Micro Stakes Poker
Micro stakes poker is a game unto itself, not only because of the low stakes involved, but the type of players low stake poker games draw. Building a strategy to win at small stakes hold’em requires a new set of logic, which I’ll try to sum up as an introduction. Let’s define our terms first.
What Is Micro Stakes Poker?
Micro stakes poker is a low limit poker cash game, usually Texas Hold’em, which is played for No Limit. These games are found at most Internet poker rooms with small buy-ins and low limits. Consider all the players that enter an online poker room, who go from site to site trying to find the best welcome bonus, the largest selection of low-limit poker games, and the best freerolls. These are likely to be the people you’re playing in a micro stakes poker game.
You have to devise a strategy for playing well against these poker players, but most of the concepts that work best at the other levels of poker work here, too, if you give them the proper tweak. That tweak is because I said “concepts” and not “strategies” or “tactics”. Those often have to change radically, because aggressive raises may not chase people out of the pot they way they do in high stakes poker. The basic idea of poker still applies: you use hands to get information on your opponent, try to learn more about them than they learn about you, and then use that information wisely and ruthlessly.
Micro Stakes Poker Tips
The good news is that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel in micro stakes gambling–you just have to readjust your game a little bit. In many ways, you’re returning to the childhood of your poker playing, back when you played penny ante and the plays was loose. You couldn’t bluff people in penny ante, so keep that in mind when playing the adult equivalent of your favorite childhood game.
Micro Stakes Gaming Strategy Tweaks
Some of these tweaks should go without saying, but it’s sometimes good to have a reminder of what we already know.
First, get an advantage by paying closer attention than your opponents. The truth be told, most online poker players don’t pay attention to the details they way they should. You’ll find players who put on the blinders and take notes about their opponents’ tendencies. Most of the time, these people have 10 or more windows open and are instant messaging or emailing friends, playing several games at once, making purchases on Amazon, watching Youtube videos, and generally finding distractions that make them worse poker players.
This does two things for you.
If you simply get rid of all your distractions, you’re likely to be a better poker player than your opponent, simply by paying better attention than they are. Avoid all the things mentioned above and your online poker results will improve, even if your knowledge of the game and strategy aren’t that much better than the rest of the table. In other words, play online poker like you mean it.
There’s another reason to keep this in mind. Many people in micro stakes poker assume it’s like any other game of Texas Holdem–they want to maintain a strict betting pattern, regardless of the hands they hold, so their opponent can’t read them. The fact is, most of your opponents aren’t going to be able to read you, because they aren’t trying (or they aren’t trying hard enough) in a micro stakes poker game. That means you should vary your bets and raises, to fish for information about your opponents. This brings me to my next point.
Micro Stakes Poker Strategy
Second, focus on the big picture when reading opponents in a low-limit poker game. It’s a mistake to focus on the micro details in this type of card games. Don’t try to figure out if your opponent is holding two queen or two kings, because you’re probably not a good enough player to analyze poker at that level–and they probably aren’t a good enough poker player to know the difference, anyway.
Instead, focus your reading of players on their betting tendencies. Take notes on when they call and when they raise, and what bets push them out of pots. That’s why you vary your bets in the early hands of a micro stakes poker game, so you can get information on what is pushing the buttons of your opponents. Find out which buttons to push, then adjust your betting patterns to take advantage of your information.
Micro Stakes Gambling — When to Bluff
Third, bet value and bluff less often. You probably already have figured this out, but if your opponent isn’t paying close enough attention to know you’re bluffing, then a bluff is a really bad move. In this case, you’re essentially making a bet on really bad odds. You’re handing money to your opponent, because they don’t know (or ignore) when they’re supposed to get out of a hand. Also, the low stakes makes the risk of losing a hand so low, that they might decide to call a raise just to see what you’re holding.
Instead, bet for value a little more often than you would in a higher stakes poker game. This might make you an easy read when playing against experienced players who pay close attention to your tendencies, but it won’t in most micro limit games. It’s far better to be somewhat more predictable, but go into hands with better odds.
Keeping It Simple in Micro Stakes Poker
In other words, tighten up your game, makes you reads simpler, and take advantage of your opponents’ obvious mistakes. This isn’t going to ensure you’re going to always win at micro stakes poker, but it should shift the odds in your favor in most situations.
It’s cards, so luck still plays a factor. Some players are going to be more attentive and execute strategy better than others, so at a table of 10, you’re still likely to find some decent strategy being employed. But if you approach micro stakes card games a little more efficiently and logically than most of your opponents, your overall results are going to improve.