Many players are dismissive of playing at micro stakes. The reason for this is the amounts that the player risks: they are not large enough for him and therefore the game for the majority at micro stakes is similar to the game for candy wrappers... Moreover, many amateur players sit down to micro-stakes without even spending enough time to learn the rules of the game of poker. And most of the poker concepts, tricks and theorems that you have studied in articles and books will only be remotely useful to you here. Nevertheless, according to professional players, micro-stakes are great for starting a professional poker career.

Don't worry, you won't have to keep your knowledge gained in articles, streams and waters for a long time, because nowadays there is a more or less adequate game and players meet already at the NL25 limit, or even at NL10. Now let's list the main features of micro-stakes and playing on them:

  1. Most players have a zero level of thinking, that is, they play focusing only on their cards, and do not think about the actions of their opponents at the table. For this reason bluffing against them will be practically useless... They will not be able to "appreciate" a bluff in which you want to show the strength or weakness of the hand, and will call you with almost any coincidence. Therefore, you need to use bluff and semi-bluff as little as possible, and it is better not to engage in slowplay. The low effectiveness of slowplay is due to the fact that players at micro-stakes overestimate the strength of their hand, and call even in cases when it is necessary to make a pass.
  2. Don't try to read your opponents hands... At micro stakes, players misjudge the strength of their hands and play them wrong. For example, your opponent can call you on all the streets on the board where there are three cards of the same suit and bet on the river. As a result, you may, fearing a stronger flush than yours, fold and it turns out that your opponent only had top pair. Remember, at micro stakes players often overestimate the strength of top pair and overpair. Moreover, very few of them even know about such a concept as “a range of hands in a certain position”, so trying to imagine the range of this or that opponent is simply impossible - they act on the stars.
  3. Many play very loosely, trying to fit into every bank, but you, in contrast to them, try to play tight.
  4. Follow the players... If you see that some of the players fold too often and then suddenly raises, you better play it safe and fold a relatively strong hand, for example, KT of different suits. Against loose players who play any starting hands, this same hand will be very strong, so you'd better play it.
  5. Play strong hands aggressively both preflop and postflop... It is very difficult for micro stakes players who catch a draw hand to get it to fold. And if you bet with your strong hands, the pot will grow rapidly. And, as everyone knows, big cans are only for strong hands. Don't let your opponents come to the flop with any cards - raise so that they pay the maximum for this opportunity.

Finally, it's worth noting that micro stakes play is largely mechanical. There is no place for tricky plays, and you do not need to make difficult decisions that are inherent when playing with opponents with a level of thinking of 3-4 levels. You will have time to show your talents when you increase your bankroll and rise to the limits above.