Question

Both these methods work, however which is better method to use out of the following:

PlaceHolder PH = ctl.PlaceHoldNu == 1 ? (PlaceHolder)Page.Master.FindControl("PlaceHolder1") : (PlaceHolder)FindControl("PlaceHolder" + ctl.PlaceHoldNu);

Or

           PlaceHolder PH;
                    if (ctl.PlaceHoldNu == 1)
                        PH = (PlaceHolder)Page.Master.FindControl("PlaceHolder1");
                    else
                        PH = (PlaceHolder)FindControl("PlaceHolder" + ctl.PlaceHoldNu);

Answer 1

Another solution would be:

PlaceHolder PH = ctl.PlaceHoldNu == 1
    ? (PlaceHolder)Page.Master.FindControl("PlaceHolder1") 
    : (PlaceHolder)FindControl("PlaceHolder" + ctl.PlaceHoldNu);

This solutions uses a minimum of lines but maintains readability.