[SkyyCaptain]

Well, Here's my 20 cents worth, and in all of it you should only value 1.5, but I play micros where the guys are like you say.


Okay, well in my opinion, you're either playing too much too early, or not enough in the middle. Very rarely should you be willing to go for broke with a weak ace and that's usually with only one or two contenders maximum(button, or final table). If your opponents are really this weak then you need to remember not to undervalue TPGK. If you're playing micro/very small stakes then throw in pot size bets rather than 1/2-3/4 as your bluff out bet. Fire at least twice. Since you'll be doing this observant players will notice that pot sized bets don't get shown down, this means your value bets should be just as strong.

Play almost nothing in the first few blinds, look for 99+ and AK/AQ etc, weak pairs only from late position, and not in a raisedpot. Ultra tight still works. I usually end up with about the average stack, but to get there usually the blinds are on their 4th or 5th level and I double up through some loose cannon. When you hit M of 5 (i.e. you have 1500 at 100/200 blinds) You're going for broke the next good hand you get, regardless of the flop (AT+). Doesn't mean you push in PF, but it does mean that you're pushing the flop no matter its color. Make sure you've got at least half your stack left for the flop because if you don't you have zero FE and should have pushed in preflop. You can limp with a medium strong holding from late position but other than that you're looking to double up hard against one of the looser big stacks.

Also, don't be afraid to push hard preflop when the blinds are climbing. Every time you steal you pick up a sizeable chunk of your stack. Don't do it from early position with nothing, but by now you've probably been playing one or two players continuously and have some idea of who's folding when.

Early in the game if you've noticed limp-callers then you should only raise if you really want the pot to be larger. If you've got AA and somebody lips ahead of you, raise. If you've got AJ(a drawing hand), limp.

The same goes for people who don't fold: If they don't fold you're only raising hands you think you're winning. Sometimes you have to learn the hard way they'll cling with overcards but it shouldn't cost you your entire stack and it's a wonderful tidbit of information so make a note on that guy and the next time you've got a monster against him don't slowplay it, come out firing hard (pot sized bets on each street, maybe an all in on the river if it isn't ridiculously overbetting) because he's probably calling.

In all I have stats ranging from 15-20% of flops until middle-late in the tourney, where it increases dramatically enough that people start to push back (but they tend to be stupid and pick hard-to-win battles)

Once the blinds are big you should never feel bad about picking up the blinds even if you're the small stack and occasionally you should make plays without cards(if you're looking for an all in you should wait for the cards) and in these cases you're giving up if they show strength. Its a good way to increase your stack from small to medium where you'll have a lot more threat power.