Everyone who has ever played low-stakes poker knows how tough these games can be. I'm talking about games with a $100 buy-in or less -- live or online. If you're used to higher stakes these games can seem almost fishless. Because they are!
Florida Casinos Outside of Vegas You Need to Visit - #5 Is AmazingRegular Joes and Janes make up the majority of the player base at these levels. Most of them are recreationally, casual players who don't study strategy or even talk about their hands after the game. Others are hobbyists who spend some time each week working on their game.
The good news is that you know more about poker than the average player in a small-stakes game. If you've studied any basic strategy at all you already have a huge advantage over most of your opponents. Read on for ten easy strategies you can use to crush small-stakes poker games and make it look easy.
1. Play More Hands
First rule for playing small-stakes poker games? Play more hands. Even if you play "tight-aggressive" style, you need to widen your range significantly when you move down in stakes.
For example: At $1/$2 live in Toronto a single raised bet can be $14. You could easily lose $50 in one orbit playing only premium hands.
At $0.05/$0.10 online a single raised bet maxes out at about 50¢. You can afford to see more flops.
This applies online and live but even more so live because of the time element and the fact that tipping deals a significant extra cost into the mix.
Don't limp up a storm; that invites plays from other players and makes post-flop play difficult. But raise or call with more medium hands and speculative hands.
Think about how often the opponent is going to want to raise before you do. If the answer is "pretty much every hand," then just call and see the flop out of position for the expected cheap one-street hand.
Remember, though, that you still need a plan for when you hit and when you miss. More on that later.
potawatomi casino reviewsHow Many Hands Should You Play in Poker?
A general guide is to play around 20% of your hands on the button, 15% in middle position and 10% in early position. These percentages are for tight-aggressive styles. Looser styles will push those numbers upward.
One caveat: Be aware of who is in the hand with you. If a notoriously tight player min-raises from under the gun, a simple call may be best.
You want to avoid getting trapped between two opponents fighting for the pot, especially if one of them is a rock. Save some premier holding for heads-up hands when you can exert maximum pressure.
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2. Play More Tables Online
An extension of playing more hands is playing in more games or more tables. Online at least, there's no reason why you can't play three or even four games simultaneously if your software allows it.
Some players can handle it. Many can handle two games with no problem. Playing more tables forces you to play more hands.
It can also help prevent you from steaming if you spread your action over multiple tables rather than going broke on one. Just remember you'll be getting a smaller share of the action so you'll have to adjust your expectations.
How Much Rake Do Online Poker Sites Take?
Most poker sites cap the amount of rake they can take from a pot at a certain percentage (typically 5%) or fixed dollar amount. It's usually the former for tables with 2-6 players and the latter for tables with 7+ players or all-in pots.
So if yours is the only all-in bet in a six-max pot, the cap for PokerStars, for example, is LESS than it would be if there were five or six individual bets in the pot. There's no additional rake for multi-tabling; you pay a flat fee per table.
So take away some of your bet sizing for ranting and raving about how much the fish steal from the poker site. Instead direct your ire at the fish who steal from you by calling your bet instead of raising it.
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3. Play the Players
This advice, to "play the players, not the cards," is a cliché for a reason: it's true. You're looking for weak players you can exploit.
In low-stakes poker games the majority of opponents are recreational players, gamblers, on a power trip or some combination of the above. They tend to play too many hands, play too aggressively after flopping a draw or a gutshot or top pair and pay off their opponents when they are out of position.
They also tend to get tilted easily and make big mistakes as a result. All of these characteristics can be exploited.
Best Casino Bars in America You Need a Drink At - GamblingSites.com BlogLook for the weak players and play against them as much as possible. Put the scarecards on tight, aggressive lists and study their tendencies.
If you go head-up with one of these players you'll be able to pick up tell after tell about the cards he's likely to be holding at different points in the hand.
Once you've got a sense of his tendencies it becomes pretty easy to make moves on him and get paid off when he's in a mood to pay off moves.
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4. Milk the Power Players
Find the power users in the game -- the ones who play every night, discuss hand histories with anyone who's willing to listen and subscribe to poker strategy sites.
These are the players who have read all the books and discussed every possible situation with their buddies. They think they know the game. Show 'em. Out-study them.
Get into heated confrontations with them -- they'll get tilted and make huge mistakes trying to outmuscle you. Power users at the lower stakes are always looking for a challenge and a chance to prove themselves.
Don't let them. Make sure you know the theory behind how you want to play with and against them before you start a confrontation. And be ready to adjust later as they adjust to you.
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5. Value-Bet Appropriately
This ties in closely with playing the players. Weak players and gamblers can't get enough of betting and raising with draws and bottom pair. When they make a hand they tend to bet for value.
