Grinding Micro Stakes – Any Advice for a Beginner? 💭🃏

Pitonealal

Pitonealal

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Jul 16, 2025
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Hey CardChat family! 👋​

Lately, I’ve been spending most of my time playing micro stakesfreerolls, $1, $2, sometimes $5 MTTs. It’s a grind, for sure, but also a place full of lessons. The fields are huge, the play is unpredictable, and variance hits hard. But it’s also where I feel I can really build my foundation step by step. 💪

I try to focus on:

  • [] Playing tight and patient early
    [] Studying push/fold spots
    [] Staying disciplined with bankroll management
    [] And, of course, trying to stay calm when the bad beats hit 😅

Sometimes it feels like an endless mountain climb, but I keep reminding myself that even the best players once started here.

“Micro stakes teach you patience, discipline, and survival. Without these, no higher level is possible.”

Question to you all:
👉 What advice would you give to someone grinding micros seriously?
👉 Is there one habit or mindset shift that really helped you when you started?
👉 How do you balance between studying and just putting in volume at the tables?

I’d love to hear your experiences and tips. For me, every little piece of advice could make a big difference in the long run.

Thanks in advance, and good luck to everyone fighting the micro battles! 🃏🔥

See you at the tables! 🚀​
 
Phoenix Wright

Phoenix Wright

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Take my post lightly as I've never grinded money games in that way, but I did grind cardschat freerolls for about 2 years or so. I'd recommend starting with the cardschat 30 day course. It's free! It's pretty good information and if you aren't starting completely from scratch, then it should be even easier to go through the material and the stuff you already know will be good review:
https://www.cardschat.com/forum/learning-poker-57/cardschat-30-day-poker-training-course-455641/

As for habit or mindset shifts which helped me, it was mostly about always trying to learn and looking for spots where I was unsure of the best play, or ways I could have done better. Don't be results-oriented about it; it's about finding moments where you can improve your decision-making in the future.

Studying and playing balance wasn't something I personally thought much about. It was more playing and then trying to learn, but I didn't put a time limit on my study. I naturally wanted to look for answers and didn't really think about how long it took. Some of my questions took much longer to answer than others, but the cardschat forums is a great place to ask questions and see what others in the community believe.

I'm always in a decision between grinding micro stakes or making money another way, but best of luck to you at the tables :)
 
S

stil370

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Joined
Mar 19, 2010
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Hey CardChat family! 👋​

Lately, I’ve been spending most of my time playing micro stakes — freerolls, $1, $2, sometimes $5 MTTs. It’s a grind, for sure, but also a place full of lessons. The fields are huge, the play is unpredictable, and variance hits hard. But it’s also where I feel I can really build my foundation step by step. 💪

I try to focus on:

  • [] Playing tight and patient early
    [] Studying push/fold spots
    [] Staying disciplined with bankroll management
    [] And, of course, trying to stay calm when the bad beats hit 😅

Sometimes it feels like an endless mountain climb, but I keep reminding myself that even the best players once started here.



Question to you all:
👉 What advice would you give to someone grinding micros seriously?
👉 Is there one habit or mindset shift that really helped you when you started?
👉 How do you balance between studying and just putting in volume at the tables?

I’d love to hear your experiences and tips. For me, every little piece of advice could make a big difference in the long run.

Thanks in advance, and good luck to everyone fighting the micro battles! 🃏🔥

See you at the tables! 🚀​
its always a mountain climb my friend.
 
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