Posted by AlCantHang | Filed under Bloggers on the Rail
When you fired up your FTP icon recently, chances are you were prompted to download a new software update. I’ve been waiting for this update because I knew what was coming. Micro-limit tables. One comment I’ve heard from many casual grinders, those who play to unwind or just to have fun, is there were never any micro-limit games offered. Small ball games where they could sling chips without worry. These opportunities were elsewhere but are now here on Full Tilt.
You can find any game at any limit you would like. FTP is spreading 1c/2c No Limit and Pot Limit for Hold’em and Omaha games. The limit versions of these games, as well as the Stud games, start at 5c/10c. You can also find $1 Sit n Go’s (Matrix version also!) and 10c MTT’s. The initial deposit for new players has been lowered to $10 to allow everyone access to play games at levels in their comfort zone.
As you might imagine, there can be quite a difference grinding away at a micro-limit table then you would see in the higher levels. Certain moves and strategies just will not work. There are a few bloggers who spend most of the time grinding as these levels and I’ve asked them to share their thoughts with you.
Today I bring you Gracie of sheverb.com fame. She spends her time making her way through the landmines of micro-limit cash games and gives us her thoughts on the best ways to beat these games. Tomorrow I will share some SnG and MTT tips from Oklahoma’s favorite son GCox.
Penny Ante
by Gracie of sheverb.com
Penny Ante. While defined as “a poker game in which the highest bet is limited to a penny or another small sum,” most people use the phrase to mean any number of worthless activities involving budgetary corruption on a local or global scale. It’s a troublesome phrase. I’m going to suggest we be a little over-the-top-PC here and take the word back. Use it literally.
How about . . . “I play penny ante poker online.”
Okay, I’ll agree. That sounds lame.
But if you’ve not already clicked over to YouTube for that puppy doing that cute thing with that kid or that topless chick, you might have found yourself asking, “Really? Are you serious? What’s the point of playing poker online for pennies?”
I’m so glad you stuck around! Here is the point of playing poker online for pennies.
- You’ve never played poker before.
- You’ve never played online poker before.
- You’ve played online poker before but you’re on tilt from a nasty losing session at a higher limit and the gambler portion of your brain has taken over the calculating-poker-player portion of your brain. You need a little rush to offset the beat. Stepping down a limit or two or five reduces the risk of losing even more.
- You’ve just read about or watched online the latest hottest winningest poker strategy and want to practice it. You know Negreanu’s Low Ball looks awesome. But does it really work?
- You’re home from a night on the town, you’re half in the bag and you want a little hot poker action before you crash.
- The UIGEA passed a couple years ago and you have no way of depositing money into your online poker account without fear of reprisal from the U. S. government and you must protect your bankroll at all costs.
So there’s the why. Should any of those reasons resonate with you, let’s take a brief look at the vast world of online micro limit poker that’s available right now in your den, living room, bedroom, dorm room or for those of you with laptops, bathroom.
What is micro limit poker?
To me, micro limit is anywhere from .1/.2 to .5/.10. I’m pleased to recently discover that Full Tilt will be expanding their .5/.10 games to include some lower limits. You’ll hear varying opinions on what micro limit actually is but in the end no matter how small it starts, pots add up.
Who plays micro limit poker?
Everyone I’ve mentioned above, plus Chris Ferguson.
In an astonishing example of patience and bankroll management, Chris Ferguson turned LESS than a penny into $10,000. It took him a year and a half to do it, but starting with free rolls on Full Tilt, he succeeded. I’m not at all suggesting that you can do that, but it IS people just like you and me who play micro limit. Some are on tilt, some are blowing off steam after a drunken evening, some are learning the game, some just read The Super System or a Hellmuth book or watched some poker on television and want to try out a few new things, and some aspire to achieve what Chris Ferguson did.
How do you play micro limit poker?
This is a question I’m unprepared to answer. My results just aren’t that good. What I can tell you is how to find out for yourself. Simply googling how to play micro limit poker will yield a hundred sites with varying strategies (see links at the end). By reading them you’ll learn the basics.
However, I will tell you that based on these basics I try to remember the following:
Micro limit players are unpredictable. Most micro limit players on any site are inexperienced. Or experimenting. Or inebriated. Or any combination of the three. A good portion of these players will call your pre-flop raises with garbage and many will see you to the river with trashy pairs and busted draws.
