First and foremost, you will want to make sure that you actually don’t’ try to go against them directly. Don’t try to steal pots — let good poker theory prevail here. You don’t want to try to bluff a microlimits player because all they’re going to do is be a calling station. They’ll call amount anything if they feel there’s a chance they are going to win, so why even put yourself through that?
Don’t let yourself fall into the trap of being emotional. They are just poker players that don’t know any better. Let them crash and burn — you’re a player that believes in solid poker theory. You’re a player that doesn’t take the game emotionally. The moment that you start getting worked up about the world of poker…well…that’s when they get you. That’s when you begin losing hands where you actually had a chance. When your concentration is messed up, it can feel like absolutely everything is going to be a problem, and that’s not a good way to play poker. You might as well go ahead and give up before you even tackle microlimits.
Make sure that you quiet your inner teacher when it comes to the microlimits players. We know that there is social elements to poker, but sometimes you just need to let fish be fish — hunt them, don’t teach them. Yeah, that sounds cruel but this is poker, not a scouting trip. There’s no need to hold hands around the fire and sing songs together. You’re competing for real money, so helping the fish is like helping your enemy — it’s just not done. You don’t reach out and help someone that would just take the information and use it to take you down. That wouldn’t make any sense at all!
When it comes to actual playing strategy, don’t be afraid to actually play tight. Bet when you have something good, fold when you don’t have anything. Also, you will want to be careful of players that are raising pre flop. They are not usually bluffing you. It’s tempting to assume that they are, but this assumption is going to end up getting you in a world of hurt — and causing you to lose your chips as well, let’s not forget.
As you can see, you can definitely break into microlimits and do some damage. Since the stakes are so small, remember that you’re going to be playing a lot hands – and we definitely mean a lot of hands. The last thing that you want to do is try to want big changes when small steps are really the best way to go. Why not make sure that you can get started today?