Tight or loose play in micro tourneys?

[BerlinBlinds]

Hey guys, I was wondering something. In micro stakes tournaments I always hear ppl say play tight and aggressive, but when I try that I notice many players call everything anyway. Even if iIshove strong hands they still call with random stuff.


So im not sure… should I keep playing really tight or is it better to open up a bit looser since ppl dont fold much at these stakes? Feels like variance is crazy sometimes.


What do you guys do in micros?

 

[Mario7]

Well, as you put it here, the logic is simple: if they "call everything", you should stay tight. Loose play would make sense if they were nitty, so you could bluff them out.

 

[bremp555]

That’s a really good question, and it’s something almost everyone who plays micros struggles with. The truth is, players at these stakes love to call, so playing tight and aggressive can still be profitable because you’ll often get paid when you actually have strong hands. The downside, as you noticed, is that variance feels higher because people call with random hands and sometimes they get lucky.

I think the key is to stay patient and not try to bluff too much at these levels. Since players don’t like folding, bluffs lose a lot of value. Instead, focus on value betting strong hands and keep things simple. Over the long run, you’ll win more by letting them make mistakes and pay you off rather than trying to outplay them with fancy moves.

That being said, opening up a bit looser can make sense in certain spots, especially late position, but I’d still keep the core strategy tight and value-heavy. The micros are all about capitalizing on bad calls, not trying to force people to fold. If you can handle the swings mentally, you’ll usually come out ahead by sticking to this plan.

 

[sandy358]

but when I try that I notice many players call everything anyway

Size bigger with hands that prefer heads-up play and perform worse multiway (and because you size bigger, raise these hand classes tighter) to squeeze folds out of calling stations. You can technically limp set-mine with low pairs, or limp for strong multiway-playable draws with suited aces and suited gappers-connectors though do not limp too much.