We better just limp and play a small pot next time! Ran into a higher flush a few times lately? Small flushes must be a terrible hand. Your aces got cracked three times in a row? Aces must be a terrible hand. One of the classic mistakes that players at the micros make is thinking too much about the short term, and forgetting the long term. There are opportunities to make plays here and there in small stakes cash games, but by and large success comes from just playing by the book. Often you have very little history with these players and your 10th-level thinking is just going to be completely lost on them. The same thing goes for trying to run big, creative bluffs after the flop against low limit players. They will just call you down with their pair of tens and you will often lose to a superior hand.
When you make that four-bet bluff preflop with ace-rag in order to 'merge your range,' this is going to go completely over their head most of the time. In fact, a lot of the time, they are either total beginners or just one step removed from that. Let's be honest, when you are playing $1/$2 at the local casino or $0.05/$0.10 blinds online, your competition is not always world class. Mistake #1: Fancy Play Syndromeįancy play syndrome is trying to pull too many moves on a simple-minded opponent. Small stakes cash games - whether live or online - can be profitable, but only if you're able to avoid the following much too commonly made mistakes.
