Low Stakes Online Poker Reddit

This is a discussion on Micro Stakes vs Low Stakes? Within the online poker forums, in the Cash Games section; Please help me understand something. I do very well at the $0.25/0.50, $0.50/1.00. The best low stakes poker sites are usually easy to find as the vast majority of poker sites on the Internet will consist of many players with small bankrolls that prefer to stick to micro stakes games such as $0.01/$0.02 or $0.05/$0.10. The best low stakes poker sites cannot center their low stakes only on cash games, however.

  • Games: The reason why you visit online poker sites to begin with, there need to be plenty of varieties to choose from for low-stakes players. Banking methods: While an online casino might tout their low deposit minimums, they might only accept payments from banking methods with higher transfer minimums.
  • Elementary Cash Games: A beginner cash game course which is designed to turn you into a winning player at low stakes. This poker training is quite a cheap course at only $97 which you can learn more about here. Slay 6Max Hyper Turbos: A course where you will be taught all the very elements of 6max hyper Sit and Go Poker. Medium price at $479.

by Michael Wiesenberg © 2019 Great Bridge Links

The first introduction many get to poker is a penny ante game, a private or home poker game in which the social aspect is more important than winning money, usually accomplished by permitting only relatively small bets (that is the stakes often are literally pennies).

Such a game features an atmosphere that is informal, relaxed, loose, and often without strict adherence to rules You may have played in such a game in a college dorm or at family gatherings. The form of poker most often played in these friendly games is five-card draw poker.

The most common forms of poker found in public cardrooms (bricks and mortar casinos or b&ms) are Hold’em, Omaha, and Seven-card Stud. No public cardrooms in North America offer five-card draw, and I can’t find any in the rest of the world in a web search. The other forms of poker feature faster play and more action, and that’s what most b&m players are looking for. If you want a fun game played at low stakes, though, you can find five-card draw at several online poker sites.

Online cardrooms offer five-card draw poker in several formats. You’ll find stakes as small as 10¢/20¢ to as high as $1/$2. You can find bigger games, but they are rare and for the most part usually have only two participants. The games are mainly two formats, limit and no limit.

You can find draw poker at these sites: Betfair, Everest, Ladbroke’s, Tiger Gaming, Bwin, Black Chip, PokerStars.eu, and PokerStars.com. PokerStars has the largest number and greatest variety of draw games.

As with any poker site, familiarize yourself with how things work by first sitting in the free games (those with “play money” stakes). Actual play bears little relation to how the play is in the real money games. When it costs nothing to remain in a hand, you’ll find almost every pot contested by most — if not all — players. In the real money games, most pots are contested by only two players. The free games show you how to bet, how to replace those cards you wish to exchange, and other actions unique to draw.

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Online draw tables have six seats. Similar to hold’em, games have two blinds. In a 25¢/50¢ game, the player to the left of the dealer (small blind) puts 25¢ into the pot before the cards are dealt and the player to their left (big blind) puts in 50¢. The first player to the left of the big blind must either fold, open for an amount equal in size to the big blind, or come in for a raise. They fold, open for 50¢, or (in a limit game) open for $1 (or, in no-limit, come in for a raise, which bet must be $2 or more). The remaining players act in turn, with the same options. After the dealer has acted, the small blind has these options, except that they already have chips in the pot, which are part of their bet). Then the big blind acts, with the same choices. Players then replace any number of cards (the draw), from none (stand pat) to all five, followed by a final round of betting

Winning Strategy

I numbered positions by how many players remain to act. Thus the player to the left of the big blind is 5; the big blind is 0.

Before the draw: position 5, open with a pair of aces or better; position 4, kings or better; 3, queens; 2 (the dealer), tens; 1 (small blind), sixes; 0 wins the pot if no one has opened. Always come in for a raise; in a no-limit game make that 2 to 2.5 times the size of the big blind. Raise in most positions with aces or better (two pair and up) if the pot has been opened for the minimum. If the pot has been raised when it gets to you, generally play only with a hand one better (generally two medium pair or higher) than what the player who raised would on average have.

Generally don’t play four cards to a straight or flush unless the pot already contains at least three times what it would cost to get in (or is very likely to have that much after the draw). That means you often don’t come in first with such a draw. If you have a straight or flush draw that also includes a large pair, it’s often best to draw three cards to the pair.

On the draw, usually take three cards to a pair. Some players always draw two cards to a pair (keeping a kicker), hoping to fool their opponents (which often doesn’t work). To three of a kind (trips), draw either one or two cards, in about the same proportion. (If you always make the same draw, even unsophisticated players will quickly figure out what you’ve got.)

After the draw, generally bet strong hands and check (planning to call or fold based on what you’ve observed about the opponent).

This is necessarily a shortened form of the complete strategy, whose nuances would fill 10 times the allotted space. Watch At the Casino Magazine for more!

Low Stakes Online Poker Reddit

So, you're interested in online poker, but you don't want to risk too much money just yet. Where's the best place to play small stakes online poker for real money?

Below is a table of what I think are the best sites for low limit online poker.

Best small stakes poker rooms.

RankRoomCompetitionCashSNGMacBonusPlay
Nitrogen PokerWeak$20NL$10+50c-Play Now
Ignition PokerWeak$2NL$1+20c$1,000Play Now
SwC PokerWeak$2NL$1+20c-Play Now
Americas CardroomTricky$2NL$1+10c$1,000Play Now
888 PokerAverage$2NL$0.50+5c$400Play Now
Betsafe PokerAverage$4NL$0.10+1c€2,000Play Now

Note: The SNG column indicates the lowest stakes single-table (STT), non-turbo SNGs on offer.

