No Limit Hold'em

Beating micro-stakes full ring no limit games is easy. However, understanding why certain strategies work and why you are implementing them is critical to your growth as a poker player. Poker is certainly a game of skill. Although winning money is a goal of playing poker, the true goal of this game is to make the same correct decisions over and over again while making fewer mistakes than your opponents.

The Fundamental Theorem of Poker as presented by David Sklansky is as follows:

“Every time you play a hand differently from the way you would have played it if you could see all your opponents’ cards, they gain; and every time you play your hand the same way you would have played it if you could see all their cards, they lose. Conversely, every time opponents play their hands differently from the way they would have if they could see all your cards, you gain; and every time they play their hands the same way they would have played if they could see all your cards, you lose.”

Most of the players you will find at the micro-limits will violate this theorem by making mistakes just about every time they have to make a decision. The key to beating the micros is to let these players (also known as fish) hang themselves. At these lowest levels of poker, there is simply no need for any kind of fancy play. As a matter of fact, fancy play will be completely lost on most micro-stakes players and will more often than not cause you nothing but frustration.

Beating the micros involves nothing more than consistently making the right choices like betting your strong hands and having the discipline to let your weaker hands hit the muck. Couple this with your opponents typically and consistently making the wrong choices and you have a recipe for pure profits.

The only advantage many micro-stakes players will have over you is their unpredictability as many of their actions will simply have no rhyme or reason. The things these people do will often astound you. You best option is to follow the strategies outlined in this book to play a fundamentally sound game. Winning will certainly follow.

The scope of this book focuses on the micro-limit full ring games up to and including NL10. As such, the target audience of this book will consist typically of newer player at the lowest limits. At the end of the day, this book will provide critical knowledge to anyone interested in playing (and beating) the micro-stakes No Limit Hold‟em games online.

There is one other thing that I should mention. Although this book targets those interested in playing the micros online, the strategies and concepts discussed in this book also apply to LIVE low-stakes games such as NL200 ($1/$2 NLHE). So, if you follow the strategies in this book, making a profit at your local casino shouldn‟t be too tall of a task either!

The purpose of this book is to provide micro-limit poker players with the knowledge and insight required for beating even the tiniest of the micro-limits online (<NL25). Many folks look at the micros and say to themselves, “this is easy”. They correctly believe that value betting, refraining from bluffing, and playing tight ABC poker are the keys to beating these micro-stakes games. For the most part, I agree – these keys will help you become a winning player. However, where is the detail? It all sounds well and good but how do you put it into practice?

Beating the micro-stakes full ring no limit games online is actually pretty straightforward but the devil is always in the details. Turning a profit at the micro-limits, although simple with the right strategy, can be difficult for those just starting out. Heck, it can be difficult for seasoned players as well.

If you’ve been playing (or plan to play) any of the full-ring no limit Texas Hold‟em games online at limits up to as high as NL10 but are having trouble turning a profit, this book should help. The purpose of this book is to provide you with important details and strategies required for beating the micro-limits. We‟ll even use actual hands as examples and dissect them so you can see what thought process goes on.

If you are new to No Limit Texas Hold’em, I strongly recommend that you start out at the lowest stakes possible until you get your legs under you and understand the game. Although a typical micro-stakes pot is only less than a buck, learning to beat these games consistently can actually be quite profitable as you learn the game.

I am a micro-stakes specialist. I play mostly NL2 ($0.01 / $0.02 blinds) and NL5 ($0.02 / $0.05 blinds). Now, those levels may not sound all that profitable but when you multi-table 24 tables at a time, the hourly rate can be quite respectable. I generally play no fewer than 20 tables at a time when I play.

I do not play for a living.  I play because it is an enjoyable yet profitable hobby.  However, I do log approximately 20,000 hands of profitable poker per week at times in my spare time.  That being said, I feel I am certainly qualified to provide you with some solid guidance to beating the micro-stakes consistently.  I’m confident that you will certainly become a profitable micro-stakes player if you simply follow the strategies outlined in this book.

The Regular is a dangerous player. Also known as “Regs”, these players know how to play. They are positionally aware so that by itself makes them better than 90% of the players you‟ll face at the micros. You, for the most part, will do well just to avoid these guys when you can. Remember, the path of least resistance to profits at the micro-stakes is “fat value”! Squaring off with regs that play thousands of hands a day (and are actually good at it) hardly qualifies as extracting fat value.

Now, I‟m not saying that you should not play against them. What I am saying, however, is that you need to proceed with caution when you have one or two at your table. You need to understand that your TPTK, which is usually good against most micro players, will generally be no good if a reg is taking you to the river. At the end of the day, a “reg” is what you are aspiring to become. Following the concepts in this book is your first step.

Obviously, my poker book (No Limit Hold’em – Beating the Micro Stakes) is my favorite poker book.  However, there are some other very good poker books on the market today.  Some of the best poker books that I’ve come across are:

• Every Hand Revealed by Gus Hanson
• Super System by Doyle Brunson
• The Theory of Poker by David Sklansky

These three books have to be some of the best poker books available.  I think most would agree that the last two are certainly classified as two of the best poker books.  As for the first one, Every Hand Revealed, I find it to be a very good book from an entertainment perspective while at the same time providing good info.  I really like the way Gus put the book together.