[scotty34]

I am somewhat new to poker, only been playing for about 6 months, and I've only played online for the last month and a half. I'm doing quite well bonus whoring right now, but I want to figure out where to focus most of my energy. I have played mostly low stakes ring games up to this point (and doing well in those) as well as a few SnG's and MTT's. I find I enjoy the tournament style much more, as it is very dynamic and requires a lot of thought instead of just mindless point-and-clicking.

I've only played about 15 SnG's, which were usually the Party 10+1's. Despite this small number, I've found that they are fairly easy. People are generally not that difficult to read, and are quite passive and can be pushed off by solid aggressive play (do people agree with this assessment?). I've finished ITM 9 times, including 4 1sts. I am confident that I could consistently beat this game (I know I've been running better than can likely be achieved in the long run) with some practise and study.

Anyways, on to my real questions. What is the profitability of SnG's vs ring games? I would assume variance is much higher, and longer losing streaks would be endured. How much could a solid winning player make per hour 4-tabling the 10+1's? 20's? 30's? (I only have tourney experience playing 1 table at this point, but I have no trouble playing 4 with ring games, and I'm sure I could eventually reach that point with tourneys). Also, what is the difficulty difference between the 10, 20 and 30 dollar tournaments?

If I am willing to study and practise, which would be more profitable down the road? SnG's or ring games? I would like to be playing poker as a secondary source of income this summer while I am out of school. Final question: what are some good books to study for tournament poker (I'm assuming TPFAP is the obvious answer, but are there more?)

Thanks for your responses