Low Stakes Poker Strategy
The majority of online poker players are losing low stakes players. I think it’s only appropriate to go over some strategy for those types of games. In this article we’ll discuss some of the unique attributes you’ll find when playing low stakes games that are only found strictly at low limit games. We’ll go over both Sit n Go strategy and cash game strategy for low stake tables.
Who Plays Low Stakes Poker
It’s pretty obvious who plays online these days by listening to the chat box. By the rude drunken comments you can usually assume they are college students. It is harmless fun even though it can be quite rude. Mostly college students and possibly even some high school students are playing at these low stakes games.
College students really can’t afford to lose or risk too much money. Most of the time $5-$10 is actually a lot of money to a college student who’s playing with dinner money…for the next couple days. Even though its ten bucks to them they’re really not too worried about losing it even if it may cost them a couple beers for then next couple nights.
While I say a lot of college players stick to low stakes, most of the high stakes online poker pros are very young. Many are still in college when they hit the million dollar mark.
Why Low Stake Poker Games Are Easy
Low stakes poker games are really easy to win money at. Who really cares if you lose $25 these days. It’s just not enough money to stress about. When I say low stakes games I’m generally talking about $50 cash tables or $10 or less Sit n Go’s.
You are much more likely to double your starting stack 10-20 times a month playing low stakes than you are high stakes. Let’s say you start out with $25 as a bank roll. There is really no reason you shouldn’t make $500 a month playing low stakes games. That would mean you would have to double up 20 times a month to pay your rent. Is it doable? Absolutely it’s doable.
It does take some strategy which we’ll soon discuss but it’s what I did every month in college back a couple years ago. On average I cashed out $500 every month playing the $25 cash tables and $10 Sit n Go’s from Party Poker. The great thing was I wasn’t risking a lot of money and the strategy I used almost guaranteed me to win. Low stakes poker is really just common sense. High stakes poker on the other hand takes serious skills and risk taking.
Strategy for Low Stakes Poker
Let’s say you start a bankroll off with $100. Depending on what your specialty is you should adjust your stakes accordingly. With this bankroll size you should either play $10-20 Sit n Go’s or the $25 cash tables.
I wouldn’t play too much more than that until you build your bankroll. This gives you about 5-10 Sit n Go’s to play in and 4 buy in’s on a cash table at worst. Hopefully you won’t have to buy in more than twice without making some money on a cash table or tournament.
If you are a complete newbie at online poker I would suggest playing the Sit n go tournaments first. More advanced players should play a mix of Sit n Go’s and cash tables. Ok so here we go.
Low Stake Sit n Go’s
Sit n Go’s are low risk high payouts. Because we are going to be playing such low stakes you will find that players generally get eliminated very quickly. Within the first few hands you generally have a few players on tilt that will go out after just a few hands have been dealt. You won’t see this too often at the $100 Sit n Go’s. Even if someone is on tilt they think about it a lot more when they could lose $100. Besides, what’s $10 these days. You can barely get lunch for that much.
Persistence and patience pays in low stake games. Players are willing to call your bluffs and pay you off because the stakes are so low. In sit n go’s you will see this very often as well. A player would rather rebuy into another tournament than be left with half a stack and a small chance to win a small payout. They will just pay off your all in bets much more often even when they know they are beat. Unfortunately this can cause a lot more bad beats but just go with the flow and you’ll come out on top.
Another thing to remember is that low stakes sit n go’s are much harder to win. I’m not saying you won’t win money. I’m saying you will find yourself placing in 2nd and 3rd a lot more often than first. Players are so aggressive that they usually double or triple up one or two players in the very beginning making them hard to catch.
Once you make it into the money the player with the most skills will win. This is where you can begin to bluff and take down some larger size blinds not risking your stack too much.
Cash Games – Low stakes
In low stakes cash games you need to be very patient. Players can be way too aggressive and patience will win you a lot of money. Like any time you are playing overly aggressive players you want to be patient and let them make the wrong move. One bad move on their part will give you a large percentage of their stack.
Once again players will be extremely over aggressive in these low stakes cash games. They over bet small pots, re-raise trying to bluff out of position and go all in when they know they are beat. Please do yourself a favor and don’t slow play when at low stake games. There is absolutely no point to slow play. You will find that you will get more callers the higher you bet. All in bets are called more often than not. This is one reason so many players get so upset when they play low stakes games. They try to bluff at pots when their opponent doesn’t care if they lose or not. There is really no skill involved at winning. Playing basic poker will win you more money than if you try to get fancy.
Low Stakes Strategy Review
– Be patient and play preminum hands
– Limp in with small pairs and suited connectors. Overbet the pot when you hit these hands
– Play Sit n Go’s regularly. Play patient and let others knock each other out
– Learn basic poker strategy and stick to the book.
– Make your trips and straights pay you off. Bet big and they will call.
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