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Crushing The Microstakes
Crushing the Microstakes is a comprehensive guide on how to dominate your competition at the micros. Written by DragTheBar coach Nathan Williams aka "BlackRain79," the biggest winner ever at the smallest stakes with over 6 million hands of experience, this book has only one goal in mind, increasing your winrate.
There is a common misconception out there that everybody breezes through the micros and moves on to greener pastures. Some do. But many don't. Why waste your time spinning your tires at these stakes for years and years on end? You should be printing money when playing them.
Intended Audience:
NL2, NL5, NL10, NL25 full ring no limit hold'em cash game players.
Special emphasis is placed on fundamental concepts and strategies for beginners just starting out or struggling to find their way at NL2.
There is a common misconception out there that everybody breezes through the micros and moves on to greener pastures. Some do. But many don't. Why waste your time spinning your tires at these stakes for years and years on end? You should be printing money when playing them.
Intended Audience:
NL2, NL5, NL10, NL25 full ring no limit hold'em cash game players.
Special emphasis is placed on fundamental concepts and strategies for beginners just starting out or struggling to find their way at NL2.
- GenresNonfiction
253 pages, ebook
First published November 26, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 23, 2020
The book was written in 2011 and the game changed quite a bit since then, it needs an update. However, not everything is outdated in the book, the basic concepts are still true and some of the techniques are still highly profitable. I would recommend Peter Clarke’s The Grinder’s Manual over this book though.
August 4, 2020
Un libro che spiega in maniera chiara le strategie da seguire nei microstakes, concentrandosi in particolar modo sulla comprensione del tipo di avversario che si ha davanti e sullo sfruttamento delle sue debolezze, anche con un gioco a volte "poco ortodosso". Decisamente un bel libro. Il mio voto: 4 stelle.
September 10, 2019
This book offers up a clear blueprint of how to get "crushing" at the microstakes. The author Nathan Williams` stats speak for themselves; over millions of hands at NL2 and NL5 (the lowest stakes online) he has a whopping $46 000 or so in lifetime winnings. That is no easy feat, especially when you consider that stacking someone at NL2 means winning $2 most of the time...
Though a fair bit has changed since 2011 and 2019, the basic facts of life stay the same so to speak. Having played a fair bit of microstakes in 2019 myself, it is clear that most of the lessons in the book are still applicable. While fish are becoming rarer overall, they do still exist at the micros in significant numbers. Just the past week at NL5 partypoker, I`ve had people stack off 150 big blinds with bottom pair, stacking off with A-high, people open shoving each hand, people going all in with gutshot straight draws etc..
What is not as applicable anymore however, is the idea that you can multitable and let a HUD software program like Hold Em Manager or Pokertracker keep track of what the other players are doing. Many sites have imposed restrictions on using this sort of software, and Pokerstars recently introduced a table cap of 4 tables. This means you have to pay attention yourself. In my experience it is fairly easy to make an easy profile of players if you follow the action even slightly. Fish and maniacs usually jump out quickly as they seem to only play 1 or 2 tables at a time, limp or raise a large amount of hands, and turn up with weird hands at showdown.
In essence the key takeaway in the book is that you have to completely detach your ego and "glitz and glamour" from the poker tables, especially the microstakes tables. Everybody wants to be the cool psychological profiler, staring down their opponents and making the ice cold call with a pair of twos against their opponents` bluff. Or they want to be the ones making the glamorous bluff themselves, crushing their opponents soul by showing 9-high after they fold.
In reality online poker is nothing like this. It is about basic mathematics and finding opponents who are consistently willing to try to defy the odds, or to bluff and play fancy like their TV and movie heroes.
I know this feeling of thinking I have some kind of "rivalry" with a particular opponent at the micros. There always seems to be some dude/dudette who seems to always 3 bet me when they know I am trying to steal the blinds, they always re-raise my continuation bets on the flop. They always check-raise me on the river after cold-calling all previous streets. After a while I focus in on this particular opponent and try to one-up them at their own game.. only to inevitably realize they`re not trying to bluff me, they don`t care about me, they`re just having a good run of cards, and that`s it.
That is the reality of the micros... noone cares about you in particular. Find the fold button far more often.
I can`t say if this book has affected my results quite yet as I haven`t played much after reading it. Will report back on that.
Though a fair bit has changed since 2011 and 2019, the basic facts of life stay the same so to speak. Having played a fair bit of microstakes in 2019 myself, it is clear that most of the lessons in the book are still applicable. While fish are becoming rarer overall, they do still exist at the micros in significant numbers. Just the past week at NL5 partypoker, I`ve had people stack off 150 big blinds with bottom pair, stacking off with A-high, people open shoving each hand, people going all in with gutshot straight draws etc..
What is not as applicable anymore however, is the idea that you can multitable and let a HUD software program like Hold Em Manager or Pokertracker keep track of what the other players are doing. Many sites have imposed restrictions on using this sort of software, and Pokerstars recently introduced a table cap of 4 tables. This means you have to pay attention yourself. In my experience it is fairly easy to make an easy profile of players if you follow the action even slightly. Fish and maniacs usually jump out quickly as they seem to only play 1 or 2 tables at a time, limp or raise a large amount of hands, and turn up with weird hands at showdown.
In essence the key takeaway in the book is that you have to completely detach your ego and "glitz and glamour" from the poker tables, especially the microstakes tables. Everybody wants to be the cool psychological profiler, staring down their opponents and making the ice cold call with a pair of twos against their opponents` bluff. Or they want to be the ones making the glamorous bluff themselves, crushing their opponents soul by showing 9-high after they fold.
In reality online poker is nothing like this. It is about basic mathematics and finding opponents who are consistently willing to try to defy the odds, or to bluff and play fancy like their TV and movie heroes.
I know this feeling of thinking I have some kind of "rivalry" with a particular opponent at the micros. There always seems to be some dude/dudette who seems to always 3 bet me when they know I am trying to steal the blinds, they always re-raise my continuation bets on the flop. They always check-raise me on the river after cold-calling all previous streets. After a while I focus in on this particular opponent and try to one-up them at their own game.. only to inevitably realize they`re not trying to bluff me, they don`t care about me, they`re just having a good run of cards, and that`s it.
That is the reality of the micros... noone cares about you in particular. Find the fold button far more often.
I can`t say if this book has affected my results quite yet as I haven`t played much after reading it. Will report back on that.
October 27, 2020
Very helpful book for amateur players that want to learn to play low stakes in cash games online.
The author explains how to play an effective game to maximize winnings in NL2 and NL5 tables.
It's a good first book if you are learning the game.
The author explains how to play an effective game to maximize winnings in NL2 and NL5 tables.
It's a good first book if you are learning the game.
July 18, 2022
Poker bug, lot of online specific advice which wasn’t very helpful but still, good blueprint, good general advice. Simplify, mix in some more bluffs than the book recommends at higher stakes
May 22, 2025
Simplified poker for when I play live. It’s not about gambling, or looking cool, it’s about being practical and keeping things simple to win money.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews