First of all it depends on how much time I have to play poker. If I can only play a short session, then obviously I will play a cash game session. For tournaments you need to be able to invest a lot more time, just in case you run deep. So I play cash games when I cannot dedicate a lot of time to poker. When I can take my time or have more time off I will play tournaments.
mainly cash just because i hate being tied to the game 4+ hrs if I dont want to me like in an MTT. I also dont have the patience and usually get bored and punt off my stack in MTT's. In cash games I can play 6 or so tables for an hour and get my poker fix and go on with my day.
I enjoy both, but if I had to choose, I’d go with tournaments. I like the strategy and the fact that every decision can have a big impact. The changing stack sizes and situations keep things interesting, and I find the overall experience more exciting.
I moved from cash games to tournaments 6 years ago, and the main driver behind this move was, that I found it easier to make money in tournaments. The main reason for this is actually very simple, and its called rake. Because every hand is raked in a cash game, you end up paying much more rake per hour, than you do playing tournaments with a similar bankroll. Another way to describe it is to say, that you can level your skill edge in tournaments by occationally playing for significant money, when you run deep.
This is mostly true for MTTs though. For SnGs and especially single table SnGs the realistic ROI is much lower, so they easily end up being just as much of a "rake trap" as cash games. And for that reason I will say, that if you play either cash games or SnGs, its quite important to look both at, how much rake you get charged in the first place, but also the rakeback/reward structure of the site. If you dont do this, its almost like, you are working for the poker site, because you might end up winning a lot of money from other players but paying nearly all of it in rake.
This is mostly true for MTTs though. For SnGs and especially single table SnGs the realistic ROI is much lower, so they easily end up being just as much of a "rake trap" as cash games. And for that reason I will say, that if you play either cash games or SnGs, its quite important to look both at, how much rake you get charged in the first place, but also the rakeback/reward structure of the site. If you dont do this, its almost like, you are working for the poker site, because you might end up winning a lot of money from other players but paying nearly all of it in rake.
A tournament player becomes a prisoner of the event schedule. The desire to participate in events with fixed, guaranteed prize pools means being strictly tied to a specific start time. Session length is unpredictable—a successful run to the final table can take up to 12 hours in tournaments with slow levels starting at 12 minutes. Even a short break to attend to urgent matters is impossible. Otherwise, the player risks losing their chips.
At this point in my life I prefer cash, but it's because it's more comfortable for me, I can go out at any time without any problem, but I admit that when I have the chance I'll play tournaments again, they cause more emotional stimulation in me
I usually play tournaments, I rarely play real money games, depending on my time.