Micro stakes

[Tsjai]

Hi all,

I just recently rediscovered poker and this time I'm spending more time on learning and understanding the game rather than just playing with 'my gut feeling'.
Thing is that I'm trying/planning to build a bankroll.
Many people say that micro stakes are the best way of achieving that.
Also alot of people claim that micro stakes is a place where alot of players just push buttons and hope for the best.

And that is what my experience is so far. Erratic betting and shoving.
I have spend several hours in a 0.01/0.02 cashgame and it feels like it is the wild west.
My theoretical guideline is the course on cardsChat. None of the explained chapters is usefull in practise to be honest on the micro stakes tables.
It feels like a lot of people just shove to see the flop/turn/river.

How do you build a bankroll in these micro stakes?
What should my strategy be?

 

[fundiver199]

If people play wild and get it in with a lot of bad hands, then you beat them by calling with hands, that are better than theirs. This is pretty much as simple, as it gets, and its a whole lot easier to beat such players than to beat good and disciplined players. You just need to make peace with bad beats and variance and accept, that they are both part of the game.

Blackrain79 has a Youtube channel, where he recently made multible videos related to your topic. As for the CC course, it is mainly directed towards tournament players, but some of the concepts can also be used for cash games. And its certainly applicable to microstakes. In fact this is, whats its mainly intended for.

 

[Tsjai]

Thanks for the tip!
Never heard of Blackrain79 but I'll be looking into it.
Maybe I need to work a bit on my patience as well

 

[fundiver199]

Maybe I need to work a bit on my patience as well

Thats probably a large part of it. You say, you have played "several hours", but how many hands is that? Like 1.000 or 2.000? At 2NL a solidly winning player can see around 10BB / 100, which over such a sample is a profit of 2-4$. So "bankroll building" is not something, which happen fast, and certainly not when you play such low stakes.

Realistically for most people 2NL is for practice and to prove, you can beat the lowest limit before trying anything higher, rather than "build a bankroll". And if you are willing to potentially lose a few houndred dollars, you dont absolutely HAVE to begin at 2NL. It can be ok also to begin at 5NL or 10NL or at least move there relatively fast.

One major trap to avoid is to over complicate the game, when you are playing against absolute beginners, drunks and gamblers. Just bet or raise, when you have a good hand and check, call or fold, when you dont. Blackrain79 is an excellent source for this simple way of thinking about poker against bad opponents.

If they dont understand, that your river check-raise on a paired board is clearly representing a full house, and that they are supposed to fold their small flush rather than pay a dollar and 10 cents to see your hand, then the problem is not your opponents. The problem is your own failure to adjust to them and the stakes, you are playing.

 

[Tsjai]

Thats probably a large part of it. You say, you have played "several hours", but how many hands is that? Like 1.000 or 2.000? At 2NL a solidly winning player can see around 10BB / 100, which over such a sample is a profit of 2-4$. So "bankroll building" is not something, which happen fast, and certainly not when you play such low stakes.

English is not my native language so correct me if i'm wrong.
Do you mean that waiting for playable hands can take a long time anywhere roughly between 10 to a 100BB.
I have seen the Starting hand guide on CardsChat. Maybe I should use this as a reference/guidline.

for most people 2NL is for practice and to prove, you can beat the lowest limit before trying anything higher, rather than "build a bankroll". And if you are willing to potentially lose a few houndred dollars, you dont absolutely HAVE to begin at 2NL. It can be ok also to begin at 5NL or 10NL or at least move there relatively fast.

What does it mean 'Beat the lowest limit?'
Being profitable over a certain period of time?

One major trap to avoid is to over complicate the game, when you are playing against absolute beginners, drunks and gamblers. Just bet or raise, when you have a good hand and check, call or fold, when you dont. Blackrain79 is an excellent source for this simple way of thinking about poker against bad opponents.

If they dont understand, that your river check-raise on a paired board is clearly representing a full house, and that they are supposed to fold their small flush rather than pay a dollar and 10 cents to see your hand, then the problem is not your opponents. The problem is your own failure to adjust to them and the stakes, you are playing.

I think I start to understand the dynamics with these stakes.
Thanks for sharing your insight.

