As someone who is a huge fan of both genres, I'm going to have to go with real time strategy games. Turn based strategy games constantly require you to prepare for what your opponent might do. If you left so much as one weak spot in your defenses, your opponent is going to exploit it while you just sit there and watch. Not very realistic, and definitely not much fun.

With real time strategy games, every second counts. If your base is being destroyed, you can quickly evacuate your units and buildings (Starcraft). You can easily send units where they need to go without worrying about turns or how far they can move.

That's not to say that turn based strategies are a bad thing (I love Jeanne D'Arc, Age of Empires on the DS, Fire Emblem, etc.) but real time is just so much more captivating. If an enemy attacks, they attack. In a turn based strategy game, you may see your opponent's troops advancing, and they just sit there while you use your turn to build more units. Not all that frightening now, is it?

I'll go with RTS. Turn-based seems to slow and there isn't enough excitement.

I prefer RTS, but I do enjoy some TBS games--mainly the Heroes of Might and Magic series and the Panzer General series--.

Generally, I much prefer TBS. Somebody show me a REAL (as in 1-1) time strategy, and I'll consider again. The main problem with modern RTSes are that they are way too fast and way too oriented on a simplistic gather-build-research-repeat model.

In real life, generals (commanders, kings, what have you) get plenty of time for strategic level thinking. That said, Starcraft is amazingly fun. I say enjoy both kinds.

games like fire emblem and advance wars definitely put me in the turn based column

TBS ftw!
Fire Emblem, Yggdra Union

TBS Civilization IV FTW!!!! I'm currently in a 4 day game right now where it is me vs 4 other nations and I am about to finish my war of attrition and turn up the heat for total take over. muwahahahahahah!

 My point is that in most RTS, speed is the most important factor. I crush most people in online RTS games, but some people build so insanely much faster, and they do the same every time. They're so dang much faster with the mouse, that I cannot stand a change.

They kill you before you've even built up an army.

Skill is more important than strategy, but that's not to say you can win without strategy.

Turnbased. They bring something different to gaming since every other genre of game is real time basically.

Turnbased allows more planning, and every once in a while you want to just relax.

Also most real time games seem to focus way too much on resources to the point of where you don't ever have any fun with the battles.

Most realtime strategy games aren't won by military strategy but by superior resource gathering and knowing what to build.

Turn based, makes for a much deeper game. Galactic Civilizations II has probably the most depth of any game I've ever played.

RTS goes down to who can do whatever fastest. The best ones are something insane like 100+ commands a minute.

If I lose in a strategy game, I'd rather it because someone had a better strategy, not faster fingers.