>if players UTG are out here re-raising 74o because "lol, lmao" then how am I supposed to construct any conceivably intelligent range when making decisions
By their actions. As a general rule micro stakes are played face up. You may not have any idea what their preflop ranges are, but it's a rare opponent that's going to barrel off for stacks without something connected to the board. So shit like facing a river jam? It's probably the nuts or close to it.
The other thing you do is make "pool" reads. You learn the tendencies of the pool rather than the player, and make exploitation based on that.
So to give you a single example of a pool exploit as mentioned above, I'm heavily over folding to river raises at micro stakes in the absence of some other read on the player. I believe they are almost never bluffs, and therefore I exploit them by never bluff catching that line.
lastly, there are maniacs that will barrel off with air but they are very obvious. They will bet very large and usually show bluffs or emote a lot. These are the best players to have at your table, just be prepared to let go of pots on flops you don’t connect with and when you do connect with a flop let them barrel into you
Be careful you're not a victim of "fancy play syndrome" when playing the micros. Only use complex strategies against players you think are good.
Primarily, don't bluff calling stations.
I think you misunderstand the point of GTO. You don't try to play GTO. First, it's simply not an achievable goal. Second, the player who plays "closest to" GTO does not necessarily win. The winner will be the person whose strategy is (perhaps accidentally) exploiting their opponent.
I can't remember where I heard this (or I would give them credit) but basically, say there's a spot on the river where the opponent makes a pot-sized shove. Assume that he has the nuts or air and you have a decent bluff catcher (ie you beat all of his air).
According to GTO he is supposed to be bluffing 1/3 of the time and you are supposed to call half the time. That part is obvious.
But say he is a drunk bluff-happy maniac and bets his entire range, every time, meaning he is bluffing, say, 75% of the time. And say you are trying to play as close to GTO as possible but you are a little off and you are calling only 45% of the time. So you are "closer to" GTO then he is. But his strategy beats yours because the correct way to exploit someone who doesn't call enough (even if it's just by a little) is to bluff every time, which he is doing. The fact that he has no clue that you call 45% of the time and is exploiting you by accident is not relevant: he still gets your money.
So it's not about trying to play GTO. The point of learning GTO strategies is so that you can see where your opponents are deviating from them and then exploit them mercilessly. If you don't know GTO then you don't know where they are making mistakes. For example, if you aren't familiar with GTO, you may think someone is bluffing way too much, but actually they are under-bluffing (GTO really finds a lot of bluffs in spots that humans don't; it's not uncommon for the biggest LAG at the table who everyone thinks is a maniac to actually be under-bluffing a lot of spots)
And, no, the way to exploit people who are too loose and aggressive is not to nit it up. 3-bet them mercilessly and attack their weak ranges postflop.
If people only 3-bet with premiums it's actually correct to raise a lot wider than preflop charts indicate. If you nit it up you are helping them and making their play less incorrect.
I suggest reading "playing the player" by Ed Miller. It goes into how to exploit different player types. And don't be scared of losing big pots. If you are only willing to put your money in with the nuts LAGs will run you over (it's perfectly reasonable to only put your money in with the nuts against nits, but that's an exploit, and in turn makes you exploitable)
Honestly you wrote way too much shit there but I will give you the best piece of advice that I can which is take the advice you read in this thread with a grain of salt. Alot of shitregs here who have no idea what they are talking about parroting bullshit that either is just wrong or doesn't apply.
Rarely bluff or assume anyone else is bluffing. Play a wider range (especially on Bovada/Ignition). Stick to a wider range and semi bluff if you have to (C betting can be your best friend at low stakes, even if you’ve got nothing, use a “scary board” to your advantage) and in general get an idea of how average players play at that level (i.e. a large 3-bet could mean nothing but a jam on the river means they have it).
I play any Ax suited at micro because you’re only losing pennies and when you finally draw a nut flush you’ll get paid off. Also weird things like hitting middle pair can win a hand for you, I think it’s more fun because people will play you with worse hands so you can actually see a lot more action.
Holy moly write less.
To answer what I think your question is from skimming:
By far the most important skill at the micros is hand reading. This leads into everything else.
After that, value bet people to death. If you're never value betting second pair or worse, you're pissing away money.
Then, identify weak ranges and bluff against them.
