Cash Game Microstakes cash game question (1 Viewer)

[MucksAlot888]

Need some advice. What are good blinds for micro stakes cash games. I have a few friends that are just too cheap for throw down $1/2 blinds. I was debating on .10/.25 or .25/.25. Is .25/.25 pretty common for a casual cash game with 6 people or so. Also with that style play what should the max buy in be. Thanks for all the advice in advance fellas. I'm new to the forum and loving it!!!

 

[links_slayer]

I like 10¢/25¢ - mainly because it allows me to get my nickels into play

 

[tentoesdown]

It's totally reasonable for your friends to not wanna play $1/2, to be honest that game can get pretty big quickly/easily.

I've played a .10/.25 cent game with friends for a while, but recently decided to change it to .25/.25 and it's a lot better. Just less hassle counting up stacks at the end without dimes in play. We play max buyin of $100.

 

[Shaggy]

25c/25c with a $40 min buy-in.

 

[MucksAlot888]

It's totally reasonable for your friends to now wanna play $1/2, to be honest that game can get pretty big quickly/easily.

I've played a .10/.25 cent game with friends for a while, but recently decided to change it to .25/.25 and it's a lot better. Just less hassle counting up stacks at the end without dimes in play. We play max buyin of $100.

$100 max buy in with those blinds. Is that normal?

 

[acl1904]

25c/25c with a $40 min buy-in.

+1 We have done a $40-$60 buy in that worked well.

 

[mashoo]

I run a .25/.25 $10 max bet game. My crew mostly consists of home game players with only one other guy who plays $1/2 at a casino. It helps keep the less experienced players in the game so it doesn't break.

 

[Jambine]

I run a .25/.25 $10 max bet game. My crew mostly consists of home game players with only one other guy who plays $1/2 at a casino. It helps keep the less experienced players in the game so it doesn't break.

I kinda like the idea of a wide Spread Limit game $0.25 to $10.00
....especially if your players are reluctant to play higher NL games

 

[Mental Nomad]

Also with that style play what should the max buy in be.

I prefer to do it the other way around. What level of buy-in do they prefer? Then set the blinds to allow for good poker in that range.

recently decided to change it to .25/.25 and it's a lot better. Just less hassle counting up stacks at the end without dimes in play. We play max buyin of $100.

$100 max buy in with those blinds. Is that normal?

In my micro game, the typical buy-in is around $40. People come for anywhere between $20 and $50.

This works well for a 25c big blind - a $25 buy-in is 100 BB, which is a decent working stack. A $40 buy-in is 160 BB, which allows people to play hands and lose a bit and still have a playing stack at 100 BB. The further below 100 BB you get, the more you need to start adjusting your play based on being short.

Buying in for $100 at a 25c BB is pretty deep - 400 BB. We don't have a formal max, but nobody has tried to abuse things. The most people have been in for are $120 (six buy-ins of $20) and $140 ($40 and then $100). To be honest, with my crew, most wouldn't mind. If the 400 BB stack tried to bully, they'd just tighten up and take turns calling the big stacks money off... but if that happens often, it makes for disappointing poker, so it wouldn't be welcome.

If your players are only comfortable buying in for $20 max, I'd get nickels and make it a 10c/20c game - that's only 100 BB. I'd rather not play 25c and have everyone starting short with 80 BB.

Is .25/.25 pretty common for a casual cash game with 6 people or so.

Yes, 25c/25c is a very common micro cash game.

I run a 12.5c/25c game (my Two-Bit Poker game)... I use an NCV chip for the 12.5c - half a quarter, or one eighth of a dollar, is one bit.) We like the bits better than playing 25c/25c, and find nickels are more annoying (and you need more at the table than you do bits.) I also run a 25c/50c with a typical $50 buy-in; also common micro stakes.

 

[upNdown]

I'd rather not play 25c and have everyone starting short with 80 BB

I disagree that 80 BB is short. It's not exactly deep, but I wouldn't call it short.

 

[MucksAlot888]

I prefer to do it the other way around. What level of buy-in do they prefer? Then set the blinds to allow for good poker in that range.



