your luck will turn bad. I say keep playing em, they are extremely beatable at that buy in. Once your BR is at $250 - $300 move up to $10 tourneys. Many a player has built up a large bankroll playing only sitngos. Switch to the cash games for a bit if you get bored or frustrated.

[Sluggo 0]

If SitnGos are more enjoyable and more profitable for you, then play SitnGos.

[Vogelb5 0]

What's your stars name? maybe Ill sit down at a sng w/ ya.

[VernonME 0]

alright thanks for the advice, gave me a little more confidence to stick with the sitngos, and my sn is VernonME if ya wana sit with me once in awhile

[Jdr999 0]

I would play $5 Heads-Up SnG's. While you have less of a potential ROI compared to 9-player SNG's, the variance I find to be much less. Very easy to not cash in 5 9-player SNG's; extreamly hard to lose 5 HU SnG's in a row. Also, I find my reads are better playing HU than at a full table.

[Zach6668 513]

I would play $5 Heads-Up SnG's. While you have less of a potential ROI compared to 9-player SNG's, the variance I find to be much less. Very easy to not cash in 5 9-player SNG's; extreamly hard to lose 5 HU SnG's in a row. Also, I find my reads are better playing HU than at a full table.

Is this a joke post?HU Variance >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 9-man SNG Variance.

[pokerfan1080 0]

VernonME......Cash games or SnG's is a personal preference based on your success and what you enjoy the most. I would suggest playing a mix of both initially to get a good handle on your success with each. If you are successful with both games but enjoy the SnG's more, play the SnG's. But, if you do experience a downswing, and you were successful in the cash games, you can go back to the cash games again to re-build any losses. I've used this strategy to build my BR because, like yourself, I too enjoy the SnG's & tournies more than the cash games.There are two important factors here that haven't been mentioned yet: 1. Your poker goals, and, 2. The line you would prefer to take to get you there. As for your goals, set yourself some short term and long term goals. There is a monthly goals thread in the general strategy section. Feel free to use it, and don't worry about how small your goals are compared to others who post there. We have a wide range of poker players here, from hobbyists to semi-pros and pros. Everyone here is very accepting and encouraging. For the line you prefer to take to get to your goals, being conservative will require a very patient and disciplined approach. For this a 20-25 buy-in rule for cash games is suggested. For tournies, a 100 buy-in rule is suggested. If you are willing to take more risk you can loosen these guidelines some but you will need to be much more disciplined with this approach, especially if you would not like to make any more deposits.And, as was previously mentioned, if you are experiencing a down swing, be honest with yourself and truely recognize and accept that moving down a level is not a bad thing. It can be a kick in the nads, but if you would prefer to be conservative, patience is key. If you are a winning player, you will build your BR slowly, but surely.Setting goals, effective BR management, patience, being honest with yourself, all very important factors.Good luck!

[No_Neck 0]

Is this a joke post?HU Variance >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 9-man SNG Variance.

actually I have found that at that level you can really get people drawing dead a lot, the only problem is I can't multitable heads up play.

[Jdr999 0]

Is this a joke post?HU Variance >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 9-man SNG Variance.

No. I will agree that HU cash games have much more variance that 9-man SNG, but a HU SNG's have less variance. In HU SNG's there are only two results: you lose or you win. In 9-man SNG's there are 4: (4th-9th place: lose. [For $5+.50- 3rd: $3.5 profit, 2nd: $8 profit, 1st: $17 profit]). You also have to deal with higher blinds when you get near or close to the $. One bad beat is the difference between losing your buy-in and winning the 9-man SNG. In HU SNG there is no bubble and the blinds stay low for most matches. Easier to get back to even if on a downswing in 9-man SNG's by winning one, much tougher to get back to even if on a losing streak by playing HU SNG.

[Dogpatch 2]

There's no bubble in HU? Aren't you always on the bubble?Win HU and the best you can do is not quite double your buy-in, win a 9-man and what... at least triple your buy-in? (I don't play single table SnG's enough to know the payouts)

[Zach6668 513]

I'm pretty sure the reason HU is more variant than 9-man is because you are forced to make more marginal decisions, so it shouldn't matter whether it is SNG or cash, but I have no numbers or anything to back that up.