 

[magister1]

NL2 can be a fun challenge. It's what I got back into recently and I'm surprised how hard even the lowest level is. I play on ACR. It is nowhere near what it was like 10 years ago.

It's a good place to play 10-20k hands and get a sense of what you need to work on before putting more money on.

I saw blackrain79 mentioned earlier, and I have to say I think his guide is pretty outdated. I think you are better off watching some YouTube videos or maybe something from Jonathan Little.

Good luck at the tables.

 

[Swat1197]

ABC combination bet-push
Nice to make them call, because noone knows why ppl call like this on micro

 

[marvinsytan]

better to build your bankroll thru CardsChat Platinum freerolls

start with bronze first

https://www.cardschat.com/forum/car...ord-thread-bronze-level-freerolls-all-401613/

 

[Tsjai]

better to build your bankroll thru CardsChat Platinum Freerolls

start with bronze first

https://www.cardschat.com/forum/car...ord-thread-bronze-level-freerolls-all-401613/

I'm ready for this one tonight on pokerstars.
It will be my first time. I never saw a freeroll on PokerStars so I hope I will find the tournament.

 

[Tsjai]

ABC combination bet-push
Nice to make them call, because noone knows why ppl call like this on micro

I noticed that a tight and agressive play is more suitable I think

 

[fundiver199]

Do you mean that waiting for playable hands can take a long time anywhere roughly between 10 to a 100BB.

BB/100 is a way for cash game players to measure their winrate. If you win at 10BB/100 at 2NL, you are winning 10 x 2c =20c for every 100 hands, you play. Or 2$ for every 1.000 hands. So if for instance your bankroll is 100$, and you want to grow it to 200$ before moving to 5NL, then you will need to play 50.000 hands at 2NL with a winrate of 10BB/100. Or 100.000 hands with a winrate of 5BB/100.

What does it mean 'Beat the lowest limit?' Being profitable over a certain period of time?

Yes. It mean showing a large enough profit over a large enough sample of hands, that its unlikely, you just got lucky. Everyone can sit down and play a single session and win 5$ at 2NL, because they picked up AA, when someone else had AK and completed their flushdraw, when someone else flopped a set. But if you are winning 50$ or 100$ over a large sample of hands, then you are probably beating the game. Its not just, because you got lucky in a few hands.

 

[takinitSLEAZEE]

I noticed that a tight and agressive play is more suitable I think

I agree, especially playing micro-stake tourneys. There is a basic strategy to micro-play. I would recommend not playing any hand before the cut-off position, or the seat prior to the button. Play only 8's or better. Raise instead of calling a bet. Fold when you miss the flop if set mining. Don't be afraid to fold K's or Q's when an ace hits. Don't bluff the big-stack because they almost always win. GL

 

[freestocks]

Just play your game. Erratic players are at every stake.

 

[Alex70793]

The cache on micro limits is what you need to collect the initial bankroll, I always play a cache of 0,01/0,02 when a small bankroll.
There are very often fish on such tables, there are 1-2 fish at almost every table, you play your aggressive tight game calmly and collect a bankroll, they give their money away themselves.

 

[fundiver199]

you play your aggressive tight game calmly and collect a bankroll, they give their money away themselves.

Exactly. Beating bad recreational poker players in the micros is really simple. You just wait for a hand, and then you stack them, when they cant get away from something second best. And its not limited to something as low as 2NL either.

CardsChat Poker Hands Converter

This hand is from a 7$ 50/fifty SnG on Pokerstars, that I just played. And while I obviously got lucky to nail my gutshot on the turn, the main point is, that the opponent massively overplayed his top pair no kicker. I did not need the nuts to stack him, just top pair with a 9 kicker or better. Which is of course a big part of my range after opening from MP.

This is perhaps not the most interesting or cool hand in the world. But its a good example of, how these players literally give their money away, as you say. In this case he did it by taking the aggressive route AKA "donk". But against the more passive type I just bet turn and jam river, and they call me down with their top pair no kicker.

 

[dsmilez]

Tournaments are great because they're so soft. ABC poker will get you in the money. Tons of grinders play cash games but of course they're beatable. Cash games bore me because there's no big score and moving up stakes can take a while even multi-tabling