How to get to a basic, solid winning game at micro's

I was originally going to just post this in micro thread but it seemed a little big and maybe it's better to make a new thread to keep the micro thread kind of clean and not have this disappear in all the chatting.

I've been working on my game some to become a winner at 25nl and I thought I'd lay some points out here to get a basic, solid winning game that should get you winning at the micros. Probably not that great for 50nl+ as you will need some more fancy play.

Note: this style will get u controlling the pot more and winning more medium sized pots as you're trying to get to showdown more often.
It's a sort of weak-passive type of style.

Here goes and fwiw it's working for me so far (small sample):

1. When OR*, cbet 100%
2. When called, check 100% of turn when you don't have 2 pair or better
3. You can barrel scare card** turns, or check turn and barrel scare card on the river
4. When set mining with low and mid pocket pairs, don't continue on low boards, even when they are paired. Just check/fold them if you don't hit your set because you will get in trouble with them.
   
   *OR= Original Raiser (it means you opened the pot preflop).
   **Scare cards are mainly broadway cards.
   
   eg.: Hero has AsTh on the button, he raises to steal the blinds, sb calls.
   Flop comes 5h3c8d. Hero cbets and sb calls.
   The turn is a 6h. As said above, we check and sb checks behind.
   River is a Ks, that is a scare card, so we bet because his range mostly includes all low pairs and weak 1 pair type connector hands.

1. When being 3bet, only play premiums.
2. With QQ/JJ/AK we fold to a 3bet from a full stack
3. But we 4bet/shove with them against short/halfstacks
4. Obviously 4bet KK/AA
5. In bvb* try to get JJ+ and AK in

*bvb= blinds versus blind. But if you are button and think the blinds aren't giving your raises respect, you can probably get JJ+ and AK in there too.

This is a basic, solid style designed to get you out of marginal spots as much as possible. We don't want to be playing hands like AQos to a 3bet because we don't know where we stand even if we do hit. It's just better to fold and not put yourself in the tricky spots. There is enough money to be made playing a straight forward ABC-style of poker, at least at the micros.

I think I covered the basics here. I didn't include a hand chart for positions because I think that has been covered before and most people should not really have a problem with that. At least I don't .

Hope this helps, and if there are faults in here or I forgot some crucial stoff please let us know .

pretty good article for those going from 10nl to 25 nl imo. Didn't expect an article from you enty, more in the future?

Yeah it should definitely work at 10nl and 25nl. It should help me because at 10nl you can get away with being very over-aggressive and just beating down with a huge AF. But imo, this style is more profitable and a lot less risky/swingy.

And yeah, hopefully more. Although this is with the help of switch and my own experience and it is very basic info that most people should already know.

I'm sick as a dog and it's late, but I'll read it tomorrow. Anyway, glad to see you start posting some strat threads enty.

Awesome post Enty!!

One comment...

I think you can obscure your hand/disposition better by cbetting slightly less than 100% as the original raiser.

But I don;t play waaaay up at 25nl so I don't know what plays best up there.

Always appreciate your posts.

Well it's more of a guideline. We are not literally cbetting every single flop.
It just means you should be a lot. But for instance if we raise with AK UTG, we see a flop with 3 other people and it's 57T, cbetting that out of position would be very hard imo.

Just a guideline to say: cbet more often than not.

Very nice article Enty, thank you for sharing. 2 questions for you.

1: Is this for FR NLHE from 5NL upto 25NL? Would the stratergy change in any way between either 10NL and 25NL or between 6max and FR?

2: Any chance you could make a video of your style, 30 mins or so?

Thanks again, book-marked for me Great stuff

Yeah I'm planning to make a video later this week.
Fwiw I've already made one of me playing 25nl.
But I played different and a lot worse.

I imagine it won't apply to 6max, although you can probably nit it up some there too, but you would need to more aggressive there. But I know very little of 6max so I can't really say.

And yeah I think it should work from 2-25nl but you would probably need to change some stuff at 50nl+, like 3betting lighter etc.

Nice post, eNTy.

It will mostly work when associated with a decent preflop game. By which i mean

- tightish aggro: 12/10 to 16/14 at FR, whatever feels more comfortable for you
- very positionally focused, so that you end up playing the huge majority of your pots with position. That means very tight in EP, much looser on the CO, very loose on the BTN and tightish in the blinds.

I can't emphasize enough the importance of playing pots in position.

Good points belgo. I agree.
I didn't put them in the OP because, well this is the stuff I wrote down (with switch's help) to help my game. And I don't really have a problem with my preflop game. That is to say I have a 13/9 - 14/10 ish style these days and my loosening up as I get closer to the button is also fine imo.

Preflop my main problem is playing too loose in 3 bet pots. For instance I would used to flat AK and AQ too much when 3bet, especially when I was oop. So yeah, this is just the stuff I need to work on basically .

And yeah playing as many pots in position is the way to go.

