Ring or Tourney

[dirty ernie]

Just starting out guys. Haven't jumped into money games yet, but spent a short lifetime on the free tables. I know, there's a big difference between the two. With a short BR, and no actual playing experience yet, is it better to get wet at the .25/.50 ring games, or should I concentrate on NL tourney play? I know they are two very different games. I haven't read anything on tourney play yet. I have read Low Limit Holdem. Ordered a couple books on tourney play, but haven't yet recieved em. Actually, I have limited experience at NL other than free play to get the mechanics down.
I get the feeling, the more I say, the more I realize, I'm headed for the .25/.50 ring games.
I feel like a blind man in the sunlight here.
Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

[Joe Tall]

I think the $5+1 Sit n Goes are a great way to learn Hold'em. This is how I learned on Paradise Poker.com.

Welcome to the forum,
Joe Tall

[daveymck]

I have been playing for 8 months so a newbie as well, not sure if the ring game you mentioned is limit or no limit but will give you my experience.

I did the same as you got some books etc and started playing at really low limit $.10/$.20 basically being scared of losing lots of money. What I found at level is loads of people stay in the pot all the way through and it in essence becomes a game of draw, raising gets noone out.

I did get more confident and moved up to 1/2 limit basically after reading up a bit and realising that at that level you get more of a real game and as long as you start off playing reasonably tight and having a grasp of starting hands and position then you would be fine and will give yourself good intro and experience. You still find some people will not let go of a hand but that is to your advantage.

I played low buy in NL tournies in the beginning with mixed success, my feeling is ring games give you a better grounding in theory as stack size isnt an issue whereas NL tournie play is an art in itself as you need to know when to change gears, throw down a good hand, bluff etc which initially is taken away when playing Limit.

Will be interesting to see what the more experinced players think.

[Joe Tall]

I played the limit SnGs and suggest that you do too. As the blinds move up the game tightens and it will offer you a cheap way to get some better experiences on hand read skills.

After a while I was beating these tournaments regularly and I moved up to the $10+1 tourns. I suggest you do the same.

Peace,
Joe Tall

[DeliciousDi]

Unfortunately you have only tonight and tomorrow night (Tuesday and Wednesday) to get into it, but SkillPoker.com is offering freeroll tournaments beginning at 7:00 PM EST with $25 (16 player) and $50 (32 player) payouts for top 2 finishers, but SkillPoker goes real money games Thursday and I suppose those freerolls probably will end then.

[daveymck]

[ QUOTE ]
I played the limit SnGs and suggest that you do too. As the blinds move up the game tightens and it will offer you a cheap way to get some better experiences on hand read skills.

After a while I was beating these tournaments regularly and I moved up to the $10+1 tourns. I suggest you do the same.

Peace,
Joe Tall

[/ QUOTE ]

Its actually what I have started doing except playing the NL sng's and small buy in $3 mtt with 50-100 players. Beating the $5 sng's regular so probably need to move up a bit but had good advice on that on the tournie section.

I do feel that the grounding I got in low limit games of playing a tight agressive game (well I tried) and having the patience (or developing over time) to wait for the right hands have helped me in tourney play, but obviously there is a lot of adjustment to do when you move across game types.

[George Rice]

I would recommend playing in ring games if on a short bankroll.

There are lot of fluctuations in tournaments, even in one table sit-n-go tourneys. This is especially true in no-limit tourneys. If you have a small bankroll then you will have a high chance of going broke before having a chance to build your bankroll. Even the best player can go many tourneys without cashing out. A beginner player is much more likely to experience this.

Also, tournament skills are different than full ring game skills. But there are times you will need to play just like it's a ring game, without many, if any, adjustments. So ring game skills will still be needed when playing tourneys. The reverse is rarely true.

Having said that, tourneys can be fun and give you a lot of play for the price of a buy-in. So the small buy-in online tourneys might provide some fun.

If you are willing to suplement your bankroll with other money as it shrinks (as most players do) then be more likely to take shots in tournaments.

If you want to build a bankroll, then ring games are the way to do it, if you are looking for the best chance of sucess.

[ChipWrecked]

I found ring games to be the better way for myself. I could concentrate on learning the game without the distraction and added stress of increasing blinds and being forced to make 'gambling' moves just to stay alive.

Now that's just me. I find the variance of tourney play distressing. It's also too finite, "I lost the tourney". The ring games go on and on; I can get in and out at will, there's no 'win' or 'lose', just swings with an upward trend.

[jbc]

[ QUOTE ]


Having said that, tourneys can be fun and give you a lot of play for the price of a buy-in. So the small buy-in online tourneys might provide some fun.


[/ QUOTE ]

This is the most important point, IMHO. If you are just starting out, and want to get some actual experience, I think limit SNGs are a great way to go. Your $6 bucks buys you a lot of hands.

Good luck,
jbc

[George Rice]

Having fun is important. But the original poster is concerned about his limited bankroll.