Moving up the micro stakes cash game ladder

Generally the lower 'cash game' level limit of 0.02/0.05c seems to be tougher to make money than the level up at 0.05/0.10c $10 max buy in 6 player tables playing NL Texas Hold'em in my opinion.  Why?  I guess predominantly because the rewards for winning a pot are less at the lower level.  Seems obvious right, but I've been wondering about this.  Perhaps it is also because players are more comfortable playing at this level?  They may feel that the tiny blinds mean they can just sit it out and wait for AA, KK, AKs, QQ or any other of the top 10 holdings. I would say most likely so.  

$5 max buy-in 0.02c/0.05c blinds

Ive found at both the 0.02c/0.05c and 0.05c/0.10c levels, the players are fairly standard players generally, not too tricky, and on the whole stick to the rule book of playing tight poker.  At 0.02c/0.05c, of course you get a small percentage of those who are generally weak because they may be new to the game and are still learning or feeling their way into the world of online poker.  Or we have the wild, loose and aggressive players described by Phil Helmuth as the 'jackals'.  Maybe they are tilting or maybe their drunk or they just want to play loosely to have fun.  I love these kind of opponents.  These are my favourite type of payers because they create big pots and for me anyway are generally easy to read.  They raise with almost anything so although you do have to be careful, but when you have a strong starting hand and flop something big, well then you know it's going to be pay day!

However, on the whole, this level can be a tad frustrating, unless you're playing Pot Limit Omaha where the games can be a lot looser and bigger pots are created.  I'm not saying you can't make money at the 0.02/0.05c micro stakes level, it just takes a greater amount of patience, and is near impossible to beat the extremely tight nit opponents - like 'getting blood out of a stone'.  

$10 buy in 0.05c/0.10c blinds 

The main difference I think I have found is that at the level up, you can in fact slowly build your stack just from stealing the blinds if the game is overly tight or by simply using your hand reading skills and skilful plays on the various streets.  For a lot of players, and they seem to be mostly little timid at 0.05c/0.10c level, the extra buy in amount leaves more money behind for you to bet, so that also can be a scarier proposition for your opponents if you have just used the check raise play correctly on the turn; a move I've highlighted in my blog post 'fourth street concepts' (taken from Sklansky & Malmuth - Hold'em for Advanced Players.) for example.

For some reason, these players also seem easier to read, perhaps due to the increase in buy amounts aswell. It could be they are less likely to play with anything bad or raise with trash because the stakes are higher.  Of course, playing like this means you become easy to read as they always go in with strong holdings only, so when rags flop you can bet and win a good number of pots, and unlike the lower level, it will be worth it.  Of course, I'll add, this isn't always the case with some players so be careful.

At the same time if you are going to move up to this level if you are a beginner, make sure you have the adequate bank roll of 30 x the maximum buy in, so for the 0.05c/0.10c that would be $10 x 30= $300.  It is important to stick to this rule in case you do lose one or two buy ins, before hopefully bouncing back to make some money!  In my opinion, play at this slightly higher level if you can.  The same amount of effort and energy expended can lead to greater long term success.

I could be wrong, but as you go a level up, only playing ultra - tight poker before the flop just doesn't cut it anymore. Therefore, the higher the level the higher the skill level required. And good players with a good skill level thereby, by my theory will do better at the higher limits. This is a hunch as I'm a micro stakes player!

CONCLUSION

My personal goal is now to read the latest version of Hold'em Poker for Advanced players (2001 edition) because as I mentioned in this month's book review I made, Sklansky & Malmuth contributed an extra 100 pages specifically focusing on short handed games, in response to the predominant 'game types' that have emerged on online poker sites I would presume.

My final tip as both a reminder for both myself and the reader is that at the 0.05c/0.10c level is not to get too tricky, but don't be scared.  Maintain standard play and bet aggressively when you think you're ahead or it's likely the opponent will give up easily, which they seem to do a lot at this level.  Keep in mind the strategies you may have discovered from your own reading, especially in some of the books I've recommended, but don't be fully focusing on using them, just for the sake of trying them out or as Sklansky says 'to impress the opposition'.  This will only lead to trouble.  So use them sparingly and only when you feel the time is right.  Occasionally make a weird play like raising or re-raising with trash or small suited connectors to throw your opponents off; sometimes you'll flop a big hand!  Or you could call on the river when you may feel you should fold to show you won't let people bluff you out, for instance.  Be a tough player.

Next up: the psychology of poker and the different levels of thinking

Thanks for reading!  Good luck at the table all.

Maroonfish.