Microstakes

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Dkazlauskas

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Hi guys,

Just need some guidance on microstakes in 2017. I play 6 max. I play TAG style were I try to out play my opponents etc by barrelling and finding other good bluffing spots. Would you say that being completely basic like playing abc as it seems bluffing is so pointless at these stakes. Like waiting for a good hand and just folding if you haven't got a good hand? I've posted my graph in a previous thread with stats. Like is there anyone out there that literally played abc with stats that has beaten these stakes that can show some evidence? Or atleast tell me what kind of mindset or strategy I should have as I seem confused. I've done a lot study and worked on my game but just finding it hard to beat these stakes. Like do I continue bluffing in good spots or are even the regs completely bad aswell which would make my thought process flawed?

Thanks any feedback is great :)
 
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Dani_California

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I don't have any statistics or graph for evidence but in my experience, TAG is a good style at the micro stakes. I fold a lot and then play my good hands quite aggressively. Most people are not paying attention how you have played and even after many folds, I still get people to call my raises when I have a good hand. And if I'm patient enough, that hand will come and I collect a big pot.

I don't bluff often but if you want to be a good player, you should always have couple of tricks in your sleeve. That's why I think you can still bluff but you have to pick up a good spot really carefully and do that only against one opponent at a time. You also need to know your enemy. Micro stakes are full of fishes and you can't bluff a fish. That's why it is important to find someone who is good enough to realize that someone might actually have better hand than theirs. Bluff them, but not too often cause they are also good enough to see what you are doing if you start repeating that move. And before bluffing, wait long enough until your table image is tight.

I don't know if that was any helpful but that's what I do and so far it has been working quite well.
 
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Sidetracked

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ABC works at the micros. Play for value and don't worry too much about trying to outplay people.
 
thatguy6793

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I'm not a very hardcore cash game player but I play it ever now and then at microstakes and one thing I think that really just messes up every strategy is that most of the people playing low stakes probably just came from freerolls where they ended up itm and want to try and triple up every hand, these people make most strategies fall apart at microstakes because of the random flush and straight draws you get when your leading by a ton. That being said I think you still have to at least try to bluff your opponents because there are real people at the tables and eventually those that know how to play good will beat out those that can't so no don't just play abc poker stick to TAG at the low stakes but be ready to make a good bluff every now and then against people you know are real. Just spend some time playing hands really tight until you can 1) set your table image and 2) figure out who just is trying to burn through the money and who is actually playing. If you do all that then you should see an improvement in your winnings even at the lowest stakes, but I would also say when you can and when you feel comfortable try to move up to higher stakes to get rid of the "I just won a dollar and now I'm gonna make $1000 going all in on every hand at the cash game" players. Hope that helps a little bit and best of luck to you!
 
MKaizer07

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I play a lot of micro stakes and what I find is that people usually play multi-table, so they probably won't realize that you are playing tight or loose, unless they use a poker tracker. The strategy that I usually use is abc and I rarely bluff. So that usually works out for me. I also don't stay at a single table for long because what I found out is that if i'm up a good amount the poker site (ACR is where I play at) usually gets me involved in a big and I lose my winnings because of a bad beat. I don't know if this happens to other players but that is why I try and win some money then stay a littler longer and move to a new table. I hope this helps you out.
 
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MKaizer07

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I play mostly play 25 to 50 cent tables and sometimes play 10 cent tables.
 
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Dan Lucas

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I like Dani's comments. You have to be a little tricky so as not to be too predictable, but it seems that TAG on .01/.02 is the most profitable. There are way too many loose, "I don't care" players who can bust you because they chase their 2 outers. It's true, you can't bluff a fish, but you can bust them by playing to their weaknesses.
 
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davidhoyle107

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Question. What's your idea of winning? Technically, 10/100 bb would be great for 1/2 games. But that's only 20 cents for 100 hands. After 1k hands, that's 2 dollars. After 10k hands, that's 20. Are you sur3 that's even worth it?
 
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Salavat Kozhakhmetov

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you're right no Elementary skills to win will not help you,but if you play for real money there is another matter,you can often win by bluff
 
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SpeedBump621

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I've noticed the best way to win at these levels is to value bet your good hands and rarely bluff.

Spend a few minutes observing others. Take good notes. You'll find that most players simply dont care if you are bluffing or peddling a set if they are chasing a draw. The other common type at these stakes is the weak tight regular. You can bluff this player.

So as an example of how to conquer the passive calling station: If u raise with AK preflop....miss the flop and have poor equity.....just check to them. If you hit the flop on a board tend to value bet about the size of the pot. This type of player will pay u well. Just remember: If they bet back at you when it looks like a draw has been hit....just fold. Unless it's a tiny bet and u want to see their holdings.

The nitty regular type player's game is very fit or fold. If you are to his right go ahead and raise most of his blinds. He will fold most of them. Also, if he reraises u know he has AK (most dont even raise with this), AA, KK, QQ. Be ready to fold when this player bets at you. He will never go all-in on the river without at least a big overpair and usually its a much stronger hand than this.
 
