Best Low Stakes Online Poker

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• Best Low Stakes Online Poker Sites

Online Poker » Best Poker Sites » Best Low Stakes Poker Sites Few beginning online poker players dive directly in to high stakes poker games as they either not yet confident in their skills, do not feel like investing an adequate amount of money in the poker site or want to take the opportunity to learn how the poker site works before moving on to higher stakes. To me, the best poker room in Las Vegas for a beginner wanting to start off with small stakes is at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino. I say that for several reasons: 1) Low Buy-In. First off, the buy-in for low limit poker is incredibly low, probably much lower than you think. As poker fans, we've all seen the $10,000 buy-in WSOP Main Event on. Jun 30, 2014 What Counts as Low Limit Poker? In a live casino, the smallest stakes poker games are $1 / $2 – with a buy-in of $200. When you go online, you'll find the games start a lot lower than this. Almost every online poker site will have games with 1c / 2c blinds. Your maximum buy-in for these is $2, though you do not always need a full stack. The best online poker games to make money are low stakes cash games. You can also make a lot of money from poker by playing formats besides no limit hold'em. And the best poker games to make money will always be short handed. Let's dig into this a bit deeper though.

Real Money Online Poker Games with Smaller Buy-Ins

You do not need to break the bank to enjoy real money online poker games. Many sites offer small stakes games – the smallest of which can be played with pennies. These low buy-in cash games and tournaments give new players the opportunity to sharpen their skills without risking too much money. Once you know the ropes, there are plenty of higher stakes games, and even ‘nosebleed' stakes with poker pros, available online.

Since most sites offer small stakes poker games, your decision on where to play should involve additional factors. How tough the games are, relative to other sites, is a key factor. Some sites have games which are noticeably softer than others – even at the smallest stakes. You should also make sure that you have a bonus deal which is favorable to smaller stake poker players. You will find some bonuses require you to collect a huge number of points from the games. This can be next to impossible if you are playing the lowest buy ins.
Below you will find two strong recommendations of small stakes poker sites.

Lists the Best Micro Stakes Poker Sites

Best Poker Sites for Small Stakes Poker

We decided to only list two small-stakes poker sites on this page, not because there are only two small-stakes poker sites out there, but because the rest of the sites are basically the same. Everyone offers the micro-stakes tables, but Betonline and Ignition have, by far, the most traffic and game offerings.

How to Beat Small Stakes Poker Games

When you put a lot of novice players together, and let them play for stakes of $10 and under, you'll see some very strange play taking place.

Tables often become loose-passive. This means that your opponents will be playing way too many starting hands, and will be limping or calling bets with them instead of betting and raising. This continues after the flop with players chasing all sorts of flush and straight draws, and calling down with questionable ‘made' hands.

Best Low Stakes Online Poker Deuces Wild

Fortunately, these players are very easy to beat. The first adjustment is to make sure you cut down on your bluffs. Since players call with almost anything, it is hard to make them fold. I suggest you bet once on the flop if nobody else does, as you will often find people folding when they miss completely at the small stakes. You should raise with your good hand, and bet on every street with your good hands. Those same players that never fold can be gold mines when you have a nut hand.

When an otherwise passive player wakes up and starts betting, they usually have a great hand. Folding when this happens will save you a lot of money over time. It is so easy to take the cash from small stakes poker sites, that you really don't need to make ‘hero calls'.

The Biggest Benefit of Small Stakes Poker Sites

The micro-stakes tables are the perfect location for learning poker if you are a new player. If you decide to go to a live casino, the smallest game you're likely to find will be a $1/$2 No Limit Hold'em game. The standard buy-in for this game would be between $100 and $200, and if you lose a few buy-ins as you're learning the ropes you could be down almost $500 - pretty expensive for a poker education!

However, if you decide to learn poker at the micro-stakes tables at online poker sites, you'll save a ton of money. At a $0.01/$0.02 NL Hold'em table, the standard buy-in is only a dollar or two. Most poker sites have a minimum deposit of $10 or $20, so you can use your credit card to make a minimum deposit, then play at the small stakes tables for days, if not weeks, before you have to reload.

Also, the players at these tables are pretty good, so you will learn poker skills fast as the level of competition is decent. Although you're only playing for a few dollars, the players at these tables take it seriously, so you'll rarely see the crazy style of play that you often see in poker freerolls.