In my micro game, the typical buy-in is around $40. People come for anywhere between $20 and $50.

This works well for a 25c big blind - a $25 buy-in is 100 BB, which is a decent working stack. A $40 buy-in is 160 BB, which allows people to play hands and lose a bit and still have a playing stack at 100 BB. The further below 100 BB you get, the more you need to start adjusting your play based on being short.

Buying in for $100 at a 25c BB is pretty deep - 400 BB. We don't have a formal max, but nobody has tried to abuse things. The most people have been in for are $120 (six buy-ins of $20) and $140 ($40 and then $100). To be honest, with my crew, most wouldn't mind. If the 400 BB stack tried to bully, they'd just tighten up and take turns calling the big stacks money off... but if that happens often, it makes for disappointing poker, so it wouldn't be welcome.

If your players are only comfortable buying in for $20 max, I'd get nickels and make it a 10c/20c game - that's only 100 BB. I'd rather not play 25c and have everyone starting short with 80 BB.



Yes, 25c/25c is a very common micro cash game.

I run a 12.5c/25c game (my Two-Bit Poker game)... I use an NCV chip for the 12.5c - half a quarter, or one eighth of a dollar, is one bit.) We like the bits better than playing 25c/25c, and find nickels are more annoying (and you need more at the table than you do bits.) I also run a 25c/50c with a typical $50 buy-in; also common micro stakes.

Awesome advice nomad. Much appreciated....

 

[Mental Nomad]

I disagree that 80 BB is short. It's not exactly deep, but I wouldn't call it short.

Not "short stacked" in the sense of being the low stack at the table, or in the sense of being in "looking for two cards to shove" mode, but I definitely feel like I'm playing short of a full stack when I go below 80 BB.

Pretty much any hand I choose to play has significant odds of ending up all-in. Example, in a 25c BB game...

$1 or $2 raise on the deal, 4 people involved.
$2 or $3 bet on the flop, 3 people.
$5 or $6 on the turn, 2 people.
$10 on the river.... oh, wait, that's pretty much the stack. Not even particularly aggressive.

Meanwhile, if it looks like I can get in cheap, I may want to get in with a small pair or suited connector, hunting for a miracle draw on the flop... but if I only have $20, I can't call anything but the safest of limping situation, because otherwise, if I get my long-shot flop draw and call a bet, I'm already in so far that I don't have the money to make the necessary bets to get paid off if I hit.

 

[mashoo]

I kinda like the idea of a wide Spread Limit game $0.25 to $10.00
....especially if your players are reluctant to play higher NL games

My crew pretty much consists of my friends from work. I host to have fun, be social and we drink and eat. The $10 max bet is just enough to create some bluff opportunities without breaking anyone's bank. We're pretty competitive, play 2-7 as well but it's more for fun. Most guys bring up to $100 to play.

 

[Nex]

Doesn't being shortstacked matter too much anyway when everyone equally is?

Sure, it will tighten up the game. Doesn't allow for so many trick moves and bluffs as if you sat there with 100+ BB. But no single individual should be at a disadvantage in terms of bullying power.

So as long as the players are somewhat tight anyway... does it matter all that much?
80 BB doesn't sound too far away from 100 too for me

 

[Trihonda]

FWIW, my crew plays 1/2 sometimes, but mostly $.25/.50 blinds. It's still playing for quarters in most people's minds, and friendly enough. Our buyins are usually $60, or 120bbs..

To me, ultra-mirco stakes get played weird a lot of the time. People don't play correct pot odds. If your blinds are nickels and dimes, people come along regardless of pot odds.

"Oh, there's $.55 in the pot, and someone bets $2.50, and you get three callers". I guess this could be part of the fun with some crowds.

 

[Mental Nomad]

Doesn't being shortstacked matter too much anyway when everyone equally is?

Sure, it's still fair when everyone is short to the same degree. It's just not a game I like.

It would also be fair if everyone started with 20BB - $5 with a 25c BB. If everyone does it, it's perfectly fair. But I wouldn't find it to be enjoyable.

