(I tried to search for "micros" but couldn't really find any topic that asked for NL2 Cash Game strategy. The closest I got were people asking if NL2 was beatable, without including their current strategy - like the one a few places below this one. If I missed a post, I'm sorry).
I always had this problem. I know/have studied the basic strategy (I would even go as far as to say I know intermediate strategy). I know how to calculate odds, implied odds, I have what I consider to be a good pre-Flop strategy, etc. I'm generally a profitable player, but only as far as S&Gs and Tournaments go.
90% of the money I've profited from poker so far come from freerolls (CCs freerolls were awesome in building my bankroll), satellites and subsequent earnings in big tournaments, and small S&Gs (1-2€ at a time).
But I get
destroyed when playing NL2, and I have no idea why.
I was wondering if you could provide some general tips, literature, or profitable strategy in terms of NL2 cash games. My general strategy (obviously it varies with position, opponents, etc.) for them has been the following:
Pre-Flop raise 3xBB + 1BB/limper with TT+, AQs+; raise 3xBB (if first to enter) with 87s+, 55+, A8s+, JTs+. Calling after limpers with 22+, A2s+, J9s+, QTs+, KTs+, 56s+.
Post-Flop (again, only generally): betting/calling all streets with TPGK; bet/raising with 2-pair or better (only top 2 pair - or better - if met with big action); using odds to play draws; folding River with less than 2 top pair in case of a big bet / folding if River completes a draw and he was passive on other streets.
I've used some of my previous earnings to invest in a cheap HUD (Jivaro) and buy Online 6-Max NL from Harrington, that includes sections on micro and small stakes. I'll be seeing if they help when I start using them.
But is my strategy broken in some fundamental way? What I find happens is that I will raise pre, someone will call with, say T6s (I've had players tell me, after I asked why they called with some trash hand, "lol a 25 cents raise xD") and then Flop will come pretty dry, I keep betting 2/3 with overpair or TPGK until the end, then get beat by their 2 pair.
Other times I fold my small 2 pair because 2 others players keep raising each other, and then I find out one of them has a medium pair and the other has an overpair. And other times they have nothing but draws.
I have no idea why there's a gap between my tournament performance and my NL2 performance, but I have no doubt I'm a long-term loser at NL2 right now. I accept any tips and comments! Thanks!
P.S. 2: Since Portugal has only recently got out of its online poker blackout, we are only allowed to play 6-max Cash Games. Only Tournaments and S&Gs are FR. So I would appreciate if the strategy could be applied to 6-max
Cash and Tournaments are fundamentally different, that is why you are having trouble getting similar results in cash games than you do in tourneys. Yes, they are both NLHE, but you employ different strategies for each because: 1. If you go broke in a cash game, you can simply reload...heck, if you just lose a hand in a cash game, you can reload. But in a tourney, if you go broke, you're out. This makes it easier to put a lot of pressure on players in a tournament. 2. Cash games have rake, in tournaments, the rake has already been paid. and 3. Tournaments have blinds and antes that rise, in cash games, they always stay the same (unless there are straddles, but that's mostly a live game thing). These factors make the strategies in each very different and learning to play fundamentally sound in each is important.
There are several key areas that you are not playing a fundamentally sound game. First, let's start with your preflop bet sizing. Instead of raising 3 BBs, cut it down to 2 1/2 BBs except when you are on the button and it has been folded to you. I know that seems to be counter to what you have read/learned/heard everywhere else, but really, a min raise does not discourage anyone who wants to speculate in a pot, really, 3 BBs does not either but the difference is that when you are raising to 3 BBs preflop, then you are growing the pot exponentially so that when you are continuation betting, you are investing a significant portion of your stack in the pot. For instance: You raise to 3 BBs from UTG+1 and get 2 LP callers and the BB. that now makes the pot 12.5 BBs. If you are C-betting most flops then you are putting in 2/3 pot bets (which is a mistake, but more on that later). So you are putting in almost 8.25 more BBs making the pot now almost 21 BBs and giving great
odds to the callers. Instead, if you raise it to 2.5 BBs and get the same callers, you have a pot of about 10 BBs. This makes your cbet only 7 BBs, which still gives bout the same odds, but you are investing less BBs in the pot. This allows you to play more
hands and reduce variance.
Your calculation for raising limped pots is slightly off as well. You should be raising 3-3.5 BBs plus 1 BB for every limper PLUS 1.5 BBs to account for the blinds. Another example. You are on the button and there are 3 limpers in front of you. You raise 6 BBs into a pot of 4.5 BBs making the total pot 10.5 BBs. This means that the first caller needs 5 call 5 BBs into a pot of almost 11 BBs giving him/her better than 2:1 (which most hands have 33%
equity against the button range and once 1 player calls, then the others definitely have the correct odds to call). If instead, you account for the blinds. Then you raise 7.5 BBs into the pot, then you are making it 11.5 BBs and the first caller needs to put in 6.5 into 11.5 which is less than 3:1 and will make them fold a lot more allowing you to pick up these pots fairly often.
Next, your range is good for an opening range from UTG in a 9 handed game but too tight for LJ (which is UTG in 6 handed) and it should get wider as you move to the button. You can find better opening ranges on PokerCoaching.com, UpswingPoker.com and various other sites. But the key thing is: Don't get married to these ranges. They are just starting ranges and should be adjusted according to how you table is playing. If you are in games where players are calling opens with hands like T6s, then you should open up your range and play MORE hands against these types of players, but not TOO open. You can play a range like 77+, T9s+, any two broadway, ATo and any suited ace from LJ (UTG) and be very profitable against these type of players that are speculating with too wide of a range. So, loosen up your range especially in position.