So what should we do with these hands in the lower limits? I'm still at 2/5NL and I run into this situation a lot. I know that if the guy is 3betting 50% that I go for it. But what if this is just the typical agrotard or decent player at the lower limits?

Hmm.

Well I suppose it's best to create the right tendencies early.
So you don't have to completely change ur game when u get out of the ultra micros (2 and 5nl) to 10nl and especially 25nl.

I don't think you're costing yourself money by folding AQ and AK to standard TAG (regs) who 3bet you. You would probably be saving it.

If it's an agrotard fishy player the hand obviously gets more value, just because they show up with a lot of trash. But definitely look to be playing them in position, this goes for all hands really, as it is just so much easier and he will pay you off more as well.

The one thing you should definitly focus on is not going on tilt. Most people who deside they want to try to earn some money on the micros lost their stacks to due tilt. Why tilt in these levels? Well there are so many bad players at the micro levels that eventually there are a lot of donks... people who catch hands... very lucky hands. This gets on a lot of people's nerves and causes them to loose it. Next thing you know, your on the higher stacks, trying to win everything back in one hand, and end up losing all of your roll just because some guy caught his straight with a runner runner and beat your trio on the flop. If your going to play the micro, you should definitly take all the other things on this thread into consideration, but this point is crucial for a successful poker player. Never give into the tilt, since you should know what a regular poker player is bound to fall into a donk every once and a while. These bad streaks will happen, and what defines you as a player is how you control yourself in such situations.

I've accomplished the tilt control to a certain level. Now instead of tilting over the whole table I tend to concentrate on one person. If a player seriously donks a hand on me, say I raised 4xBB with AKs on the button, he calls with 92o, flop comes A28r, I push he calls and spikes a 9 or 2 on the river, then I get into a vengeance type mode.

I really need to stop doing this, although most of the time, I get my money back off of those players. I'm going to end up in a bad situation that I could've avoided by just playing my normal game or leaving the table.

I would say you most certainly are.With AK. Tag regs 3 bet light all the time. That is one of the main things you will notice about them, they play a solid enough range, but they 3 bet to often. You are way ahead of their range with AK. I'm not sure if this is for 6 max or for FR.

It depends on position. For example if you raise UTG with AKo, and you get 3 bet by UTG+1. Then I would say you are in a spot of bother. I make all my decsions when I am 3 bet from the type of player. If it is someone with a wide 3 bet range, and I am OOP then I just get the money in pre flop know I am way ahead of their range, and only a big dog to two hands.

I like the idea you came up with of keeping things simple. I didn't like the line about checking after C betting 100% with less than two pair. One of the biggest leaks in nearly everyones game at $25 NL is not betting the turn and river often enough. Pot control is good, but if you are up against a super passive player with a solid top pair hand, bet bet bet until he plays back at you. Bet folding is a concept some players just wont use, but against passive players it is invaluable. You know they will call you down with weak hands, and only play back when they have a strong hand. So value town them all the times they are weak, and let go when they play back if you don't have a strong enough holding.

This is FR. So TAG regs 3bet range is a lot narrower imo.

So while they are most likely 3betting AK themselves, they are not doing it with AQ and less imo. Unless they are feeling fancy, or playing back at you for instance when you are stealing.

But if you are 3bet by someone who you suspect is not that tight in his 3bet range or playing back, and you are in position I guess you can see a flop. But playing AK in 3bet pots OOP is MURDER, so don't ever do it.

And as a final note: This is a very basic game plan. You don't have to tell me that I should be double barreling because I had a huge problem barreling with air and almost every turn (+river) in the past.

The thing is these points are basically guidelines for me to improve my game. So the fact that it says I shouldn't barrel too often is a point I need to work on. Doesn't mean no one else should barrel. And besides it said you can barrel scare cards anyway so

6 Max is slightly different, yes lighter 3 betting I would say. I think calling a 3 bet with AK is dependant on stacks, oppenent, and as you said position.

You misunderstood my point about barreling i think. It is perfectly fine to check fold the turn with air, or even with a weak hand.In fact I would almost certainly recomend it. That is why position is so good,because you can check behind if you want a cheap showdown. Even though it is FR. It plays much the same. You just have to adjust yours, and your opponents ranges by position.

The point I was making is, pick out the passive players, and value bet the life out of them, you can do this fairly light, and be safe in the knowledge if they wake up with a hand they will let you know about it. Honestly my win rate has shot up since I learned to Value bet. Over betting big hands on the river is sooo profitable against passive players.

I wasn't knocking your idea honestly, just adding my thoughts.

I agree, and I do so indeed.
Often it is very obvious when weak players are drawing to the flush and/or straight. It is not uncommon to bet flop and turn with TPTK and have them insta fold river without improving.

(And sometimes they just call flop and fold turn unimproved if they're a bit tighter.)

If we are on the button then why is SB checking behind us on the turn?(fix it up) also, If the K comes on the river and SB checks then we can fire one more time and try to take the pot here as you said but consider who are we playing against calling stations will NOT fold to the river bet if they have a small pair but if we check behind maybe our A high is good enough to take the pot..

