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I've tried everything from loose passive to tight aggressive.  At this point, I've seen every example of how not to play poker.  Everything that you have outlined in your article "Some sure ways to lose playing holdem" I have seen done repeatedly on microlimit tables. 

I have a theory and I want to know what you think. I don't think there is any way to beat these microlimit tables. There, I said it! Now before you tell me I'm just being unreasonable and the buggers have got me down, let me explain. I know that the game changes depending on who is at the table. Usually there are some people who stay at the tables long enough to the point where I can get a read on them and I "generally" know what they are up to.

The problem is that most players at these tables buyin for the minimum, they stay for 30-50 hands, bust out or cash out, and they're gone. So at any given time, half the people at the table are new and I don't have a read on them yet. So I try to compartmentalize them. They usually appear to be either loose aggressive or tight passive. (The passive ones usually play loose preflop and tight postflop) Misreading these new players usually has disastrous results. The problem arises here. The people you play against at these tables are not disciplined enough to have any consistency. They'll make good plays, turn around, and do something so stupid.

So, I'm trying to play my game (somewhat tight, but unpredictable). I don't want people to read me well so I'll play any two cards from time to time. So, I'm pretty sure these guys don't have a great read on me. I'll pick up some playable hand like AJo in the back, and make a good raise (6x BB) after a couple people limp in. The button calls and the other limpers do too. Why? They think they've got odds to call once the button does. Sure they do. But they pay the price anyway. So the flop comes down J67 with a two hearts. I'm feeling good about my jacks because the others limped in, so I make a good size bet (almost pot size) after they check to me.

Everyone calls and now the pot is HUGE! (This sounds silly but this happens to me a lot) Now my top pair feels like a big loser hand! The turn comes down 7. I try another value bet (10x BB) knowing that everyone will call, and they do. One guy has to go all-in to call me. The river brings a King. No flush, no straight. We all check through to the button and he makes a good bet (quarter of the pot). The other guy in front of me folds. I call because I'm dying of curiosity and I've been leading the hand the whole way. Lets see watcha got! He turns up KQ and I lose. The other guy had a gutshot straight draw (34o).

Sounds silly but it has become routine to me. The guy who won called a pot size bet on the flop with nothing but overcards. The all-in paid a huge price for his gutshot draw and lost. The other guy probably had either a flush or straight draw. AND I STILL LOSE! This is just one example of the insanity. Stuff like this happens all the time. People will call all-in's 1-1 with only an inside straight draw.

Back to the theory! In that example, I was pitted against three people who were willing to pay any price to see the river. It didn't matter what I had. They've got their straight draw/overcards/flush draw and they will complete it or bust. So in the deck there are 16 cards that could come out on the board and beat me. The one flush draw (9 cards), the overcards (4 not counting the hearts), the straight draw (3 not counting the heart) could all beat me. 16 cards against me! I've got top pair with a great kicker but I'm the underdog. In this situation, I'm guaranteed to lose in the long run. The guy behind me liked his hand so much that he kept calling, and the people in front of me would call because they would get odds from his call.

Its like a pack mentality. They continue to call because of the implied odds. They make it impossible for me to win at all when I'm at best 50/50 against the rest of them. In this situation, its easy to get trapped into calling a big river bet because the pot gets big and the odds say I should call. The flipside is that I raise more preflop to get the bad hands out. Yes, this works, but in microlimit you'll either have everyone fold or you'll be reraised all-in. I played 120 hands the other night and saw this happen over and over and over again.

I was determined not to let this happen, so I raised big with the good cards. Guess what? I won 16 pots without so much as a challenge. How many pots did I win at showdown? Zero out of 13 chances! Once somebody called my big bet, it was a feeding frenzy. Pack mentality won. I bought in 4x for the full amount and lost every penny every time. Usually I would lose to somebody's suited connector. And I was losing with GOOD cards KK, AK, AQ, AJ, KQ, A10,QQ,...

So, I don't believe that any strategy could defeat microlimit tables in the long run. That's the theory. When you take good cards against a full microlimit table, you need to pray the draws don't hit for you to win. They will call you down with them. Or worse yet, they'll call you down with a made hand, because slow playing is an epidemic at these tables. One thing is for sure, if they re-raise you post-flop you're finished (regardless of what you have).