[No_Neck 0]

I'm pretty sure the reason HU is more variant than 9-man is because you are forced to make more marginal decisions, so it shouldn't matter whether it is SNG or cash, but I have no numbers or anything to back that up.

I agree with you at higher levels but at 5 dollars there are people that push all in preflop every hand.

[No_Neck 0]

I'm pretty sure the reason HU is more variant than 9-man is because you are forced to make more marginal decisions, so it shouldn't matter whether it is SNG or cash, but I have no numbers or anything to back that up.

I agree with you at higher levels but at 5 dollars there are people that push all in preflop every hand.

[Zach6668 513]

I agree with you at higher levels but at 5 dollars there are people that push all in preflop every hand.

Makes sense x2

[Jdr999 0]

There's no bubble in HU? Aren't you always on the bubble?Win HU and the best you can do is not quite double your buy-in, win a 9-man and what... at least triple your buy-in? (I don't play single table SnG's enough to know the payouts)

Yes, you are correct, but as I said before, it is very hard to lose 5 straight HU SNG's compared to 5 straight 9-man SNG's. While you can triple you buy-in in a 9-man SNG, you have to do this often to make a good profit. For example, if you cash 50% of the time in 9-man SNG and only cash in 3rd place, you are losing $ (I know, unlikely example). How much ROI you make in 9-man SNG's depends on not how much you cash, but how much you cash for. As for the bubble comment, this is speaking to 9-man SNG's more than HU SNG's. If the stacks in 9-man SNG's 4-handed are:You: $3,0002nd player: $5,0003rd player: $4,0004th player: $1,500.In this situation, unless you have a big hand, you must wait for player 4 to bust so you can make the $. Strategy changes when you are down to 4-players because your first goal is to cash, then play for the win. In HU the strategy hardly changes. You are not trying to surive to make the $, you are trying to win. You do not have to wait for a short stack to bust in order to cash.

I'm pretty sure the reason HU is more variant than 9-man is because you are forced to make more marginal decisions, so it shouldn't matter whether it is SNG or cash, but I have no numbers or anything to back that up.

2+2 Thread on NL Cash Games vs. HU SNG's

[Actuary 3]

the math clearly shows that the typical player will have 2.8x more variance playing 10 Man than HU SnG's, given the 50% 30% 20% payouts

[Jdr999 0]

the math clearly shows that the typical player will have 2.8x more variance playing 10 Man than HU SnG's, given the 50% 30% 20% payouts

ty for posting this.

[Zach6668 513]

I must have been misinformed at some point in my poker education.Either that or I just suck at HU... which I do.

[GABMAD 0]

Personally I prefer to play sit and go's. That's how I built like 90% of my bankroll. My advice is play whatever is working out for you. If you're running hot in sit and go's, keep playing em'. When you feel like you're bored or when you haven't cashed in a couple, switch to cash games, or a different type of sit and go's. Personally, when things aren't working out my way, I usually play a tourny because it limits how much money i'm playing with and keeps me busy for a few hours (hopefully).

[navybuttons 15]

Is this a joke post?HU Variance >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 9-man SNG Variance.

incorrect.HU cash game variance > 9 man cash game varianceHU SNG variance <<< 9 man SNG variance.heads up there are many hands and many actions. in a cash game each hand and all actions lead to multiple outcomes (your current amount of cash after each). in an SNG all those actions lead to one outcome (whether you win or lose).typical br for 9 man SNGs would be about 50. with heads up SNGs 25-30 is on the conservative side.in a hu SNG you a basically flipping a coin with a 60% edge. with each win you take a step foward. with each loss a step backward. the chances of taking 10 steps backward is very small, while we all know that 10 buy-ins in a 9 man SNG is standard running bad.

I agree with you at higher levels but at 5 dollars there are people that push all in preflop every hand.

i never witnessed that. the most common exploitable mistakes at the $5 hu sngs were overbet bluffers and calling stations. they also were not able to understand the absolute importance of position.

[Zach6668 513]

OK! Enough already! I was wrong, ok!