Can You Learn Poker Playing Low Stakes?

[ph_il]

I guess, the whole post is basically just a rant, so maybe a moderator should move it to "bad beats and rants"

possibly.

i noticed you never said how your microstakes session went. i guess we can all safely assume it went badly because you don't want to talk about it. guess we now know you don't know how play microstakes properly and your one day results (that you don't want to mention) just proves that.

that's to be expected though, seeing as you're playing the high stakes $3.50 buy-in games. you don't know what it's like at the microstakes.

 

[fundiver199]

that's to be expected though, seeing as you playing the high stakes $3.50 buy-in games. you don't know what it's like at the microstakes.

Yeah those nosebleed $3,5 games are completely different from the true micro games

 

[scobido]

I say that you can learn at low stakes and at high stakes, the difference is that at the small stakes you learn from more players, and at the big stakes from fewer players.

 

[dorynel7]

of course you can always learn poker no matter the stake, the situations are different all the time. GL

 

[fundiver199]

Another example of how to beat the GTO wizards in nosebleed $3,5 games. Of course none of the strategy implemented here will work in the true micros

CardsChat Poker Hands Converter

 

[johnmaltz19]

You can learn poker even in microstakes. It is where the poker dream is born. Learning is easy but becoming really good is hard and takes a lot of patience and time.

 

[viacheslavtezikov]

I think you need to start learning to play poker with low stakes. Because the pool of players is weaker and there is less chance of losing money. At higher stakes, players already make fewer mistakes and it is more difficult to play with them.

 

[Pokerpoet2]

You can learn how to play Poker for pea-nuts, here is nothing magical about how high your stakes need to be, and who determines how much is high stakes? For someone earning $10,000 a week, $100 buy-in is pocket change, whereas someone on $10 a week, 25 cents would be a small fortune.
I was playing a free-roll when it became heads up my opponent asked if we could split 50/50 because he wanted to withdraw his winnings as it was a lot of money to him, I personally didn't care if I won or lost at that point as the difference was only $5 and wouldn't buy me a coffee at Starbucks.
To him it could have possibly fed his family for a few days, I really don't know, but obviously it meant a lot to him, Money is only important to the individual playing, Phil Helmutt could win half a million Dollars in a tournament, it would be negligible to his bank balance, but that kind of money would be life changing for others.
I think that playing Poker within your Bank-roll limits, is the most sensible way to play, and even if you had $100,000 in your bankroll I certainly wouldn't buy-in for more than 1% of it, and if I did, would it be fun to play? It is not fun, to lose money you cannot afford to lose, I have played against some really good players at low level stakes, and I have seen Bingo players at higher stakes, so really it is all down to what you can afford to lose.
If you are on a low income, stick to your limits, play sensibly, and you will still learn how to play Poker, and the only time to increase your stakes is when you are comfortable doing so.

When the fun Stops, STOP!

 

[blata8ruga]

You can learn good poker habits at small stakes because there are other people there who are also trying to do the same thing and they respect the game the same as you do. You are always going to get donkeys who play any two cards in any situation, that is just part of the game at any level. Good luck and chip up !

 

[toni_brasco]

You can learn good poker habits at small stakes because there are other people there who are also trying to do the same thing and they respect the game the same as you do. You are always going to get donkeys who play any two cards in any situation, that is just part of the game at any level. Good luck and chip up !

Agree on that, I am playing many hours of micro stakes, cash and tournaments and i see people playing same as the stars on tv, you can see it in every table or tournament.

 

[cardplayer52]

Yes you can learn at microstakes. Bankroll Management is key at any level. Some things to learn is how to takes notes on players. Do they have bet sizing tells? Are they fit or fold post flop? Do they make huge calls with medium strengh hands? Using a HUD if allowed is invalueable. You need to be reviewing the hands of the regs you see multitable grinding everyday.

I used to be a losing poker player. It was around 2009 when I decided to do a $0 to $5200 challange. My actual account had 23c but I didnt count it towards the challange. I did freerolls to start. Thats why I joined cardschat for the freerolls.

It took a lot of work and it was fustrating at times. But it can be done. It was the studing away from the tables that helped the most.

I would mark hands in pokertracker when I got into a spot where I was confused. Then I would post those hands here and other forums for feedback.

The more spots a reviewed and studied the more comfortable and confident I felt at the tables.

 

[LukasynoACAB]

Low stakes games is a good begin of story with poker for new players, iam still playing at low stakes often , its not easy to get some good profits with it, its hard when the tournament is going at higher blinds and u have swaped to the other table with other players and u dont have to much time to read these guys style of playing , but this is the best way to learn poker .