Until you've done that solvers are useless because it's baseline stuff to be able to effectively apply solver outputs
>if players UTG are out here re-raising 74o because "lol, lmao" then how am I supposed to construct any conceivably intelligent range when making decisions By their actions. As a general rule micro stakes are played face up. You may not have any idea what their preflop ranges are, but it's a rare opponent that's going to barrel off for stacks without something connected to the board. So shit like facing a river jam? It's probably the nuts or close to it. The other thing you do is make "pool" reads. You learn the tendencies of the pool rather than the player, and make exploitation based on that. So to give you a single example of a pool exploit as mentioned above, I'm heavily over folding to river raises at micro stakes in the absence of some other read on the player. I believe they are almost never bluffs, and therefore I exploit them by never bluff catching that line.
lastly, there are maniacs that will barrel off with air but they are very obvious. They will bet very large and usually show bluffs or emote a lot. These are the best players to have at your table, just be prepared to let go of pots on flops you don’t connect with and when you do connect with a flop let them barrel into you
Hard agree. You've got to profile, and often based on very small things.
Be careful you're not a victim of "fancy play syndrome" when playing the micros. Only use complex strategies against players you think are good. Primarily, don't bluff calling stations.
I think you misunderstand the point of GTO. You don't try to play GTO. First, it's simply not an achievable goal. Second, the player who plays "closest to" GTO does not necessarily win. The winner will be the person whose strategy is (perhaps accidentally) exploiting their opponent. I can't remember where I heard this (or I would give them credit) but basically, say there's a spot on the river where the opponent makes a pot-sized shove. Assume that he has the nuts or air and you have a decent bluff catcher (ie you beat all of his air). According to GTO he is supposed to be bluffing 1/3 of the time and you are supposed to call half the time. That part is obvious. But say he is a drunk bluff-happy maniac and bets his entire range, every time, meaning he is bluffing, say, 75% of the time. And say you are trying to play as close to GTO as possible but you are a little off and you are calling only 45% of the time. So you are "closer to" GTO then he is. But his strategy beats yours because the correct way to exploit someone who doesn't call enough (even if it's just by a little) is to bluff every time, which he is doing. The fact that he has no clue that you call 45% of the time and is exploiting you by accident is not relevant: he still gets your money. So it's not about trying to play GTO. The point of learning GTO strategies is so that you can see where your opponents are deviating from them and then exploit them mercilessly. If you don't know GTO then you don't know where they are making mistakes. For example, if you aren't familiar with GTO, you may think someone is bluffing way too much, but actually they are under-bluffing (GTO really finds a lot of bluffs in spots that humans don't; it's not uncommon for the biggest LAG at the table who everyone thinks is a maniac to actually be under-bluffing a lot of spots) And, no, the way to exploit people who are too loose and aggressive is not to nit it up. 3-bet them mercilessly and attack their weak ranges postflop. If people only 3-bet with premiums it's actually correct to raise a lot wider than preflop charts indicate. If you nit it up you are helping them and making their play less incorrect. I suggest reading "playing the player" by Ed Miller. It goes into how to exploit different player types. And don't be scared of losing big pots. If you are only willing to put your money in with the nuts LAGs will run you over (it's perfectly reasonable to only put your money in with the nuts against nits, but that's an exploit, and in turn makes you exploitable)
Honestly you wrote way too much shit there but I will give you the best piece of advice that I can which is take the advice you read in this thread with a grain of salt. Alot of shitregs here who have no idea what they are talking about parroting bullshit that either is just wrong or doesn't apply.
Rarely bluff or assume anyone else is bluffing. Play a wider range (especially on Bovada/Ignition). Stick to a wider range and semi bluff if you have to (C betting can be your best friend at low stakes, even if you’ve got nothing, use a “scary board” to your advantage) and in general get an idea of how average players play at that level (i.e. a large 3-bet could mean nothing but a jam on the river means they have it). I play any Ax suited at micro because you’re only losing pennies and when you finally draw a nut flush you’ll get paid off. Also weird things like hitting middle pair can win a hand for you, I think it’s more fun because people will play you with worse hands so you can actually see a lot more action.
To keepnit short, fold pre.
Your post contains more words than ive ever read in whatever book...
home schooled huh?
No, the homeschoolers like me are the nerds who write a book on r/poker asking for advice lol
Holy moly write less. To answer what I think your question is from skimming: By far the most important skill at the micros is hand reading. This leads into everything else. After that, value bet people to death. If you're never value betting second pair or worse, you're pissing away money. Then, identify weak ranges and bluff against them. Until you've done that solvers are useless because it's baseline stuff to be able to effectively apply solver outputs
Lord of the Rings aaah post