SNG vs. Cash Games

[MetsFan259]

I was also wondering what the experienced players felt took more skill to be succesful at in the low stakes NL Hold Em. Tournament/SNG or cash game play? I think cash game is probably a bit harder, since one slip up can mean $200 dollars; meanwhile, a bad play in tournament play just loses you a few chips in which you could make back with a few strong hands. Do you think there are certain qualities that might force good players to never get fully involved with cash players due to the rapid ups and downs of cash?

[Pelion]

1 slip up can cost you as much or as little as the stakes you are playing at.

Im not sure which of the 2 is the most skillful but SnGs and cash games emphasise different skills.

SnGs are all about judging fold equity (how likely it is someone will fold) and blind stealing, and getting the best of it in early betting rounds. You must constantly adapt to the changing table conditions dictated by blinds/stack sizes.


Cash games are all about patience preflop, and then good postflop play. You must be far more selective with preflop hands but you must be able to better read players and hands postflop. Attacking weakness is nowhere near as important since you are happy to gamble with only a slight advantage.

[swiggidy]

What are you considering low stakes? One bad play should not cost you $200.

To anyone: 100NL is the begining of low stakes, right?

One bad play can kick you out of a tournament. That might be 3 hours after you started when you are 5 spots away from money. Is dropping $5 and 3 hours worse than dropping $25? That's up to you to decide.

[martindcx1e]

I think it takes more skill to be a winner at cash games because with deeper stacks comes more difficult decisions. Also, SNG's end up focusing on pre-flop and flop play while cash games focus on all streets. So deeper stacks + more streets = harder. Another thing about downswings - SNG downswings can be BRUTAL. It's not uncommon to lose 10 in a row while playing well.

[fjuanl]

for me, sng's are way easier. preflop decisions are easy. postflop, not so much. the players who play low limit sng's are less skilled than low limit cash games i think

[XTR1000]

i won´t call sng´s that easy. sure, a solid preflop play takes you itm, and you won´t see all streets that much. but with increasing blinds you´re forced to make moves, a run of cold cards can´t be beat with patience....and especially in lower stakes, you can´t rebuy and get your money back from all those bad-beat-producing gamblers.

[arkana]

The deeper the chips, the bigger the edge a skilled player can have.

[The Izebox]

SNGs are much easier. There are few decisions in cash games that are always correct. SNGs are full of situations where its obvious that you are pushing/folding. Also, as someone stated earlier, most of the decisions are made preflop and on the flop, when it is much easier to put your opponent on a range.

Someone said earlier that sng success depends on the early betting rounds. I couldn't disaggree more, sngs, are about playing aggressively when the blinds are bigger and there are fewer people. When it is still a full ring you cant decide to win pots. You either get cards or you dont. When its down to 4-5 handed, thats when its time to take out the CANNON.

[andy-akb]

As has been said, there is more skill in cash games than in SNGs. Now that isnt to say you cant be a skilled player and play SNGs, but they are on the whole easier to beat than cash games.

They arent easier really because of the reason you gave and I dont know how much I agree with that anyways. Bad plays in both situations cost you, but I would say you get stacked much more often in a tournament than in a cash game simply because the stack sizes get much smaller. So you are going to be playing in a lot of marginal situatiosn when you get later into a tourney with your whole stack on the line.

The reason they are easier is because of the stack sizes, you simply do not have a big enough stack for the majority of the tournament to have very many tough decisions that you cant figure out simply by doing the math. The smaller the stacks the less postflop play there is and the less postflop play there is means less skill is needed.

[Pelion]

Someone said earlier that sng success depends on the early betting rounds. I couldn't disaggree more....etc.

Early betting rounds means preflop and flop. It doesnt mean early in the tournament, it means early in the hand.

[The Izebox]

my bad