Enjoy Online Poker at Low Limit with this Detailed Guide

You don't need to be a high roller to enjoy online poker. In fact, there are more cash games and tournaments available at the lowest stakes than big buy-in games. This guide takes you through everything you know to get the best from low limit poker sites – including a strategy overview for the different game formats.

Here is what you will find below:

Online Poker Rooms Spreading Low Limit Poker

• 6M Guaranteed Jackpot

  Rating: 4.9
  Guarenteed Weekly Bonus

  Rating: 4.5
  Weekly Jackpots

  Rating: 4.3

What Counts as Low Limit Poker?

In a live casino, the smallest stakes poker games are $1 / $2 – with a buy-in of $200. When you go online, you'll find the games start a lot lower than this. Almost every online poker site will have games with 1c / 2c blinds. Your maximum buy-in for these is $2, though you do not always need a full stack. As you can imagine, play is loose and wild at these levels – making the games easy to beat.

If the penny games are too small for you, there are always options to play ‘bigger'. Cash games have buy-ins at $5, $10, $25, $50 and up from there to the high stakes. You'll find that the standard of play dramatically improves at 10c / 25c blinds and above. This is the smallest level that multi-tabling grinders use to generate an income.

Real Money Online Poker Games with Smaller Buy-Ins

You do not need to break the bank to enjoy real money online poker games. Many sites offer small stakes games – the smallest of which can be played with pennies. These low buy-in cash games and tournaments give new players the opportunity to sharpen their skills without risking too much money. Once you know the ropes, there are plenty of higher stakes games, and even ‘nosebleed' stakes with poker pros, available online.

Since most sites offer small stakes poker games, your decision on where to play should involve additional factors. How tough the games are, relative to other sites, is a key factor. Some sites have games which are noticeably softer than others – even at the smallest stakes. You should also make sure that you have a bonus deal which is favorable to smaller stake poker players. You will find some bonuses require you to collect a huge number of points from the games. This can be next to impossible if you are playing the lowest buy ins.
Below you will find two strong recommendations of small stakes poker sites.

Lists the Best Micro Stakes Poker Sites

Best Poker Sites for Small Stakes Poker

We decided to only list two small-stakes poker sites on this page, not because there are only two small-stakes poker sites out there, but because the rest of the sites are basically the same. Everyone offers the micro-stakes tables, but Betonline and Ignition have, by far, the most traffic and game offerings.

How to Beat Small Stakes Poker Games

When you put a lot of novice players together, and let them play for stakes of $10 and under, you'll see some very strange play taking place.

Tables often become loose-passive. This means that your opponents will be playing way too many starting hands, and will be limping or calling bets with them instead of betting and raising. This continues after the flop with players chasing all sorts of flush and straight draws, and calling down with questionable ‘made' hands.

Best Low Stakes Online Poker Deuces Wild

Fortunately, these players are very easy to beat. The first adjustment is to make sure you cut down on your bluffs. Since players call with almost anything, it is hard to make them fold. I suggest you bet once on the flop if nobody else does, as you will often find people folding when they miss completely at the small stakes. You should raise with your good hand, and bet on every street with your good hands. Those same players that never fold can be gold mines when you have a nut hand.

When an otherwise passive player wakes up and starts betting, they usually have a great hand. Folding when this happens will save you a lot of money over time. It is so easy to take the cash from small stakes poker sites, that you really don't need to make ‘hero calls'.

The Biggest Benefit of Small Stakes Poker Sites

The micro-stakes tables are the perfect location for learning poker if you are a new player. If you decide to go to a live casino, the smallest game you're likely to find will be a $1/$2 No Limit Hold'em game. The standard buy-in for this game would be between $100 and $200, and if you lose a few buy-ins as you're learning the ropes you could be down almost $500 - pretty expensive for a poker education!

However, if you decide to learn poker at the micro-stakes tables at online poker sites, you'll save a ton of money. At a $0.01/$0.02 NL Hold'em table, the standard buy-in is only a dollar or two. Most poker sites have a minimum deposit of $10 or $20, so you can use your credit card to make a minimum deposit, then play at the small stakes tables for days, if not weeks, before you have to reload.

