Why play for pennies??

[hackers238]

I play micro limit because I enjoy the idea of working up my bankroll from nothing. I also don't consider myself incredibly skilled at poker, and am trying to learn.

Some people respond to this with "you need to play at higher limits to be able to learn, because people have such terrible play at the lower limits", but I disagree. I think that by progressing and playing at nearly every type and style of play you can grow to be a more rounded adaptable player, and that is just what I am trying to do. Not to mention that Depositing my Own money in poker doesnt seem like that good of an idea to me, as well as the "allure" of big winnings.

Also, while I am still learning why not kick around pennies so that I don't lose anything big, huh?

[hackers238]

Haha, I think that one is about me. And I can tell you the difference between a penny game and a play money game. Playing for pennies you can dream

[jdiana86]

I don't see a problem with playing for pennies to start, it seems like a good way to play your first, say 1-3 months of poker depending upon how much expierence you already have. If you are even the smallest bit serious about becoming better though, you have to bump up a level because penny limits can probably only teach you certain begginer concepts. Besides that, I think it's great that it's available to play online. Great way to build up a huge bankroll from a very small amount.

[Talking Poker]

So... what I'm hearing here is microlimits ae good for new players, who are just learning the game. Does that about sum it up?

When I started playing online, I jumped right into $1/$2, but I think that was the lowest stakes available... and I wasn't new to poker. So I guess for me, it's just weird, since I never have and never will play at microlimits.

[eddo31]

my first experience online was with play money at a couple of sites, and after winning the high hand jackpot on ub, i went to micro limits. i actually learned a lot playing at that level, ang gained a bunch of experience. i know that the things that i learned there will be only the beginning to what i need to learn in order to play poker for real money, but they were valuable lessons nonetheless.

i also take a little bit of pride in the fact that i have never actually put any of my own money into an online site. i turned winning the high hand jackpot and winning a couple of prima freerolls into a good chunk of change, and i havent ever deposited my own money anywhere. unfortunately i had to pull all of my money out in order to pay for some real world expenses, and i am going to deposit some more cash soon, but being able to essentially turn nothing into about a grand was pretty significant to me.

[pivotal]

makes CENTS

[2Tone]

50/1 maybe, but I think playing for pennies can teach some bad habits to beginners. Who folds to a 2 cent raise? And with eight to a flop, you are getting odds to call with just about anything, and can forget about a pair of jacks holding up.

What I do think it can be useful for is learning a site's interface, but play money is just as good for that.

[Talking Poker]

I'm glad you brought this up... I agree completely. And this is exactly why I tell new players not to play for Play Money, but instead head to the low limit tables. I'm guessing microlimits play about the same as the Play Money tables...

[Chutups]

I doubt playing for pennies would be any fun, it'ld just be like playing with fake money. I'm not sure why anyone would want to play for that much, unless they have less than a dollar in there account and just want to waste it.

[GeoffM]

You guys would actually be surprised how many times I've sat down at a po-limit O8B penn game when I was drunk and didn't want to wager big money, and actually came out up $10 in about 1 rotation. People play a lot looser and call your pot-limit bets usually all the way down so I play it when I am hammered and can sometimes win a few bucks while getting destroyed at the same time, in essence, paying for my beer.

[Slayre]

I played the micros a few times.. so i could give my left over change to those who needed it more than i did.

[Baseballa19]

I would agree that at the micro tables, you can develop bad habits. The attitude of "it's only a nickel or a dime" causes you to play WAY loose and that is HARD to turn around.

[Gutzz]

Although it's true that a lot of the players will play looser, and that penny tables can give you bad habits, it's still a good start for those who still don't know whether a straight beats a flush .

Also limit penny tables are a different story than NL penny tables. I probably wouldn't recommend someone start at the limit penny tables, but would have no problems suggesting they start at the NL penny tables. It's easier to take weako players money at the penny NL tables and make them pay for their mistakes.

Regarding the habits and stuff, isn't this true in almost any of the 'baby' limits? Like some things that work at one limit, don't necessarily work at the limit above? And a lot of the time you're 'unlearning' what you just learned?

Cheers,

Gutzz