Don't Bluff At The Micros?

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themosthigh

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Hey everyone,

New member here with a quick question. Pretty much everything I read in regards to beating the microstakes cash games recommends to pretty much...

Value Bet
Don't bluff
Profit

With regards to the "Don't Bluff" part. Does this mean that we shouldn't be firing cbets at boards that we miss? Pretty much just check fold unless we spike TP or better?
 
LuckyChippy

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Don't bluff against villains in spots where they will call.

A cbet isn't a bluff.
 
JOEBOB69

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Fish at the micro's don't want to fold a pair. It's hard to flop a pair. Cbet 1\2 pot and let them play fit or fold on the flop.
 
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ScottishMatt

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About bluffing in spots where they wont call....I find it hard to determine what spots these are, sometimes I can put my opponent on a range that is extremely narrow and I might be right about their exact hand. Even knowing this and adjusting your bet sizing accordingly, knowing (thinking) they cannot-possibly-ever-in-a-million-years call...They will still probably call.

From my experience making a move isn't the end of the world, the problem is when you make a play and it doesn't work, and then you try to follow it up. If you squeeze-bluff and UTG + CO call, just give up. You made your move it didn't work, there will be plenty of other opportunities.
 
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ludde2009

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From my experience making a move isn't the end of the world, the problem is when you make a play and it doesn't work, and then you try to follow it up. If you squeeze-bluff and UTG + CO call, just give up. You made your move it didn't work, there will be plenty of other opportunities.

+1
Played soon 300k hands on 2nl, and very rarely does people fold top pair even on a super drawy board like TJQA or something 1 suit. Maybe this was a slight exaggeration, but I've been trying to smack people off their hands and they just make the sickest hero calls.

On 5nl you can get along fine by not bluffing, but a lot of people are floating the flop with 2nd pair and a lot of PPs, so firing a 2nd barrel as a bluff usually works.

But it all comes down to the opponent. If I face a fish who is just never folding, I rather not cbet and just give up on the hand if i whiffed the flop. However against super nits I am more inclined to 3bet pre as a bluff, and occassionally raise their c-bet as a bluff if they are not very likely to have hit the board.
 
starting_at_the_bottom

starting_at_the_bottom

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Generally at the mircos players are allergic to folding. And you dont need to bluff to beat the micros.

I would only bluff if you have notes that suggest they might fold, eg if somebody has a few times in the past checked a good hand when a flush hits the river. You might then in future want to consider bluffing in position to this person when a flush hits. This is assuming they do not vary their game and have not decided to try and use a reverse tell (highly unlikely at the micros)
 
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RamdeeBen

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Yeah, bluffing in general isnt' needed.

As you have learnt, value betting and a very straight forward game is the way forward at these limits.

cbets are really "bluffing" so continue with your c-bets based on villians and board textures.
 
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GWU73

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You should only bluff players who will fold top pair. Most guys at micro stakes can't.
 
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rhombus

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Yeah, bluffing in general isnt' needed.
cbets are really "bluffing" so continue with your c-bets based on villians and board textures.
+1
Dont CBET wet boards any draw however small will be called. Still CBET when you have a made hand/draw or very dry boards
 
big_rob420

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always remember to try and read your opponents see how they play some times you have to be aggressive and some times you have to bull**** your way through the game.
 
Jblocher1

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Some of those people just don't fold even when they have nothing, so if you have nothing and they keep calling with nothing maybe a high card you will lose. Just pick your spots carefully
 
vinylspiros

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dont bluff if u dont have outs.the more the outs the bigger the semi-(bluff) u can make.thats my opinion.
 
Bubbles

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Only bluff those who fold. After a few orbits at the table or with some notes on players, You will know who folds and who doesnt. Bluff the ones who do with greater frequency and value bet the ones who dont. Simple game

I find that you will see a ton of loose passive pre flop players who fold a ton on the flop when they miss. Spot these players and c-bet them a ton

On the flip side you see a ton of players who call with gutshots, Ace high and everything in between. Value bet these players with less than stellar hands such as middle pair and sometimes bottom pair to make them pay for draws. You can also bet much larger for value as they are likely to call any bet sizing with all their range. odds mean nothing to them really.

In short, bluffing is essential to increase your win rate, but if you never bluff and only play ABC stlye poker at micro limits, you should win some, but not as much as you could be
 
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thelooker

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You should be paying attention to the players. If you see someone always folding to 3bets, you can 3bet bluff them. If you see someone always folds on the flop when they have nothing, you can bluff them on the flop.

You need to observe other players tendency and bluff/don't bluff accordingly.
 
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bosston21

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Awesome replies. I really agree with everyone about not bluffing and value betting in the smaller stakes.
 
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swingro

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Actually it is not that easy. You need to study a little about board texture and bet size. Most of the ppl at micros do not see the difference in betsize from one hand to another. They just see that you bet and call or fold not thinking even a little on what their opponent has. This is where the fun part starts. You can control the size of pot with your marginal hands or semiblufs and also you can make big pot when you made a hand. They will call/fold no matter what your betsize is. If they want to call untill the last street chasing after one of their 4 outs they will call no matter how large your bet is. Half of the calling stations there will call even overbets. They simply like to call and they do not like to be bluffed.
On wet boards you simply check when you miss. On dry boards you c-bet to semibluff because you probabely have the best hand or even better a like a draw, Top pair with good kicker, set etc. And when you've made a hand bet for value without hesitation. Do not slowplay or other fancy staff because it is not working most of the time.They will check behind and you will loose and opportunity to increase the size of the pot. Bet hard because if they planned on calling all the way they will call.
One more thing.
Be aware of the flush draws because they chase flush draws most of the time. You can even bet the pot to protect your hand. If a draw completesjust check and do not call a big raise unless you are sure they are capable of big bluffs.
 
blueskies

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The answer is it depends. Consider villain, position, board texture, and how the hand played out.

Against morons who are only thinking of what they have, don't bluff. Ignore the 3 other variables.
 
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DonkeyFish

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In my experience, bluffing at micro level is an extremely bad idea unless you have a solid read on a player as a TAG. There aren't a hole lot of Tags at the micro limits but they are around. They will fold to 1/3 pot bets if they don't hit anything or even if they spike bottom or mid pair. I like to watch the people at my table for at least 5 or 10 minutes before you try to make moves like that.
 
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gotchips

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great info and i agree with most of you micro stakes are a very hard group of people to bluff alot of them just dont have the experience it seems.. or have freerolled there.. so they have the freeroll mentality not all but some.
 
LD1977

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Be aware of the flush draws because they chase flush draws most of the time. You can even bet the pot to protect your hand. If a draw completes just check and do not call a big raise unless you are sure they are capable of big bluffs.

This. Since they always call pot bets, you are in profit if you don't call their bets when they complete the draw. Simple.

Edit: Sure way to stack fishes is to have the same flush draw which is A high. 100% chance of success.
 
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Zin

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Never bluff at the micros no need to. Raise and value bet is all that's needed to profit at the micros.
 
vinylspiros

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If you squeeze-bluff and UTG + CO call, just give up. You made your move it didn't work, there will be plenty of other opportunities.[/quote]
what? you mean if you try to squeeze bluff preflop and they call, you are advising not to shoot another barrel at the flop? am i right? cause if thats what you just said,i would have to totally disagree. you owe it to yourself to shoot out at least one on the flop even with 3 callers in my book.thats my opinion. just in case they didnt have it. after that alot of factors come in and most are related to board texture and opponents playing style in order to be able to know how to proceed and also how well you connected to the flop yourself.
 
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