I have the same problem, Im just dying to teach that guy a lesson. I have gotten better at it and even type NH when they donk me in a hand.

What I have started to notice are the guys that are trying to teach me a lesson, when I have a few good hands in a row and it looks like I am playing loose and just betting for the hell of it. I try to trap these folks a bit more then usual, nothing crazy but usually overbet them if I think I have the best hand. I think a value bet is fine but usually get called or even raised from them cause they think I am bluffing.( I dont change my hand selection against them.)

Yeah my example is a bit flawed. If we are btn and the villain is sb then we are in position so we are last to act. Let's say we are MP1 and villain is BTN. That way the hand makes sense.

But this example is not how you should play against calling stations.
Basically what you do against calling stations is value town them to hell when u have a decent enough hand that is ahead of their range and otherwise get to showdown as a cheaply as possible.

This is more how to play against other competent players.

Cbets are your best friend. Most lower stake players don't get it. It makes for building your stack very nicely.

QFT.
I cbet an obscene amount and make quite a bit of money from it.
My problem used to be letting go after they called the cbet.

I found myself barreling with air way too much and it led to spew.
So cbetting is great, just know when to give up and learn to respect other peoples raises cause most of the time from a competent player they got it.

This is one of my biggest problems.. if they raised I would happily fold, but for some reason if my c-bet is called and not raised I either think they must be very weak or that they may be trying to out play me on the turn. If they call the turn than im happy to check/fold ther river.

I do see a lot of players call the c-bet and then fold the turn so its not as though I lose every time this happens.. I just cant figure out if my defult play should be to check the turn or to bet it. Right now I can see merits in either stratagy.

If you have any advice on this it would be apreciated.

what size do you make your cbets? and do you change it up at all?

That is the beauty of poker. There is never a correct answer for this.
It depends basically. On villain, his range, history if there is any and the board texture.

That is actually a different topic and not an easy one. Standard I make it 3/4 pot around that. It depends if I'm giving it in manually or using a potbet script.
But it also depends on villain and board. If there are draws and u want to protect ur hand u probably should bet bigger, close to pot.
Also for value it's better to bet bigger for obvious reasons. And at the micros, especially 10nl and lower most people are basically retards. And they will usually call a bigger bet as often as they would a smaller one. Just because they think: 'I'm gonna call his bet' and don't look so much at size and what it means.

Basically you should need a specific reason to barrel after your cbet gets called. So you're looking to only bet again if a scare card hits or you're against a player who floats a lot of flops but gives up on the turn. So if you cbet a Q high dry flop and get called, betting the turn if an Ace hits the board should be pretty automatic but betting any under card is basically just throwing $$ away against most micro opponents.

i was wondering more about the cbet bluffs. but you pretty much summed it up for me thanks. i've not started playing micros yet and will be starting at 2nl. this all seems pretty solid advice thanks for making this threat. the 2 pair or better thing also answered a question i had on vbetting. i'm waiting till i get $40 to start the 2nl and am getting close i hope within a week or two to be playing 2nl.

Thanks, that makes a lot of sense

I've stopped 2barrelling at 10nl and under. I just looked at my turn cbet success rate and it is super low. As i'm playing 12tables, as a default i just give it up on the turn. Even with scare cards appearing.

I've actually changed my game alot in recent weeks. I'm no longer trying to semi bluff, take guys off hands on dry flops. Mostly playing a nitty, value town game at these levels.

Very good thread. Just wondering though what you are pitching the cbet at (% of pot) if you are OR? And also how you adjust with flop texture and number of opponents (type of opponent) seeing the flop?

Usually 3/4 of pot. If I have a good hand that I want to protect against draws I'll make it closer to pot or if I'm up against a known calling station I'll try to value town him as much as possible.

Against more than one villain it's trickier. Basically the size doesn't change still bet 3/4 standard or more to protect but you have to take in account what kind of villains ur up against more. If they are both tag/nitty regs and I wiff with something like AQ on a K high flop I'll probably still cbet.

People just give u a big amount of respect if they have any clue and when they don't or play back it should be easy to slowdown and/or give up.

You really don't have to size your cbets that big at micro stakes. You can actually generally get by with cbetting smaller 1/2 to 2/3 when you miss or when you hit on dry boards. When you hit and the board is draw heavy increase the size of your cbet to 3/4 or pot. At 50nl and below (where I have experience) basically no one is paying attention to bet sizing so just maximize your value by varying your cbet sizing, because, despite being exploitable, it rarely get noticed.

There is a whole class of players that I almost always cbet small against. That is the tight reg that limp/calls from EP. They almost always just give up if they don't hit their set regardless of bet size so why risk more than you absolutely must?

it's not exploitable if you adapt your bet sizing to the flop instead of adapting it to your pocket cards.

Do you have standard bets for standard flops then?