The Difference with Micro Stakes Poker

On the one hand you have heard all the the theory in the world about the correct way to play No Limit Texas Hold Em. You need to calculate your pot odds, you work out your implied odds, you decide how much to raise to make calling very difficult for your opponent. Then on the other hand you have micro stakes poker table and all that fancy-schmancy tomfoolery mentioned above gets thrown straight out the window.

At the micro stakes NLHE tables you've got the occasional tight aggressive player who will only play his quality hands, usually pretty well with a solid pre-flop raise and a nice continuation bet. But he's the exception, vastly outnumbered by a motley assortment of wildly loose gamblers who compulsively play every hand with a limp or a call. Sometimes you'll get the raise at all costs aggressive bastard whose favourite move is to play back All-In at you whenever you raise. It's a wild ride of unexpected plays, atrocious bad beats and the most frustrating of senseless trips to the river only to drown on a 1-outer.

If you're planning on playing micro-stakes poker, don't expect that a pre-flop raise will thin the number of opponents down to 1 or 2. Oh no, my friend, at the micro tables you will regularly be playing 5 or more handed. And if the flop lands with a possible flush draw or a possible gutshot straight dra to your TPTK, well you ain't shaking anyone off easily. Y'see the odds against hitting that gutshot means nothing to the micro-fish.

The great news if you're planning a more traditional approach is that the micro table player is very easy to peg. They'll be flipping over all sorts of shit after calling with A-rag or they'll be folding after the river, obviously chasing a draw that didn't hit. As long as you're prepared to note the plays and keep your head when the inevitable bad beats come your way, you're going to come out ahead. It just may more of a grind than you're used to.

Oh, and one last thing. When a micro stakes dweller pushes All-in after the river, you can guarantee he's hit whatever he was chasing. Subtlety is NOT part of the micro stakes player's repertoire.