Beating Low Stakes Poker Games
When you sit down at a low stakes poker game, you’re expecting easy pickings. A lot of these games are filled with some of the real novices. The skilled players generally rise up higher, moving into the poker games with bigger limits. However, you shouldn’t turn your nose up at these games, because sometimes you’ll run into some solid players. Some of them live in places where they have limited options and have to play in the low-limit games. Let’s take a look at some ways that you can win tough low stakes games.
Optimal Strategy To Beat Low Stakes Poker Games
There is one flaw that a lot of the skilled players in low stakes games have, and that’s some hesitation at putting down big stacks in the middle of the game if they don’t have the nuts. They might act strong by putting down some big plays early with a smaller pot, but once they are facing putting in bigger parts of their stack, they will fold unless their hand is really solid. That’s one thing everyone needs to know about poker — no matter what you’ve seen in the movies, coming away with a really strong hand is very difficult.
Once you understand this, you can make a lot of cash in these games when you play them at the real money poker tables, so long as you are a little braver than the opposition. This will allow you to walk away with a lot of pots even if you don’t have a whole lot in your own hand.
Does this mean that you should raise the river at each hand you play?
Absolutely not. The others will smell you out, and you’ll start seeing your own stacks dwindle. However, once you know the tendencies of the opposition, you can start to find your inroads toward victory.
How can you find their tendencies?
Take a look at how frequently they go to showdown. Are you using a HUD and playing online poker? Just look at their WTSD% (percentage of going to showdown). Players who don’t like big pots unless they have a solid hand will often have a lower percentage. If their number is 20 or below, this is almost always a player you can shove off a hand.
However, sample size is important here. If the player has only played 40 hands, you don’t have enough knowledge about this player. Once you pass 200 hands, then you have a fairly good idea of how he will play. If you’re not playing with a HUD, take a look at some of the players’ frequency of pot winning and the hands they show. If they just make a continuation bet and then hang it up if they don’t get a fold, this is a player who you want to scare away from the pot.
When you’re doing this, don’t always try to scare off the same player each time. Spread it around, and let others win sometimes. Make aggressive plays, but time them wisely. If you don’t have anything significant in the pot, then don’t go nuts on it — after all, you’re not risking any equity. If you’re at the river, you might bet or raise so you’ll win. But earlier on, make sure that you have outs. If you’re facing a tight player who just walked in, tread lightly, because it will take him a while to loosen up.
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