Considering transition to Cash

Hi Zachrina,

i am not the best expert on this topic as I only occassionally click the random tourney.
Still, I think I have a couple of points to consider:

- weak live games are not necessary what you find online. Players use stats where allowed and play more methologically
- 300 BI downswing is obv nothing for tourneys, especially if you play bigger fields.
- you are much more flexible with cashgame

In regards to what room to choose, please have a look at our bonus offers: https://www.pokerstrategy.com/bonus-offers/
Rooms like PartyPoker, Unibet and BetOnline without or with limited stats can be softer (but dont need to...)
Rooms like GGPoker offer plenty of promos that make playing a lot of fun.

That brings me to the most important question: What will you enjoy? As an ambitious amateur you may find a site that offers good rakeback - but maybe you will enjoy one more that offers awesome random-promos instead? Or some that put money back into the eco-system and bring loads of fish?
I can't possibly answer that, except for the wisdom of "don't only look for RB".

Any concrete questions - let me or our customer support know!

I can't really give you a detailed answer on such a big topic, but I would like to share one thought with you

I play SnGs, and recently a few MTTs, so I know how frustrating variance can be. I've considered the transition for this reason, but I haven't did, and most likely never will. For me, cash games are not fitting at all. There are several reasons for that, but my biggest reason is I find CGs somewhat boring. What I see (I'm not a CG reg, so it's really just what I think) is CG is most likely the same situations over and over again, while in STTs and MTTs there's ICM involved, what makes every situation slightly different. This is where I think my real edge is on my opponents, and I love the process of analyzing our play against the Nash equilibrium, and where should we diverge from it.

I'm not saying tournaments are better, I just enjoy them much more. You said you are a recreational player, so I think fun is a key feature here. I know losing for a long period is everything but fun, but playing something profitable what we don't enjoy can be the same. Do you want to play CG, or you just want to win some, but you would prefer to do it with MTTs?

I like to think about variance as the engine of the game, as the very reason we have bad players at our tables.

Originally posted by SvenBe
- weak live games are not necessary what you find online. Players use stats where allowed and play more methologically

this

cash is probably harder, but tournaments have more annoying variance, and if you play MTTs you also don't have much freedom of schedule. that said, you shouldn't change your main game because of a bad run, however i understand the desire to mix things up just to get out of mindset hell

Some positive aspects of cash games:
 table selection — you just leave if you don't like the players to your left — and to a lesser extent to your right.
 stats — in cash games you're more likely to encounter the same players more often, and you can build up decent notes and stats that help with your in-game decision making
 time — you can play for 10 minutes or 10 hours, starting and leaving whenever you like.
 study material — there is a wealth of material that can be used to study cash games.

Thanks guys.

Yes, I’m fully aware that live cash is much softer than online. Nl10 is tougher than £1/£2 at my local casino

It’s not just the downswing, it’s more the invested time for little reward (mostly). With most of the money being up top it can be 3am for little reward and having to get up with my daughter early.

I do find tournaments more exciting to be honest. Maybe I’ll try a mix of cash and small field tournaments for a bit. I’ll more than likely keep playing satellites to live events too as these have been very profitable.

Really appreciate these responses. Thank you.