Play within your bankroll, but always buy in for the max amount. By not buying in for the maximum amount, you are cheating yourself out of the implied odds of the larger stacks. But you know you’re not playing sensible poker if you don’t have at least 20 buys in safely secured in your bankroll before you sit down. That being said, if you find yourself nearly cleaned out, I wouldn’t necessarily rule out micro limits before reloading. Hey, if Ferguson did it . . .
If you’re serious, invest in poker tracking software. Poker tracker software is like flossing. There’s a minimal amount of effort up front for a huge pay off in the end. But instead of not having to pay exorbitant dental bills due to tooth decay, you’re investing a small amount of time and effort into the health of your bankroll.
Fabricating a table image rarely works. This largely doesn’t work because so many micro limit players are flat out oblivious to it. They aren’t paying attention to the table and are focusing on only their own play. This also doesn’t work because the turnover at micro limit tables is fairly high. People don’t stick around long enough to catch on to your wild and crazy play and they are gone before you have a chance to experience your uber-tight deadly moves.
Don’t ignore pot odds and implied odds. Very few players at micro limits take pot odds and implied odds into consideration. But if YOU do, you can capitalize on that.
Read a bunch, and don’t necessarily watch more live poker on television looking for tips. They are NOT playing micro limit poker.
Any books by Brunson, Caro, Cloutier, Gallant, Gordon, Greenstein, Harrington, Hellmuth, Jones, Mattros, McEvoy, McKenna, Sklansky, Shoten, Vorhaus, Warren and Zee will help you, not hurt you.
Here are some quick google results on Micro Limit Hold’em Strategy:
A Beginners Strategy Guide to Online Micro Limit Hold ‘Em
Texas Holdem MicroLimit Strategy
How to Win at Micro No Limit Cash Games
Finally, buyer beware: All the above being said (and written), I lost $4 while writing this post. 400 pennies!
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Loading ...Tags: AlCantHang, Bloggers on the Rail, Gracie, Guest Posts, Micro-stakes
3 Responses to “Guest Post – Micro-limit Cash Games”
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Kevin Says:
February 17th, 2009 at 10:00 pmInteresting article…
I’m one of those players that has never deposited, but initially won a few dollars thru freerolls and have used that to build a small bankroll that is a few hundred dollars in size now. I’ve been playing daily for several months now. I mainly play SNG’s and MTT’s that are $5 or less but will go up to $10 if there is money added.
I’m a much better tournament player then I am a cash game player simply because my bankroll doesn’t allow for the kinds of loss that cash games can cause.
I can’t say i’ll be embracing or playing at the micro limit games. Having started out with freerolls initially..i would predict that many micro players would play the same way. That meaning: lots of all ins, lots of suckouts, donkey moves, and garbage overall.
For someone who only has 50 cents in their bankroll from placing 97th in a freeroll, it might be a way to double or triple up their bankroll, but for me, i’d rather just spend my hard earned bankroll in a small dollar SNG where at least variance won’t take a chunk out of my bankroll..even at micro limits.
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yestbay1 Says:
February 19th, 2009 at 6:43 pmI have been playing a fair amount of micro-cash games lately, and fewer SNGs. Gracie makes a lot of excellent points. A couple of things that I would like to reinforce: 1. Be aware of your pot odds. Especially in Limit games, there is so much limping and calling with junk that you can get paid off big time if you catch a good hand. 2. Don’t give your opponents too much credit. Most (but not all) of them that I see are strictly playing their cards and not watching what the other players are doing. Yeah, you’ll see an occasional check raise, but that just means that they have the goods and you are beat if you don’t have the nuts.
Great article, Gracie!
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Colleen Says:
February 24th, 2009 at 6:48 pmI was real happy to finally see micro tourneys at full tilt. I just recently started playing here having moved from playing for another sight and had noticed there was no micro games. Often when playing a big tournament I would play micro games so I wouldn’t get to cranked up when it was getting down to the final table. Micro games are a good way to deflect a little to much concentration off the real game so you don’t make any stupid plays and you don’t have to worry about your bank roll going bust in the mean time.