Next, you don't seem to be 1. putting your opponents on a range when you are getting called and 2. are cbetting all the flops. This is a mistake. You should be taking notes on your opponents and what they will play in different positions and how they play post-flop with those different type hands. You have to be able to compare their range to your range (which is WAY more difficult in the multiway pots in microstakes). However, say you raise from LJ (UTG) with AKo and get 1 caller from the button. The flop comes 6h 7d 9h. Do you cbet here? Generally, you should not because this favors the callers range way more than it favors your range. If there are multiple callers, then this flop is sure to have hit one of them. By betting, you are only going to get called or raised by a hand that beats you or has great odds to improve to beat you and you throw away money. However, if the flop comes Qs 9d 4d, then you can cbet this flop more often because it likely missed your opponents hand and there are a lot more strong Queens in your range than your opponents. Cbetting is more about betting your whole range when you have the range advantage and the nut advantage on the flop. Which means you have stronger hands and more nut hands than your opponent is likely to. So, figuring out what range your opponent is playing is critical (because even in micro stakes, there are players who will ONLY play big cards, so even when you open in EP and they call and your get a flop like the Queen high one, you know that THAT player is likely to have a queen). Take notes, use your HUD and start learning to put your opponents on a range of hands.
Once you are putting your opponents on a range of hands, then you are ready to do battle with them and figure out other mistakes that they are making (the first is playing too many hands, most microstakes players are guilty of this). This is important from the flop through the end of the hand.
When cbetting, you are betting too high in general. While most players benefit from having one size to cbet, this is not actually optimal. In general, when you have the range and nut advantage, you want to be cbetting frequently and smaller with your whole range and checking when you do not have the range and nut advantage with your whole range. This makes your more difficult to play against. Here's why: say you have AA from the HJ. You raised and was called by the BB. The flop comes 743 rainbow. While you certainly have the range advantage over the BB, on this board, he is going to have more 56, 34, 86, A2's, ect than you. So, even though when he checks, you want to put in a bet here, it is smarter to check behind because he likely has missed the flop and will fold to any bet. But, by checking, you keep in his junky range and allow him to catch something on the turn and bet into you, or he misses the turn and decides to go for a bluff. Conversely, say you have K9s that you raised from the button and the BB calls. The flop comes Qd Jd 5c. The BB checks to you. This range favors your range and you should have the nut advantage over the junk that the BB is playing, so you bet small --1/3 to 1/2 the pot and you do if frequently (again, unless you have a specific read on that player) because you are going to force him to fold out his junk. Now, say you have 66 from the HJ and the button calls and the flop comes KT6 rainbow. You lead out with your set because this flop favors your range and you have the nut advantage but if the board was 376 rainbow. You would want to check/call or raise (I would almost certainly just check/call) because the smaller and middle cards should favor the caller. You might want to study this a bit more with YouTube videos on cbetting because this is just basic strategy.
How you proceed after the flop should be determined by your read on your opponent, but barreling TPGK when you have a caller or callers on multiple streets is really just throwing money away. Generally, you should be betting with your best made hands and best draws, check calling marginal made hands and some draws (depending on your pot and implied odds). TPGK or even TPTK is great on dry boards like A742 rainbow when you have an ace, but much riskier on a Ah Th 9s Jd board. While in this example, AK is still a premium hand, if you get called on the flop and turn, you really want to get to showdown cheaply. That's why you should classify your hand into one of 4 catergories: Premium Made, Strong Draw, Marginal Made or Draw and Trash and treat each one accordingly as the hand progresses, keeping in mind that these hands can change from one category to another on a different street
such as JTo being a strong draw on a KQ7 rainbow, to a premium made hand if an A or 9 comes or QQ being a premium made hand preflop until the flop comes AKK and you know your opponent only plays Ax or Kx, now your hand is Trash. Reevaluate every street and play accordingly.
Finally, 3 betting is key in cash games especially microstakes to stay ahead of the rake. 3 bet often and in position. This is one simple strategy that you can apply immediately. You should 3 bet your whole playable range from the SB. This discourages the BB from coming along (if you call, then the BB always has the odds to come along --whether he does or not is beside the point) then you are playing out of position against at least 2 opponents. It is very hard to realize your equity in a hand from OOP. You should be raising or 3 betting almost all hands that you intend to play. Some sites (and a lot of live games) do not take rake if there is no flop. For these sites, you want to be raising or 3 betting almost all the time. You will be taking down lots of pots because the population generally do not know how to play in 3 bet pots. The other advantage is that most sites cap the amount of money they take per hand. By raising and 3 betting pots, you are building pots and as long as you are winning a nice share of them, you will be profitable.
This was just a brief analysis by a player who plays (well, played -- I don't get to play as mush as I would like) a lot of microstakes up to low stakes games (I play up to $1/$2 online and $2/5 live but I LOVE to grind the .05/.10 and .25/.50 games). You CAN make money and decent money playing microstakes. You have to be aggressive and take advantage of what your opponents are doing wrong: playing too many hands, calling down with TPGK on straight and flush boards, chasing bad draws, ect. There are tons of books, videos and coaching information out there for you to study and improve your game.
Best of luck to you, keep grinding.
