How To Beat Low Stakes Online Poker
But only if know, and follow, the main strategy needed to win at small stakes poker: fold. The secret to winning at low limit hold’em poker is to fold, and to fold often. Why is folding the key? Because while it may sound obvious, but folding bad hands means you only play good hands. And in the long run, good hands win.
- This course is designed for beginning or struggling poker players that are having difficulties beating online micro stakes No Limit Holdem poker. This course is NOT for experience poker players that can easily beat the micro stakes. Course Description. ACTUAL STUDENT REVIEWS “This is the best course I have ever taken.
- How to Beat Low-Stakes Live Poker Cash Games PokerStarsSchool 1 year ago in Cash Games It’s hard to remember life before PokerStars existed but there was once a time when you had to handle real cards and chips to play a game of poker.
- You don’t just need to beat the other players, you need to beat the house as well. (Rake is much less of a concern in mid and high stakes games as rake impacts decrease in bigger games. For example, the rake at 500NL Zoom on Stars is around 4bb per 100 hands while at 2000NL it’s about 1bb per 100 hands.).
Beating Low Stakes Poker Games
When you sit down at a low stakes poker game, you’re expecting easy pickings. A lot of these games are filled with some of the real novices. The skilled players generally rise up higher, moving into the poker games with bigger limits. However, you shouldn’t turn your nose up at these games, because sometimes you’ll run into some solid players. Some of them live in places where they have limited options and have to play in the low-limit games. Let’s take a look at some ways that you can win tough low stakes games.
Optimal Strategy To Beat Low Stakes Poker Games
How To Beat Low Stakes Online Poker Vegas World
There is one flaw that a lot of the skilled players in low stakes games have, and that’s some hesitation at putting down big stacks in the middle of the game if they don’t have the nuts. They might act strong by putting down some big plays early with a smaller pot, but once they are facing putting in bigger parts of their stack, they will fold unless their hand is really solid. That’s one thing everyone needs to know about poker — no matter what you’ve seen in the movies, coming away with a really strong hand is very difficult.
Once you understand this, you can make a lot of cash in these games when you play them at the real money poker tables, so long as you are a little braver than the opposition. This will allow you to walk away with a lot of pots even if you don’t have a whole lot in your own hand.
Does this mean that you should raise the river at each hand you play?
Absolutely not. The others will smell you out, and you’ll start seeing your own stacks dwindle. However, once you know the tendencies of the opposition, you can start to find your inroads toward victory.
How can you find their tendencies?
Take a look at how frequently they go to showdown. Are you using a HUD and playing online poker? Just look at their WTSD% (percentage of going to showdown). Players who don’t like big pots unless they have a solid hand will often have a lower percentage. If their number is 20 or below, this is almost always a player you can shove off a hand.
However, sample size is important here. If the player has only played 40 hands, you don’t have enough knowledge about this player. Once you pass 200 hands, then you have a fairly good idea of how he will play. If you’re not playing with a HUD, take a look at some of the players’ frequency of pot winning and the hands they show. If they just make a continuation bet and then hang it up if they don’t get a fold, this is a player who you want to scare away from the pot.
When you’re doing this, don’t always try to scare off the same player each time. Spread it around, and let others win sometimes. Make aggressive plays, but time them wisely. If you don’t have anything significant in the pot, then don’t go nuts on it — after all, you’re not risking any equity. If you’re at the river, you might bet or raise so you’ll win. But earlier on, make sure that you have outs. If you’re facing a tight player who just walked in, tread lightly, because it will take him a while to loosen up.
Ready to put your skills to work? Play free online poker now at NLOP.com.
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It’s hard to remember life before PokerStars existed but there was once a time when you had to handle real cards and chips to play a game of poker. However, many poker players will have never stepped foot inside of a card room or casino to play a hand of live poker. Next time you get the opportunity though, there are many reasons why you should take a seat at a live poker table and play some cash games.
Depending on the location, most card rooms will have cash games at relatively low stakes that should suit all poker bankrolls. Take your seat and take a look around the table to see who you are up against. One of the most important skills you must use in live cash games is profiling your opponents; are they drinking? Are they comfortable handling chips and cards? Are they revealing their strategies in the way they speak about poker? Do they look nervous? Pay attention to these questions and more – the information that they reveal should help guide how you play your hands.
Typically, players will be a bit looser in a live cash game environment than they would be on PokerStars. After all, nobody chooses to sit in a poker game and fold hand after hand! If your intention is to make the best decisions and win some money, you should adopt a tight-aggressive strategy. While everyone around you is gambling with weak starting hands you should look to enter pots where it is likely you have the best hand. This means playing strong Aces like Ace-Ten and better, rather than hands like Ace-Two that are likely to be dominated. Slow playing is also hugely overrated in live cash games and should generally be ignored. If you pick up a big hand, either pre-flop or post-flop, then it usually pays to play it fast. Unless you’re unfortunate you will usually find one player on the table that is more than happy to pay you off.
In live cash games there are other factors you should be aware of that differ from playing on PokerStars too. Unlike online you will have to calculate how much money each player has in their stack yourself. Make sure you have at least an educated guess as to how much money each player in front of them has as this should dictate the way that you play. For example, there’s a big difference shoving with pocket Tens versus a player who has 30BBs to one who has 200BBs! It also makes sense to try and hit a set with a small pair versus an opponent who is playing 100BB+, but it’s a poor play versus someone with just 20BBs in front of them. If you make silly errors like these then you could live to regret it!
Different casinos and card rooms will often have slightly varied rules and etiquette. One common rule most clubs will allow is the option to straddle. If you’re not familiar with this rule, it means that the player to the left of the big blind has the optional choice to add in a third blind that is double the size. So, for example, in a £1/£2 cash game the straddle would be £4. While it can get expensive, there are benefits to straddling. If the game is tight and a bit boring, it encourages players to gamble a bit more as there is extra cash in the middle to steal. It will also give you an aggressive image in the eyes of the other players, which can be very valuable if you are a tighter player, because it will help you get paid off when you hit something big. Also, all straddles are live, which means that you will have the option to raise (if there hasn’t been a raise before it gets to you) or re-raise once it’s your turn to act. If you are lucky enough to have been dealt a strong hand – which will happen on occasion – then this can be hugely profitable. Many players will simply think you are defending your straddle and not believe you!
How To Beat Low Stakes Online Poker
For many players, nothing will ever beat the convenience and joy of playing online poker on PokerStars. However, if you are after something a little different then live cash games are a great alternative. They are fun, potentially profitable and you may even make some friends at the table too.