Five Mistakes That Can Cause Players to Get Stuck on Small Stakes
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If you play cash games regularly and feel like you can’t move further due to a bad run, you could be making mistakes without even realizing it. Don’t worry, Jonathan Little knows all the most common mistakes you’re facing and, more importantly, how to fix them.
#1 You’re Letting Weak Players See Too Many Flops
Stakes up to $1/2 are the mecca for players who simply love seeing flops as often as they can. Every time you give them the chance, they will take it with no hesitation, stealing your equity.
How do you fix this? First of all, Little recommends you stop flat calling against weak players and start isolating them by aggressive 3-betting:
Poker is much easier heads-up against one weak player than in a 6-way pot. You don’t need to go crazy. 3-bet your strongest value hands… Then mix in hands like suited aces, suited kings, and suited connectors as bluffs. Build bigger pots against weaker ranges.
Secondly, stop using GTO charts like the Bible. They are not chiseled in stone, they are mere guidelines:
If your opponents open too many hands (and most $1/$2 players do), widen your value 3-bets and punish them. Constantly ask yourself: “What is this player doing wrong?” Then adjust. That’s where massive profits are found.
#2 You’re Folding Away Your Biggest Edge
Are you acquainted with the concept of position? Well, if you are not — you’re about to be because this is where your edge is hiding.
According to Little, a lot of people underestimate the importance of position:
Position is one of the biggest advantages in poker. Use it. Most live players fold far too often to 3-bets, even when they’ll have position for the rest of the hand. That’s leaving a ton of money on the table.
Using your position right is especially important against tight players and when you have a deep stack in-position:
When you’re deep stacked and in position… Call more suited hands. Fold more offsuit hands. Suited hands make strong draws and nutted hands. Offsuit hands make expensive second-best pairs. It’s a simple adjustment that pays for itself.
#3 You’re Turning Good Hands Into Losing Hands
One of the worst mistakes poker players make at small stakes is playing their good hands poorly. Little perceives this leak as the biggest at these stakes because it shows how bad players are at selecting hands and understanding the value of checking:
Top pair with a weak kicker. Middling pocket pairs. These hands are good… But they’re rarely worth playing for stacks. You don’t have to “protect” every hand. Checking isn’t weak. Often it’s the highest EV play. By checking, you keep your opponent’s entire range in the pot instead of forcing them to fold all their worse hands.
#4 You’re Paying Off Players Who Never Bluff
“Poker is a game of bluffing”, a catchy marketing trope that makes people think bluffing here is frequent and big. In reality, a significant portion of players consistently under-bluff, while others see bluffs everywhere — including where they don’t and can’t exist.
“I knew I was beat… But I had to see it” — a phrase, which, in Little’s opinion, describes one of the most costly mistakes, at least in live poker:
The 70-year-old who’s been quietly folding for three hours suddenly jams the river. You have top pair. Fold. You won’t be right every time. But against players who rarely bluff, this one adjustment will save you stacks over the long run.
If you encounter a tight amateur or recreational player at the table, respect their bets, because they often conceal good hands. Yes, there will be occasional bluffs, but much — MUCH! — less often than you might think.
#5 You’re Expecting Results Without Improving
Finally, Little is sure that the most common mistake small stakes players make is believing they can achieve anything in poker without putting in the study hours:
The biggest difference between long-term winners and everyone else? They consistently study every single week. You can’t stay stagnant and expect to win at poker. The players who keep improving eventually pass the players who don’t. If you want to crush $1/$2 cash games, review your biggest hands, fix your mistakes, and keep refining your strategy.
Playing professional poker is one of those jobs that requires regularly updating your knowledge base, working on your strategy, and keeping abreast of the current meta.
If you’re stuck at $1/2 or lower stakes (but not micro stakes) and can’t figure out why, you might want to reconsider your approach to learning and studying the game.
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