They don't realize how often their opponents are going to be winning these bets. Hoby Orenstein coined the term "jacksonen" to describe the tendency of amateur players to bet a jack high on a uncoordinated board.
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There's real money to be made in low-stakes games value-betting two pair and carved meat (top pair with a decent kicker). Find the jacksonenses and the similar characters in every suite and exhaust their betting depth.
Tight, aggressive, power users are more likely to check-call a bet on the river to complete a draw -- even when they miss. Don't overlook this source of semi-bluff profit.
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6. Don't Get Too Attached
Know when to say when. This is perhaps the toughest skill for a poker player to master and it gets harder the less you're making.
When you're running bad it's easy to get married to hands and to keep investing in pots in hopes of getting even. Not only does this fail to produce profits in the long run, it can be disastrous in the short term.
A card dead day can turn into card dead weeks if you start going brokem to call three-bet pre-flop with 7-4 off-suit. Flop persistence -- that is, failing to evaluate the quality of your holdings compared to the developing board -- is a common weakness among low-stakes players.
Ways To Tell If You're Really Playing Online PokerDonate to the pot generously when you realize you're wrong but get out quickly if there's reasonable aggression.
Be mindful of your emotional state. Don't play when you're angry, frustrated, horny or just out of beer. Wait until you're in the proper frame of mind or leave the table while you still can.
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7. Mix It Up
Don't become predictable. Low-stakes players can be prone to falling into routines. Heads-up? Check-call death grip. Three-handed? Raise anything that looks like a hand. Six-handed? See a flop with everything.
Theoretically, we know we should mix up our play pre-, flop and post-flop with betting, checking, raising, slow-playing and trapping. We should vary our speed, use verbal qualifiers and employ misdirection.
Unfortunately, it's tough to remember to do all this while concentring on your opponents and the developing board text. Think about the types of players you're up against and try to anticipate what they expect from you.
Then give it to them hard and fast. This is another area where flop persistence can get you into trouble. Don't be afraid to give up when you're behind.
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8. Pay Attention to Card Dead
This is related to point #6. Card dead is a bigger problem at the low end of low-stakes games. Players in these games simply don't see many flops.
If there's an aggressive raiser in the hand with you, chances are you're going to fold. Same deal if you're out of position. Or if you're sitting next to a robot.
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If you're having trouble getting into the action, try opening more hands or re-raising when you find a hand you like. If that doesn't work, try changing size or putting in a third raise.
If nobody's willing to play with you, try moving to a different table. If that doesn't work, take a break. There's no shame in walking away while you're still up.
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Roulette Mistakes That You Need to Stop Making Right Now9. Make Strong Plans Before and After the Flop
Before the flop: Think carefully about the kinds of hands you want to play in particular situations. When you're in early position heads-up vs. a maniac in middle position, what sorts of hands do you want to see the flop with?
What about on the button versus the same opponent? What about when there's a strong player in the hand? Try to develop plans that take into account the combinations of seats and opponents in the hand with you.
After the flop: This is where most of us struggle. We tend to shut down once a flop has come out, thinking only about how to proceed on this specific street. But the groundwork for post-flop decision making begins before any cards have been dealt.
Flats calls before the flop are more likely to see a checked back stakehorse draw shootout than a flopped set pay more than twice the BB. Plan accordingly.
This is a tricky part of the game and requires experience as well as an understanding of ranges and how they shift as boards develop. Give yourself parameters before the flop so you'll know what to do when the action gets there.
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10. Relax and Have Fun
Poker's not supposed to be stressful. Sure, you want to win but you're not going to win them all. Even the pros lose half their hands.
If you find yourself getting upset at the swings of a single table, consider spreading your bankroll over several tables or even switching to a different game.
Poker's meant to be fun. Enjoy yourself. Enjoy the competition. Enjoy the adrenaline rush of a big bluff or a big call. Enjoy the feeling of suckering yet another jacksonense.
Laugh with your opponents when you both bust a flush on a nine-high board. Celebrate a particularly clever play by sharing a few words and a chuckle.
Poker players are a worldwide brotherhood and sisterhood. Treat yours like family. And remember: Your biggest enemies at the table are tilty greed and impatience.
Leave them at home. Take your time. Enjoy the ride. And donkey stomp the crap out of the competition.
⭐ Best USA Online Casinos (updated better bonuses)Further Reading:
Brian Green is a writer and editor living in Winnipeg, Canada. His first novel, Champion of the World, was published in 2012. He loves writing about movies nearly as much as he loves making them. Brian also writes about foreign policy, history and music when the urge becomes impossible to ignore.