Also, the players at these tables are pretty good, so you will learn poker skills fast as the level of competition is decent. Although you're only playing for a few dollars, the players at these tables take it seriously, so you'll rarely see the crazy style of play that you often see in poker freerolls.

Enjoy Online Poker at Low Limit with this Detailed Guide

You don't need to be a high roller to enjoy online poker. In fact, there are more cash games and tournaments available at the lowest stakes than big buy-in games. This guide takes you through everything you know to get the best from low limit poker sites – including a strategy overview for the different game formats.

Here is what you will find below:

Online Poker Rooms Spreading Low Limit Poker

• 6M Guaranteed Jackpot

  Rating: 4.9
  Guarenteed Weekly Bonus

  Rating: 4.5
  Weekly Jackpots

  Rating: 4.3

What Counts as Low Limit Poker?

In a live casino, the smallest stakes poker games are $1 / $2 – with a buy-in of $200. When you go online, you'll find the games start a lot lower than this. Almost every online poker site will have games with 1c / 2c blinds. Your maximum buy-in for these is $2, though you do not always need a full stack. As you can imagine, play is loose and wild at these levels – making the games easy to beat.

If the penny games are too small for you, there are always options to play ‘bigger'. Cash games have buy-ins at $5, $10, $25, $50 and up from there to the high stakes. You'll find that the standard of play dramatically improves at 10c / 25c blinds and above. This is the smallest level that multi-tabling grinders use to generate an income.

Tournaments start with buy-ins at 50c to $1. Those games often attract large fields of recreational players. To win in those games you'll need to survive a lot of bad beats. Low limit tournaments are available anywhere between $2 and $10. Above this level you will find players who sit in a lot of games and have a decent level of strategy knowledge.

For the purposes of this guide to small buy-in tournament poker rooms, I'll cover deposits between $10 and $50.

Pros and Cons of Low Limit Poker Sites

Getting started with online poker is easy, even with the smallest bankrolls. While there are a lot of benefits to starting small, there are also some drawbacks. Here is what to look out for:

Pros:

• Easy to beat games: With so many opponents having no concept of poker strategy, you should be able to turn a profit.
• Big Choice: Not only can you enjoy all the formats at low-limits, there will be a big choice of tables – meaning you can find plenty of profitable situations.
• Bonuses and Incentives: Poker rooms offer welcome bonuses for the smallest deposits (as well as bigger ones). Look out for extras like tournament entries and beginner-only tables.

Cons:

• Frustrating Beats: The nature of players at the smallest stakes means you will inevitably get bad-beats. Opponents with any 2 cards sometimes get lucky and crack your aces. Keep in mind that solid play will get you the money over time!
• Big Tournament Fields: Low-Limit tournaments tend to attract huge fields. While this increases the prize pool, it also means you'll need to play for many hours to have a shot at reaching the final table.
• Loyalty Tiers Harder to Climb: Poker site loyalty schemes require you to collect points from real money games. At the lowest stakes these can accumulate slowly.

Low Limit Poker Cash Games

Cash games describes the poker format where the chips in front of you have a real monetary value. If you win a $10 pot, then your bankroll increases by exactly this amount. There are 4 main formats for these games at almost every poker site:

Best Low Stakes Online Poker Sites

• Full Ring: These games are 9 or 10 handed.
• 6-Max: Six players this time, with 4-max also spread at some sites
• Heads-up: You can play cash games against a single opponent
• Fast-Fold: This format includes names like Zone Poker or Zoom. You go to a new hand as soon as you fold, with players from a large pool.

All poker sites have a huge choice of games at these limits. They are characterized by loose, passive play, with a lot of players seeing each flop. With only small amounts of money at stake, players are reluctant to fold. If someone connects with the flop even slightly, or has a draw, you can expect them to call bets all the way to the river.

Strategy for beating these games is simple. You'll get an immediate edge on the field simply by playing fewer hands. By folding more often, you will have a card strength advantage when you do get pots. Avoiding the ‘passive' (limping and calling) style – and playing your good hands aggressively will win you the money. Add to this awareness of playing in position – and your edge will be magnified.

Low limit cash games are high-variance. With so many opponents calling bets with marginal holdings, there is always the risk someone will ‘catch up'. Keep in mind that this style of play will lose them money over the long-run. As long as you stick to solid ‘ABC Poker', you will profit over time.