 

[capo1014]

Any level

You can learn at any level, I started way before the computer age. This takes years and years of practice, online however is a different task. Face to face for me is way easier. Capo1014

 

[Spikey]

Can You Learn Poker Playing Low Stakes? YES!

I will forward you what my friend smashed into my brain when i had the same thoughts as you, he said. "if you can not learn to adjust and smash micro stakes, stop playing as you will never make it" and i now agree. Micro stakes is good for learning all the basics its like driving a manual car when you dont have to think about changing gears anymore you have more time to think about what's going on around you.

I hear a lot of at 2nl they play bingo, well isn't that just perfect that bingo players wants to join a poker table, it don't get much better than that, beat the crap out of them.

Some of the stuff learned at micro cant be used at high stakes i will agree on that like bet sizing, but you will for sure learn a LOT. As you move up in stakes adjustadjustadjust

 

[frnandoh]

Low stakes have the esiest players. If you are not able to win against them, you definitely arent going win in higher stakes. When you play well only against regular players, you will lose every time a newbie sit at your table. You will keep being a bad player.

 

[Bev]

Every book, website, thread, tweet and pamphlet says learn at low stakes and only buy in at a fraction of your bankroll. BUT LOW STAKES POKER IS JUST BINGO. You’re more likely to develop bad habits than improve your game. If you open 4BB from the MP with AKs to get calls from 102o and J6s are you learning? If the 97s out of position calls your +EV c-bet on every street and hits the 2 outer on the river…are you learning?

We’re being taught how to play against knowledgeable opponents. However, the opponents at low stakes are NOT KNOWLEDGEABLE. Like learning how to swim and then being tossed in sand box. Practice they say. Start small they say. Don’t risk too much bankroll they say. I’m sorry. Playing against idiots is NOT PRACTICE. You can NOT build a bankroll at low stakes…you can NOT learn proper poker at low stakes …you just slowly piss away small bankrolls and ride waves of luck…JUST LIKE BINGO

I have found that in low stakes cash games , people play better - less bingo and more thinking of the next move.
Otherwise in freerolls , bingo seems to be the "smart aggressive " way to play and if you really want to play , it is best to sit out for the first 20 min or so while most of the bingo players go out.
I also don't believe raising Every Hand before the flop is a smart way to play either.

 

[MimiMLZ]

Medium limit vs low limit

Yet there is a difference of level between playing high limit, medium limit and low limit. The level of play there can vary from limit to limit. However, you can still improve your play and learn from low limit.

 

[ATL2000]

I guess my question would be where else are you going to learn?

If you have unlimited funds then sure, go ahead and play every $10K out there. I am a very average poker player, but I feel like I can figure hands out a lot better now that I have played a bunch of micro stakes tournaments.

 

[Poker Orifice]

I’m interested in the feedback that others have when playing properly at micro stakes. See original post. In my experience, opinions and advice are best given from a place of recent experience and relevant understanding.

Sarcasm aside…do you have anything you want to contribute to this conversation?

What does 'properly' refer to?
When playing we are adjusting to the other players on the table & in microstakes there are typically huge opportunities to exploit some of the other players.

Microstakes definition I believe is $5 & under for MTT/SnG (maybe $10 & under)
& 10nl & under for cash games.

Lowstakes $10 to $25 (maybe $10 - $33)
10nl to 50nl

Perhaps you're referring to 'SuperMicros' <$1 games ... I'm not sure. If so, then one needs to make some major adjustments... take them to value town ... rarely bluff ...

 

[Poker Orifice]

Otherwise in freerolls , bingo seems to be the "smart aggressive " way to play and if you really want to play , it is best to sit out for the first 20 min or so while most of the bingo players go out.

But don't we have huge opportunities to accumulate a large amount of chips from these 'bingo players'? My opinion is >>> early levels are when you'll find the most fish on the tables and while stacks are deep we can build large stacks with hands that have huge implied odds especially while played in position. You'll find players willing to stack off 100bb's deep with top pair on very wet boards, etc. etc. These are the best times (easiest) times to win chips!
I also don't believe raising Every Hand before the flop is a smart way to play either.

Why? Why don't you believe raising every hand before the flop is a smart way to play? (what are the advantages to 'not raising')
I'm assuming you're referring to 'every hand we play'... not just 'every hand period'

 

[Axe1Gold]

Why? Why don't you believe raising every hand before the flop is a smart way to play? (what are the advantages to 'not raising')
I'm assuming you're referring to 'every hand we play'... not just 'every hand period'

Not a bad idea slow play goo hands in early period in freeroll against stupid players. The most of freeroll players go all inpreflop if she or he think he is better than you. If you raise preflop he think you have AX or other good hand.
But if you raise 3or4 bb preflop from9 player6 easily call it.

If you want to reasie early position you have to raise 7 10 bb ... but if you raise big maybe nobody call it