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Dani_California

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I like Dani's comments. You have to be a little tricky so as not to be too predictable, but it seems that TAG on .01/.02 is the most profitable. There are way too many loose, "I don't care" players who can bust you because they chase their 2 outers. It's true, you can't bluff a fish, but you can bust them by playing to their weaknesses.

I'm glad that someone agrees with me :) Many players, if not the most, are completely clueless about the game at the microstakes and that's why they keep calling and raising too much with weak hands. When I first started, I thought I was invincible when I saw pocket 5's in my hand for example, no matter what the table looked like :D Bad, I know, but thank goodness I learned quickly. However, there are still players doing that same thing, players who are beginners and other players who are there just to try that game. That's why it is so important to play straight forward poker most of the time and let them hang themselves. Tricky play then becomes a powerful weapon against better players than that.
 
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Usually I use Lag-style, cause it's more creative style than Tag.
 
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PapaDoc13

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Something I learned through a lot of frustration over time is that at NL2, abc is simply the best strategy. Nice, Tight, and Aggressive. Before, I found myself trying to bluff spots, and about 87% of the time, they'd be called by made hands. Bluffing in NL2 is lighting money on fire. Just wait for that big hand, get the chips in, and hope the river is nice to you.
 
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pokerchick_xoxo

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Most times you will have a second best hand in 9 ring microstakes hands. You have to remember to not make fancy moves on noobs.
 
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PLAYFUL1

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Its almost impossible to BLUFF in the Micro-games says Playful cause you are going to be called all the way thru to the River
 
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skaterick

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don't worry balancing your range and being exploitable . just play your strong hands and try to make good reads when needed .
 
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davidhoyle107

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You can bluff, but only certain players. Look for people with high vpip, low pfr, low af, and high fold to c bet.
 
sryulaw

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abc

Hi guys,

Just need some guidance on microstakes in 2017. I play 6 max. I play TAG style were I try to out play my opponents etc by barrelling and finding other good bluffing spots. Would you say that being completely basic like playing abc as it seems bluffing is so pointless at these stakes. Like waiting for a good hand and just folding if you haven't got a good hand? I've posted my graph in a previous thread with stats. Like is there anyone out there that literally played abc with stats that has beaten these stakes that can show some evidence? Or atleast tell me what kind of mindset or strategy I should have as I seem confused. I've done a lot study and worked on my game but just finding it hard to beat these stakes. Like do I continue bluffing in good spots or are even the regs completely bad aswell which would make my thought process flawed?

Thanks any feedback is great :)

The problem of playing micro, and that has very recreational, I know that are in them the money is, plus the problem is that he does not drop the pair of 22, or 33, for nothing in this world, and make a bluff, often Do not go, I'm still in the game of playing abc, betting on value, there already at the final tables after the ITM, yes I apply a move, and bluffs, because whoever is in the money understands the game better, and anyone who does not understand does not play Last at the table and try to earn as much as you can. Being aggressive these hours helps a lot.
 
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Mauno

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Sometimes I play or played 02/04 usd limit holdem and there even tight play doesnt work. There is always somebody limping and winning with river card.
 
Diegol

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It's a good strategy but i recommend to make some adjustments and try to play other styles so you can beat levels and start to going up
 
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mrpolyglott

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Hi everyone! Thks for keeping this thread alive cause I'm one of you who play at microstakes and the whole thread is the following phrase: "Play ABC poker tightly without taking any risk and controversial moves". I'm interested in other ways of winning cause poker is so diverse game with such big possibilities that I'm crying when a pair of fishes at the table just crush all mentioned above by me of their stupidity and non-flexibility. Are there any chances of playing real poker on microstakes or the only way-out is to move higher on stakes? Thx
 
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Tricktappic

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Hi everyone! Thks for keeping this thread alive cause I'm one of you who play at microstakes and the whole thread is the following phrase: "Play ABC poker tightly without taking any risk and controversial moves". I'm interested in other ways of winning cause poker is so diverse game with such big possibilities that I'm crying when a pair of fishes at the table just crush all mentioned above by me of their stupidity and non-flexibility. Are there any chances of playing real poker on microstakes or the only way-out is to move higher on stakes? Thx

Hi mrpolyglott, a few things you said were interesting to me abd wanted to bring them up. I think your thoughts on a couple of fish crushing how you play because of there stupidity (i assume you mean they chase straights and flushes and then get there by the river) is a flawed way of thinking. We WANT the fish to chase there draws, we want the fish to call you with worse hands than ours. Our profit = our opponents mistakes alot of the time. So if the fish has an open ended stright draw on the flop and calls that is a mistake providingnwe don't give him the correct pot odds to call. If he calls another bet on the turn and he only has 16% equity, that means we win 84% of the time. This is huge +EV for us. And yes that INCLUDES the times he gets there because again we win 84 times out of 100 assuming we replayed that hand out 100 times. Poker is all about the long term, this is so important for people understand if you want to beat anyform of poker. Being results orientated is disastrous imo. It took a while to get this stuff. Learn it, apply it, and watch your results grow. Good luck.
 
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