80 BB doesn't sound too far away from 100 too for me

Remember, that's just a starting point. About ten hands later, you can expect half the table to have less than 80. Most hands have one winner and several losers. My 25c poker game easily sees 40 BB ($10) swings - more often down than up. If you have 150 BB and drop by 40 BB, you're still playing the game. But when you start with 80 BB and drop to 40 BB, you need to seriously alter your play.

In the end, it's up to the player what kind of game they enjoy playing... but I still think it's a good idea to look at the 100 BB level and make sure it can be hit within your "typical" buy-in. Someone who likes to play shorter than that can always buy in for less, but if you set your blinds so high that even the max buy-in can't buy 100 BB - or is forced to put in a bigger buy-in than their comfort level allows - then I feel you're hampering the game for the players.

 

[dew4au]

.05 / .10 all depends on the crowd. If you have a friendly co-worker game where everyone has a basic knowledge of poker, you'll see a lot of min raises and limped family pots. In those cases things stay pretty tame. Throw in a few people that start throwing their weight around because they don't really care about those stakes and it changes the entire dynamic. I played in a few of those that played more like 1/2, and I didn't care for it.

I played in a regular Thursday night .05/.10 game for years where most of the people had a solid grasp of the game. It really played like a .05/.10 game 9 times out of 10. It was more about having drinks and venting about work. Every once in a while someone would show up and start shenanigans, but it didn't disrupt the game too much.

I'd say you'd have to judge your group to see where the comfort level is. Whatever keeps a fun game going the longest is what it should be!

 

[Mojo1312]

I hosted a weekly.25/.50 game for the better part of a year with a $40 to $60 buy-in. Players could re-buy back in for up to half of the big stack. The money on the table grew from $800 to $1,100 to $1,500 even though the size of the game remained constant at 9 to 10 players. $100 re-buys were not uncommon the last few months that I ran the game. Your group of players bankroll, as well as their confidence level and aggression level are going to determine the amount of money that ends up on the table.

As far as the blinds go, they can be largely irrelevant if they hold no value for a few of the players. I have played in .10/.20 games where the opening bets were usually 10 to 15BB's, not much different from the typical $2.50 to $3 pre-flop raises of my .25/.50 game.

For me, what players are allowed to buy-in for is more important than the blinds. So I would ask what buy-in amount is comfortable for your set of players, and then work downward when setting the blinds.

 

[mummel]

5c/10c with $10 buyins, 25c/25c with $25 buyins

 

[Marius L]

.25/.25 with 20-50$ buyins. I prefer playing 100bb deep or more, but I think 80bbs allow for decent play, so it is OK for a minimum amount. Let players buyin up to 200bb (50$).

 

[RowdyRawhide]

Is your $1/2 game a $100 max buyin because a I play in a $1/2 games that $100 gets you thorough two hands on most nights if you're lucky

If your guys are only comfortable with $100 buyin then a .25/.25 or .25/50 game is probably a better choice. Another option is to possibly look at a $2/4 or $3/6 limit game if your players are worried about losing their buyin.

 

[Poker Zombie]

As others have mentioned, it's all about how your group plays. I can host a 5¢/10¢ game and never see a whole dollar bet, or the same game will get dollars bet on the turn or river - it just depends on who is at the table.

In the end,

• nickle/dime is all about friends sitting around a poker table.
• xx¢/25¢ is friends playing poker
• 25¢/50¢ is a poker game with friends
• $1/$2 is about poker with friendly people.
• $5/$10 is all about the poker.

Just figure out what you want your game to be about.

 

[rjbf65]

The first .25/.25 I ever played in had a guy buy in for $200+. He always wanted to be the biggest stack and he was a very good player.

A group from college will still play and we moved it to .25/.25 from .10/.20 before. Made the math much easier without changing the game all that much. We used to always have $20 buy ins but now it's changed to allow any buy in amount. The most anyone ever comes in for is me at $40. Our group is on the cheap/frugal/conservative side of things.

 

[MucksAlot888]

Thanks for all the advice. Looking forward to the weekend