It’s 100% the stakes. I’m a cheap bastard. A $100 tournament is my comfort zone. I don’t mind going up to $150 or even $250, if the structure is good. But that’s the most I want to lose in a day. And that translates to one buy-in at a cash table. And the game I was at yesterday, it was actually a short buyin (they allow up to $500 buyins at their $1/2, which makes sense with all the straddling.).
So when I play cash at a casino, I’m working with one bullet and it’s usually scared money. Obviously I don’t do well.