Small Buy-in Poker Tournaments

The smallest buy-in poker tournaments are free. Known as ‘freerolls', these games are used as promotions or loyalty rewards. At the bigger sites, you'll be battling with 1000's of opponents for some real money prizes. Fields in these are a mix of people who simply don't care (going all in every hand), and players with little idea of poker strategy. Getting to the money is tough, as you'll have to survive spots where opponents playing any two cards hit unlikely flops!

While there is a jump in the number of players who take the game seriously once you get to tournaments with real money buy-ins, the standard is still poor. Loose, wild players in the early stages create a dilemma. Playing against them is risky, as you never know what hand they might turn up with. At the same time, if you don't take their chips, you'll have to fight for them in pots with better players during the later stages.

Again, simple, solid ‘ABC Poker' will win over time. Play better hands (on average) than your opponents – and play them aggressively from position. You need to build a stack, as the profit from tournaments comes from those times you hit the final table. Playing overly tight to get into the money is not a profitable strategy over time.

There are a lot of tournament formats to choose from at the lower limits. These include rebuys, turbo games and tournaments where each player has a bounty – awarded to whichever player knocks them out. I recommend checking out satellite qualifiers. These start from just a few dollars, and have prizes of tickets to bigger buy-in tournaments.

What Other Low-Limit Poker Games are Available?

Sit N Goes are a great way to build your small deposit into a bigger bankroll. The most popular format is a 1-table tournament. 3 players get paid, with the winner getting 50% of the prize pool. Strategy for these is different to a multi-table tournament. You'll need to stay tight earl – and learn the math for the all-in or fold strategy when only one or two players need to be eliminated before the cash.

Lottery Sit N Goes are a fast and enjoyable variation. These games allow low-limit players to win big prizes. The key feature is random prize pools, which are decided after the game starts. The exact format varies from site to site, though 3 handed and super-fast blinds is the common theme. It is possible to win 10,000x your buy-in via these games.

It is not just Texas Hold'em that can be enjoyed for a small buy-in. Omaha poker variations are rising in popularity. These games have 4 hole-cards instead of 2. You can play ‘Pot Limit Omaha', Omaha Hi-lo or even exotic 5 and 6 card variations. Blinds start at just 1c / 2c – making these games accessible to even the smallest bankrolls.

Depositing at Low-Limit Poker Sites

If you are only depositing small amounts, you will not want to pay fees (which could take up a large percentage of your bankroll). In general, the smallest amount you can deposit is between $10 and $20. This will depend on the site, and the method you choose to deposit with. I recommend you check the bonus terms before you make a payment. You might find that adding a small amount to your deposit gets you extra benefits like tournament entries or matched welcome deals.

US players can deposit with Visa or MasterCard credit cards, prepaid Visa cards, Bitcoin or money transfers (for example MoneyGram). If you are outside the US, there are many more options available. These include PayPal, Skrill, Neteller, local bank transfers and virtual visa cards.

The guide to small deposit poker sites here at GambleOnline.co has details of these options.

Which Low Limit Poker Sites are Legitimate / Safe?

Every player likes to make sure that the poker room they deposit at is safe before parting with money. Fortunately, there are a lot of options out there with rooms which have been running for many years – and looking after players fairly and responsibly.

Poker rooms have a big interest in maintaining their reputation for fairness. Once this has gone, the poker playing community will soon move elsewhere. You will find reviews of the biggest and best brands here. For US players, I recommend you check out Bovada Poker or BetOnline – both sites have been running for years and are known for fast pay-outs.

International players have a huge choice. This includes many rooms which were around since the beginning of online poker and have remained scandal-free throughout. Party Poker, 888 Poker and Bet365 all have big brand respect – and welcome low-limit players to their rooms.

Wrapping Up: Is Low-Limit Poker Right for You?

Enjoying online poker does not need a huge bankroll. Games start with blinds at penny-levels, and tournaments at less than $1. The low standard of play, and lack of strategy knowledge of your opponents at these levels means you should be able to beat the games. Keep in mind that the loose / passive style (and many opponents seeing each flop) can be frustrating – especially when a bad player gets lucky and hits that miracle river.

With solid, aggressive play, and a view to the long term – you could be moving up to the bigger buy-ins before you know it!