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.
The strategy to beat loose low stakes cash games is actually very simple. First off, get involved with plenty of hands preflop by coming in for a raise whenever you can. You don't need to wait for. Small Stakes Leaks Strategy Guide. A good attack is no good without a good offense. Most Small Stakes poker regulars know how to blind steal 3bet, c-bet and double barrel proficiently.
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? Low stakes online poker Poker is one of the best low value games to play. This is the only game where you can use low stakes live poker strategy and gain an upper hand through experience. As mentioned above, the skill threshold for this type of game is usually much less.
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!
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.
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.
The strategy to beat loose low stakes cash games is actually very simple. First off, get involved with plenty of hands preflop by coming in for a raise whenever you can. You don't need to wait for. Small Stakes Leaks Strategy Guide. A good attack is no good without a good offense. Most Small Stakes poker regulars know how to blind steal 3bet, c-bet and double barrel proficiently.
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? Low stakes online poker Poker is one of the best low value games to play. This is the only game where you can use low stakes live poker strategy and gain an upper hand through experience. As mentioned above, the skill threshold for this type of game is usually much less.
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!
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.
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.
Low Stakes Online Poker Strategy Real Money
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.
Low Stakes Online Poker Strategy Rules
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