Why I should be playing limit instead of NL SNG's.

[pearljam]

When I got this advice I was actually a bit surprised, It seems like all the new players are NL players and that that is where the real money is at. Also the variance at limit (so i've heard) is alot higher then NL games. And on top of all that your BB/100 is supposed to be alot higher in NL games. NL SNG's are defenitly my specialty, I think once I am properly bankrolled I will be able to reach the higher levels of SNG's without much problem.

As far as what I know about the game, only what ive read in SS1 and 2, I've never really played it but if I need to learn the game I could. Luckily I am relatively new to this great game of poker and can still switch paths if I need to.
hope someone can clear this up for me, thanks

[k_squared]

You will probably get a better response in the tournaments section of the board... and if you really are 'new' to the game then you might want to play it for a while before assuming you can easily play in higher level sit'n go's! Poker is a great game, but it is also a game that inherently creates illusions about how we play based on the huge amount of short term luck involved. So, rather than assuming you can play well at a high level focus on playing well at the level you are playing, and then as you move up continue to adjust your game. The game changes as you move up because your opponents abilities change. Learning to adjust your game to the situation is a huge asset.

oh, and my thoughts about limit vs no-limit tournes: limit doesn't allow your opponents to knock you out of the tournament with a lucky card (at least most of the time)... they have to make many more good decisions to win, rather than just getting lucky at a few opportune all-in situations. Limit requires more skill because you can;t adjust the pot-odds in your favor as easily, and that means you have to play more counter-intuitively.

Good Luck,
k_squared

[pearljam]

Ive been playing online for about a year and am currently playing the 20+2 NL SNG's, I was considering the switch from NL SNG's too limit ring games, not tourneys. Sorry I wasnt clear abotu that in my original post.

[Greg J]

I play mainly two types of poker: NL tourneys and limit ring games. Plus I am starting to throw in some O8.

Do whatever makes you happy and you enjoy. Remember: you are a special little snowflake.

[k_squared]

I think it is nonsensical to say that poker game X is inherently better than poker game Y (where x and y refer to types of games not specific references to an actual game [i.e. my home game, or the 3-6 game at Trump]).

NL toruney's can provide you with a great way to make money, but then so can limit ring games. What makes one a better game to play is a complicated things... some things to consider would be

-why do you play (to make money, for entertainment, to feel smart?)
-which games do you play better
-which do you have the potential to play better given that you are willing to work on it
-which has the tougher competition
-which will build your skills for bigger games (if that is a goal)

There is a lot of money to be made in poker. People see NL on TV and do begin to play lots of tourney's but many people seem to move over to limit games as well. In the end tourney's and ring games require you to play differently to maximize your advantages. It is really a choice that isn't about what it objectively better, but more aptly what is better for you based on your goals.

I play mostly limit games and once in a while a NL tourney. I play the NL tourney's for fun and at a much lower limit than my live game play. I like knowing my opponenets and being able to continually take advantage of their mistakes even if i lose a hand to them early, and that is not how tourney play works. There is no magic formula, no amazingly easy game to crush... put the time in and you will beat your opponents.

-k_squared

[pearljam]

I play poker for the money (I know this is the standard responce but its true,honest). Short term I am in no need of income, as far as spending money goes I make plenty from other games. So really whatever game is going to make me more in the long run, and allow me to reach a higher level within the next 2 years where I can make a living is best for me.

[Weektite]

NL SNG's are easy if you play like this.

[LinusKS]

Week, where'd you find that webpage? Do you know the story behind it?

[LinusKS]

I played around 2500 sngs during 2004, and switched to limit within the last couple months or so.

I'd argue sngs results are more volatile, and more random, and that there's therefore more money in limit.

In sngs a single hand can easily knock you out of a tournament, costing you not just your fee, but all the time you've invested til then, and the rising blind structures tend to make the results pretty random at the end.

In other words, there's a high degree of luck in winning a tournament. You're often forced to go all-in and cross your fingers, because your stack size, or the blinds, demand it.

That situation doesn't come up in limit.

Finally, you reach the long run in limit much faster than in sngs. It takes a half hour or an hour to play an sng, but only a minute or so to play a hand of limit.

That said, sngs are a lot of fun. I'm just not sure that's where the money is.

[sethypooh21]

My story is almost exactly the same as Linus' (except I played 2500 SNG's in 2003 [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]). Though the SNG's were profitable they were also extremely volatile (I had one stretch where I cashed in 1 out 22. I didn't get dealt aces for almost 1600 hands and lost 24 str8 all in coin-flips over that period. Bitch bitch bitch....That was an ugly feeling.)

However, the main reason I switched is that I didn't feel like I was getting any better at poker. Beating SNG's boils down to managing the various stage of the tournament well, with less emphasis on actual "poker" skills aside from decent concepts of preflop play. So I switched to limit short handed, and I feel that in the 9 or so months that I've been playing limit full time, my game, and my understanding of the game, has grown by leaps and bounds. I also make more playing 2/4 6-max limit then I did playing $50 SNG's, so that helps.