If you are playing at the low/micro stakes level, the following tips could help increase your winnings or at least cut your losses by a lot :
1- Do not bluff, players at that level don’t like folding and will call you with anything. 2- When you have a big hand, play it fast and hard. 3- If playing cash games, it is obvious that you won’t be able to make any serious money at NL2 or NL5 if you only grind at one table. You’ll need to play as many tables as you can and put in the maximum time you can afford. 4- Play more hands on the cut-off and the button. 5- If you find tough competition on a certain table, leave it immediately.
Each of the above ideas could be considered as the tip of an iceberg, there’s definitely a lot more to say. So, please feel free to ask, comment and especially give your opinion, hopefully we can all mutually learn and improve our game from each other’s experiences.
I agree on all counts.
Another one could be: Don’t play fancy. Simple ABC poker will suffice most of the time.
There’s no point in trying to deny equity if your opponent can’t even grasp the concept.
I’m with @Younguru , don’t play micro stakes, as there is nothing to learn from them. There is no payday worth the time and no strategy’s to learn from. Unless you just want to pass some time away playing for fun, maybe with friends for a few laughs and conversation time.
Solid advices!
Aggressive big hand play and table selection are crucial for success in my opinion.
MTTs at those stakes is a must for maximizing profits.
And playing more hands on the cut-off and button can be a big opportunity, though we need to watch out for those speculative hands.
Great topic! I agree on all points and especially with those who have commented before me. I agree that it is extremely difficult to be profitable at these micro levels and there is no point in bluffing or trying any “fancy plays”. The micro stakes are fun as a hobby but I do not think they will improve your game unless it helps you mentally to withstand bad beats and the variance of poker.
I Agree on everything if it comes down to some very basic and general advice.
I leave additions to your points in my post below:
Some players are very weak and tight at the lowest levels. If the check to you they are mostly weak and will fold if you bet on or two streets.
It’s true that at these stakes players are “inelastic” and if they call they also call a big bet and playing TAG is often right.
An exception is if you are up against a LAG player or maniac who often bets if you show weakness with a check—those people you can and should trap with big hands.
For earning money multi-tabling is certainly correct. But if you are a beginner maybe concentrating on one or two tables makes you learn better and you have more time to think.
Very true - playing in position is always an advantage so you should widen your range here.
Also no other opinion here. Table selection is key. At any level.
I liked these tips, but a personal issue with item #1.
that you say we should avoid bluffing.
The problem is that you wait for more than 15 to 20 rounds waiting for an equity hand to make a bad bet because your opponents enter with any hand.
Not bluffing and playing few hands only makes elimination slower and more painful. Many have told me to open the range more, others to play harder, and I’ve used all these strategies and they simply don’t work for microstakes.
Luck seems to play a more important factor for these tournaments.
For sure bluffing at the micros is hard to succeed . They call and they play any two cards . Only if I have notes on one player I will attempt bluff him . Or if his table image in a tourney is very tight , although this last at the micro or nano stakes is rare …
First i have to say you are absolutely right about point 1 - because at micro stakes there is always a very high chance that your bluff will be called.
point 4 - is like my opinion you must play for example connectors or suited hands like 10-7 at these positions.
Point 5 - it is always better to leave a table when you think there is no chance to make money ;-).
These are good advices! This week I read a post on Twitter made by the famous Benjamin “bencb” Rolle, founder of Raise Your Edge. He said that on micro stakes players should play “the most boring form of poker” if they want to make a profit, the very ABC: play tight, trying to make good hands, rarely bluff, and mainly value betting heavily! And this is true. For those who play for small amounts, poker is a game where you just wait for people to make a mistake. Most of them will be quite obvious: people overvalue top pairs (and even overpairs), they tilt easily, and so on.
However, it is still possible to bluff in some situations against the right profile of player. The worst thing possible is trying to bluff those who never fold. But if you know the basics of bluffing theory and you spot someone who is trying to play good and will respect your raises, why not trying? Bluffing is part of poker, it has to be present. If we play only value hands, why would people call with weaker hands?
Good Morning, I notice that most of you who are posting have been playing on this site collectively for about a year or so. Or you are like me, who has been playing on this site since 2014 changing, deleting accounts after going bust. The summer of the big freeze I was up to 40 million in the bank, won the emerald and diamond weekly leagues on a consistent basis winning both in the same week and winning consistently in the opal league (250k buy in) My screen name was runnerjim. Then the site started freezing and I literally never won another hand. I took six months off after that. If you guys think you can apply regular poker strategies like value betting etc. on this site then good luck to you because in the long run, it just will not work. I’m not bashing the site I’m just merely commenting from the 10 years of data I have collected that you will never consistently win on this site because its not geared for you to win. you might be winning now but just wait. Hole Cards: I was chatting with a high stakes player about hole Cards. He says ever since he started playing on this site he has gotten great hole Cards and even better flops CONSISTENTLY Me, I have always gotten the worst hole cards there are consistently, day after day. And when I do get good hole cards, I never get a flop. One day every 10 days Im catching cards, the other 9 days I’m totally card dead. I mean NOTHING. And when I get a great hand like says full house, guess what, I get beat by quads, a better full house or straight flush … CONSISTENTLY. 2 weeks ago In a matter of 45 minutes I was denied by quads twice having had a full boat and 3 times before that, I lost to a higher full house !! All in 45 minutes. The odds of that happening is mathematically impossible. The point is, they want you to buy chips. I could go on about the RNG they stake the sites reputation on but read the fine print on the certificate. This is a free poker site, its also a business who’s revenue stems from the purchasing of chips. Like I said, I’m not bashing the site one way or another m but I do have some advice, Do not buy chips so when they start cleaning out your bank it wont matter that much because you didn’t buy the chips. I still enjoy playing here, I like talking to the players ( The ones that actually talk anymore) and I enjoy my one day out of 10 when Im catching cards. its fun. The bottom line is, if you are not catching cards both in the hole and on the flops, you can bluff , play aggressive all you want, your not going to win.
May I ask why would you change & keep deleting accounts, after going bust ? I can only suggest have faith in yourself, patience and discipline. I also do not recommend Mico- Stakes if you want to improve your bankroll.
In my limited experience with Replay, I would say that this is good advice for any stake … bluffing will always be tricky with play money because everyone plays loose, and wants to see the next card! My advice for micro stakes is to always be aware of your position to reiterate what @najisami said about playing button and cutoff => since everyone in play money wants to see a flop AA is loses so much of its value if you go to the flop with everyone at the table … go from there, and good luck!!!
Especially with points #1, 2 and 4. I would also add playing more hands from the small blind when it is folded to you. When it comes to multi-tabling, I would say that for beginners 3 tables ZOOM is enough. You can play less if you want, like two tables. Yes, you don’t make money at 2 or 5 NL, but personally I find that from 4+ tables I lose my concentration and drop my A game. Even for newbies I suggest to start with ZOOM tables in order to put some volume in their game.
I agree mostly with all of your points. Although i think u can definitely bluff in certain spots on very low stakes or even micros. What is definitely not recommended is to bluff on multiple streets against people who will call anyway. I also think u should maybe play against good or better players here and there to improve your game.