The play at these tables is so tight and passive that only the best of hands will draw out a re-raise. Good cards like AK should hold up against a suited connector. But against 4-5 beer hands at the same time, it won't win in the long run. In this kind of situation good cards will only win you a small pot or lose you a big one. Even AA is a dog if you take it up against 5 other hands. Remember AA is at least an 80-20 favorite against any other hand. Against 5 hands though, its a coin flip because you are 80-20 against each individual hand. Each one of those 5 hands has a 20% chance of beating you.

So when you play microlimit, you're playing against a pack, not against individual people who value their hard earned money. These are people who (all at the same time) will make every wrong move in an attempt to grab your money. I'd like to think that it is a group of people working together, but that just seems like a waste of time at this limit. If they played as individuals then they could be defeated, but as one large pack making every wrong move in the book, they cannot be beaten.

Please tell me what you think. I'm thinking of not playing these tables any more. I'll just save my money until I can afford to play at a higher limit table where this stuff is less common. Thanks!

Aaron

Answer: Where do I start... Ok, first off, as a part of this site, I may create a little section that actually logs me beating little games. I thought about this earlier today before reading your email. It would include key hands that were played, ones that were folded, the reasons why, etc. Something like, "turning $100 into a $1000 at low limit online poker." I can practice what I preach, and it would be helpful for new players to understand what the pace is on a session to session basis. I'm pressed for time now but I will get that up here in the near future.

Let me list a some thoughts about your situation and these mirco games:

1. In no limit holdem it is very difficult to make money in a cash game with AA unless you are against another strong hand. Understanding this concept is essential for beating those low limit games. How can AK and AA get much action unless the money goes in preflop? If the money goes in post flop either the person has you beat or has a very strong draw. It is unlikely that a player will have a hand like QT, flop a ten and then go all-in against you after you have raised preflop. No limit holdem cash games are all about trapping. Weak players who call too much are perfect prey.

2. Your math and understanding of multi-way pots is correct. Collectively, you are not ahead in the hand anymore with AA against a bunch of callers. Now, does that mean that it is strictly gambling? No. Granted, collectively they are going to beat you the majority of the time, but the amount of money you invest in the hand compared to how much you get back isn't 50/50; it isn't 50% for them and 50% for you. With 6 callers to the river, you get back 5:1 on your money, while collectively against you they are the opposite. You need to look at this from an individual player perspective too. Having 30% equity in a pot while everyone else divides up 70% is still good. You have the majority. Given enough time, you'll have the money.

3. As I said above, no limit holdem cash games are about trapping. The worse the players are, the more you need to shift what you consider a good hand from preflop into postflop. In really weak loose games I'm looking for big hands; one pair rarely wins much. To get big hands you need to play more cards. You mentioned that each hand gets 6 players seeing the flop. One of those should be you then. Why do you do this? You do this because the implied odds are so great. Let's say you limp in with a hand like 97s and flop the straight, you could win a monster pot against them -- especially against a guy with AJ on a flop like J - T - 8. Hands like AJ, KJ, KT, etc aren't good hands in no limit holdem.

I think you are trying to use the wrong approach to beat these guys. You can play those hands, but why not just limp in with them? Are you really concerned about stealing blinds? No. You are concerned about hitting big flops and getting paid off. You should play really loose preflop if it costs you only a bet to get in and then very tight postflop. You are fishing. You'll cast the line out over and over with no return, then bam you'll reel one in.

4. Deception isn't necessary when players are willing to call you down with very little. Deception has a cost since you aren't playing the hand ideally. These players aren't good so there is no reason to get tricky. I would try on your good hands like big pairs to win decent size pots, but not huge ones. I would raise preflop enough to get a couple callers, then shut them out on the flop. I'm not expecting to make a ton on those hands. Again, the hands that you'll do well on are when you flop a set or trips or a straight or flush draw, etc. You can't play so loosely in tougher games because players won't pay you off enough, but in these games you can.

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