How to Play in Lower-Stakes Poker Games

by Dougie Goguen | Jan 19 2012

OK, let's be honest: you're not going to make a lot of money in smaller-stakes cash games, but they're a great way for the smarter player to bolster their bankroll and get a solid understanding of the game. A lot of professional poker players say it's not profitable to play in the low-stakes games, but I've found that with a bit of practice, you can actually make real money from the tables.

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You're going to find that players in smaller-stakes games tend to chase draws more and operate much more aggressively, but that gives you a simple baseline for how you should play: tight aggressive.

Preflop
Position is one of the biggest parts of strategy low-stakes online poker games. If you're early in the betting, you're going to want to play only the absolute best hands: AA, KK, QQ, JJ, AQ and AK. If you're after the blinds and the action has been a bit soft in general, you may want to limp in with pocket tens or nines and you have to remember that AJ is always more tempting than it should be to smart players. You're better off folding everything else when playing from the blinds or immediately after.  Later positions get more information and have a tiny bit more freedom in their betting, but early players have to keep things tight.

Postflop Play
Do not overthink your game when you are playing for smaller stakes.  Your opponents will not recognize your bluffs. They don't care about slow-playing. When you have the right cards, go hard and let them hand you their money. After all, they're usually novices who don't understand that they don't have to keep betting and will just contribute to your own if there's any chance they might make a pair or so forth.

Much like you're likely to Keep It Simple, Stupid, other players are going to stick to the basics of the game and when they're betting heavily and raising against you, it's safe to assume they've got a good run set up. If they check-raise all-in when third card of a flush draw hits? It's a flush. Check, check and then bet on the turn? It helped them. Bet preflop and checked the flop? He's got nothing or to board haven't helped them out.

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These tips are good for not just the regular player that's stepped down to lower stakes games, but a good checklist for players that are first entering smaller-stakes games as well.  You'll get an insight into how more experienced players see the game and see how you can expand your horizons at the tables as well.

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