Why play for pennies??

[BlibbityBlabbity]

If poker is a hobby for you then you really don't care whether you start with $10 and build it up to $100 playing micro limits or start with $100 and end up with $1000 playing $1/$2 or higher.

If you are just starting out and you know you are not playing correctly, why would you throw $100 on a site and give it away to players you have almost no chance of beating unless the cards hit you over the head all session?

I think that playing microlimits while reading some books and trying out new ideas is a very good place to start. Learning to read the board and other players hands takes time and personally, I would hate to throw a few $100 to that training when it is available for $10 or so.

Learning and moving up through the levels as soon as you are ready is the only way poker stays interesting/challenging, though. If you were to stay at the micros for more than a few months I think you could start to see boredom setting in and causing you to play more hands, play hands farther than you should, etc.

One Key note is that IMO microlimits CAN ONLY be useful if you forget that the big bet is ONLY 2 CENTS. If you treat a BB as a BB then you can use them as a tool.

Microlimits are also great for developing a tollerance for taking the bad beats, while avoiding tilt. This can help when you move up and people actually start respecting a raise instead of assuming you MUST be bluffing, because who would raise with a good hand? (The mantra of the microlimit maniac )

I will say, however, that it takes a concious effort to adjust to higher limit games after playing at the micros. Where you usually have odds to draw to open-enders and flushes at micros, when you move up and are 2-3 handed after most flops you will lose those drawing odds.

Just my thoughts. I have on a few occasions taken a free $5/$10 or some freeroll winnings on a site that I can't withdraw from and used it as a side project to see how much I could build it up to, or try to build it up to the level required for getting it off the site.

OK , that is enough about that...

[drewjax]

I dont see how playing micro can be a bad thing. anything, anything is better than play money. basically its win/win.

[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.