10 Tips for Beating Small stakes Poker
Beating small stakes poker is normally the first milestone for any new poker player. Even when just starting out, this shouldn't be a difficult task, so to help you on your way; here are our 10 Tips for Beating Small stakes Poker.
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1 - Stay Tight
A common mistake for most new players is the inability to fold hands. This is normally just a lack of knowledge as to what hands are worth playing, which needs to be eradicated as soon as possible. For each bad hand you play, you will be losing at least one big blind, considering you don't win the hand. If you are being dealt 80+ hands an hour this adds up to a massive amount of big blinds, severely diminishing your win rate.
2 - Learn Position
The key factor to every poker hand is the position you are in. Hand strengths are all dependent on your position on the poker table, with the strength increasing the later your position. For example, ten-nine suited is an easy fold from under the gun, but if you are situated on the button the hand is now fairly strong.
3 - Keep it simple
Fancy plays are not needed and are often the downfall to a lot of small stakes players. You have to remember your opponents are playing this level for a reason - they are not good at poker. You may have an advanced skill level to your opponents, but trying to double-barrel bluff on a dry board is not needed at the micros, and will more then likely lose you a lot of money. Just keep your play simple, value bet your good hands and fold the bad ones.
4 - Don't call down too much
Calling down hands on every street is another huge leak for small stakes players. Chasing draws does not equate to profitable poker, so stick to playing made hands instead of chasing them whenever possible.
5 - Work on your game
The only way you will get better at poker is by playing hands and reviewing your sessions. Poker is a game of strategy, so creating and tweaking your strategy is highly recommended. You can do this by purchasing poker tracking software, which will give you records of every hand you have played. You can then go through hands which you played well and badly, and make sure you don't make the same mistakes again.
6 - Table Selecting
Although almost every table at these levels will have at least one bad player sat down, why not sit down with 6 or 7 bad players instead? Try to find the tables with the highest players per flop percentage and the highest average pot. However don't dive straight into a game, sit around for a couple of minutes just observing the play, spotting the fish and working out whether this game has the best edge for you.
7 - Making Hero Folds
Many players lose too many medium sized pots trying to make hero folds to a big bet on the river. Being able to spot a bluff on the river will often win you a buy-in at the micros, with players all too ready to throw their whole stack in the middle after missing their outs.
8 - Bankroll Management
This is another huge problem for micro players. If you haven't got the money to deposit $500 to play mid stakes games, then don't play them. Trying to double up your $100 bankroll at $1/$2 will only lead to one outcome, a very happy mid stakes regular. Stick to the 10x the maximum buy-in rule as much as possible and the chances of you going bust will be slim.
9 - Tilting
Being able to keep a hold of your emotions during a poker game is the difference between being an average poker player to being a great one. If one hand can cause you to destroy your bankroll, and maybe a few keyboards or mice, it's time to sort your tilting problems out. As soon as you feel the red mist approaching, log off! Do something that calms you down then, when you feel ready, return to the computer and start a new session.
10 - Don't move up till you are ready
Just because your bankroll is ready to take the step up to the next level of stakes doesn't mean you are. Try adding a table or two of the next level to your current games and see how you do. If you’re winning at a good bb/100 then move up permanently, if your break even or losing then spend a bit more time learning the game at the current level you are at.
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