Low stakes online poker reddit games

How I've rated these sites.

Low stakes online poker reddit sites

These poker rooms have primarily been ranked based on players looking to play no limit Texas Hold'em poker online for small stakes, whether that be in cash games or tournaments (i.e. SNGs and MTTs).

Here are the 4 main factors I took in to account when ranking these sites:

  1. The lowest stakes games on offer.
  2. The number of players frequently active at these limits.
  3. How bad the players at these stakes are.
  4. The general overall quality of the poker room based on software, traffic and support.

Clearly the level of the absolute lowest stakes cash games and SNGs on offer at a poker room is one of the biggest factors. It's not much use signing up to a poker room that doesn't offer SNG games under $5, or cash games under $10NL if you have a $30 bankroll. Even if you intend on playing at slightly higher limits anyway, it's always good to have the flexibility there to move down if needs be.

I've also taken in to account the quality of the competition. The softer the competition, the more money you will win – it's as simple as that. Therefore, I've included my rating of the 'softness' of the poker sites in the table to help you make the best choice.

Lastly, player traffic and my rating of the poker room overall has been considered. I'm sure I don't need to explain why on those two counts.

Summary of the smallest stakes games on offer.

Here's a quick summary of the most common limits of micro stakes games available at the majority of online poker sites.

Cash games.

Low Stakes Online Poker Reddit Sites

  • 1c/2c (this is the absolutely lowest level available online)
  • 2c/5c
  • 5c/10c
  • 10c/25c (you can occasionally find 10c/20c games at places like the iPoker network)
  • 25c/50c
SNGs.
  • $1 + 20c
  • $2 + 25c
  • $5 + 50c
  • $10 + $1

Playing micro limit online poker for the first time?

We've all played low stakes online poker; even the best players had to start somewhere. It all starts with grinding it out in the micro stakes cash games or low level tournaments, building a bankroll and moving up to higher limits when you get the chance.

There are two key things to remember:

  1. Take your time and play within your limits.
  2. Keep playing and learning.

1) Take your time and play within your limits.

Good bankroll management is essential. And no, I don't mean that in the 'flossing is essential' or 'remembering your relatives' birthdays is essential' way. I mean it as in 'not turning the gas cooker off before you go to sleep is essential' and 'not starting fights with bears is essential'.

Seriously, treat your bankroll with ultimate respect. Without it, you can't play poker and you can't win money. Don't get careless and fritter your earnings away because you're on tilt.

Here are the basic rules of bankroll management that you should always stick to:

  • Cash games - always have at least 20 buy-ins for the stakes you're playing at.
  • SNGs - always have at least 40 buy-ins (including fees) for the level you want to play at.

If Chris ferguson can do it, so can you.

2) Keep playing and learning.

The more you play and the more you learn, the better you will get. The better you get, the more money you'll win. It's the cycle that every successful poker player has taken and continues to take.

Read strategy articles, read books, watch strategy videos, join a training site.

The information on how to win money from poker is out there, it's just up to you whether or not you take advantage of it.

How the stakes of online poker are categorized.

Technically, $50NL cash games and lower are referred to as the 'micro stakes' and not 'small stakes'. Seems quite strange considering that I'd hardly call $50 (or even $10 for that matter) a micro amount of money. But that's just how it is.

I decided to go ahead and call this page a guide to the best 'small stakes sites' anyway as I know that's what most people are searching for when they use that phrase.

For the sake of education and being thorough, here's how the different levels/limits of NLHE cash games and SNGs are categorized:

CategoryCash GamesSNGs
Micro Stakes$2NL to $50NL$1 to $10
Small Stakes$100NL to $200NL$11 to $50
Mid Stakes$400NL to $1,000NL$51 to $200
High Stakes$2,000NL+$201+

Note: I've used shorthand for the cash game levels in the table above. Stakes written like $50NL indicate the standard maximum 100bb buy-in for that level. So for example, $50NL is the same as writing 25c/50c, and $400NL is the same as writing $2/$4.
This is a common way of writing the varying limits in NLHE cash games. The cool thing about this notation is that it saves you having to try and type that pesky forward slash.

You may also notice that the term 'low limit' or 'low stakes' poker hasn't been used here. That term is more commonly used when referring to playing live poker in casinos, with anything up to $3/$5 being considered low limit (crazy I know). It's just another one of those things in poker.

A few extra tips.

  • Use good bankroll management. I've told you about this before, but it's so important it's worth mentioning at least one more time.
  • Don't get too fancy against micro stakes players. You only need to think one level above a poker player to beat them, and small stakes Texas Hold'em players are thinking on a low level for the most part.
  • Avoid paying more than 10% in tournament fees. Paying 20% in fees for SNGs is just going to kill your winrate. 10% fees are standard at most levels, but in the micro levels at some rooms the fees are bumped up. Either avoid these rooms, or play at a slightly higher level where the fees are more friendly.
  • Take your time. It's not about doubling your bankroll in each session. Poker is a marathon, not a sprint. If you want quick and easy winnings, play roulette.

After that, it's all about time, effort and persistence. Just make sure you give me a shout out when you win your first WSOP main event.

Low Stakes Online Poker Reddit Game

Useful links.

Low Stakes Online Poker Reddit Games

Go back to the Texas Hold'em rooms.