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May 26, 2010
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TPE pros,
I have watched a few videos so far and have taken notes and really really tried to understand the concepts being discussed. My question is, since I am a small stakes grinder how appliciable are the plays here at the small and micro stakes level? I am aware that players down at my level don’t really fold all that often and probably don’t think past level 1. Is there an adjustment(s) that has to be made when trying to apply some / all of the concepts we are taught due to the overall weakness of the players?
I guess every situation is different but I am wondering about a few things such as:
1. The bet sizing of the 3-bet: From what I have seen so far, ususally the 3-bet raise is about 2.x the original raise. Guy raises to 1600 in MP, button (us) re-raises to 3655. This may work fine in a higher buyin MTT but for me, personally, I can see myself getting called more then I get a fold just because the players skill level is low (for the most part). Should we be increasing our 3-bet bet sizing to make it a little more difficult for the fishcakes to call?
2. The bet sizing of the opener: you guys are opening about 2.x the BB which to me, seems a little small down here in fishcake land. I understand the concept of making your opening raises 2.5x or even smaller to manage your stack, keep the pot size resonable and accomplishing the same goals raising 2.x rather then 3x or 2.5x, but won’t players at my level just find it easier to call because the raise is so ‘small’ in their eyes?
3. What would you guys recommend I (and other small stakes players) do to ‘practice’ the concepts taught here. Should we be play a bunch of really cheap ‘throw away’ tournaments to gain experience and try to apply the concepts dicussed in the videos? I really want to become a much better poker player but I am concerned that at my current buyin level I may become very frustrated with the fact that the players just won’t fold. I guess I really have to become more aware of the table dynamics, player tendencies and not being afraid to pull the trigger and also, picking my spots alot better then I have in the past.
Thanks for reading 
You will get flatted alot wider more often in lower stakes for sure. You just have to play according to how you perceive the players, is it a loose fish flatting your 3b out of position? Then you are going to take it down on the flop with a cbet more often than not, same with normal raised pots, just get a feel for your opponents and board textures and you will take alot of pots down with cbets. This used to be a leak of mine, not cbetting enough when I miss flops, or not delayed cbetting when checked to twice, stuff like that. You will pick up on tendencies like this as you play more and get involved in more raised/3b pots, just don’t be scared and focus on the game and optimal plays.
I agree with Metasploit on this one…
I’ve final tabled quite a few lower stakes MTT’s the past few weeks and months (midnight madness, daily doubles, $26 tournaments, $10 tournaments etc) and basically my preflop bets are almost always 2.5 X and the usually tend to work
Also, when you are 3 betting lets say in your example 1600 to 3655…i’d usually go a bit higher to 4299 or something around that just so it looks significant enough and it tends to work. However to be able to do such bets you need a really big stack.
I’ve also noticed that when you think you have the best hand, you usually do have it against these lower staked players. In this case if i have around 20-35 BB’s I usually push all my chips as a 3 bet because I usually get one sucker to call in a multiway pot. Keep in mind though there are times when they will suck out but I see this as a very profitable play.
Example: Last night i was in a multiway pot with 3 others and I flopped a set. It was raised to me less than half the pot and I pushed in all of my 10000 chips into a pot of 3000 and i got 1 sucker to call. This usually works.
Anyways hope this helped and good luck to you at the tables.
TPE Management
March 17, 2010
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Lots of good advice in this thread.
When I play smaller stakes the rule I keep in my mind is this:
Do not expect the opponent to be thinking on any level higher than 2, therefore do not take any lines which requires the opponent to make a sophisticated (or even simple) analysis of your range or your perception of their range. This will usually lead to ABC poker.
Just play solid and make less mistakes. Build pots with big hands. When you have the nuts, always take lines that will get max value out of 2nd best. The best thing a good player can do against bad players is extract value because they are typically calling stations.
You can’t really range them well because they call so wide. Don’t get involved in marginal spots too often, just stick to extracting value. Later on, pick on the nits who are trying to survive.
RonFezBuddy said:
Lots of good advice in this thread.
When I play smaller stakes the rule I keep in my mind is this:
Do not expect the opponent to be thinking on any level higher than 2, therefore do not take any lines which requires the opponent to make a sophisticated (or even simple) analysis of your range or your perception of their range. This will usually lead to ABC poker.
Just play solid and make less mistakes. Build pots with big hands. When you have the nuts, always take lines that will get max value out of 2nd best. The best thing a good player can do against bad players is extract value because they are typically calling stations.
You can’t really range them well because they call so wide. Don’t get involved in marginal spots too often, just stick to extracting value. Later on, pick on the nits who are trying to survive.
this is great advice. and one thing that i will recommend to anyone trying to get better and move up is heed the advice of RFB because he is a sage.
i, for one, wouldn’t be where i am without him.
one thing that i see in the strat forums from time to time is people trying to get a little too tricky/cute/LAG for their stakes. i think that at the smaller games your best to just play solid and make as few mistakes as possible. don’t worry about balancing your EP stealing range, because no one is paying attention!
that’s not to say that you should play completely unbalanced and not even know what a balanced range looks like, but really your edge is going to come more from making far fewer mistakes than your opponents than it is from being a complete sicko and owning them over and over.
just play solid but always be working on your game so that when your bankroll is ready to move up you are too.
ya at lower buyins if you have people who are never folding you can just nit it up with your grandma and get paid on hands and even blind down and pushbot where people call too tight just play solid don’t try to bluff , no need to 3bet light if they are calling really light, just 3bet with solid hands
May 26, 2010
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Thanks for the advice guys
I try and just bet 2.5X the bb preflop and outplay them after the flop. These guys call a LOT of raises preflop, but check if they miss. A c bet will usually take it down in this instance.
April 16, 2013
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Also at the lower buyins the players tend to play the bubble like absolute nits. You can tell quickly whos playing to make the money with their 4bb stack and shove the second the bubble bursts and who is actually trying to exploit this.
Against maniac fish, taking check-call lines with hands like KQ on K53 will make a ton of money too as they feel like they can't give up and very rarely turn up with a better hand.
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