At what stake level do players think more

I have posted hands in the micro-limit forum and people tell me I overthink my hands, partly because the people at those levels/stakes aren't even paying attention.

So, I ask you, at what level do I need to start concerning myself about other players who may be paying as much attention to what is going on in the game, and learning, as myself?

[lehighguy]

5/10 short begins to show some! signs of life.

[thirddan]

you are thinking about this wrong...at all levels there are players that are capable of thinking beyond the very basic level of "what do i have", against these kinds of players you have to be playing at the same level as them...you just ahve to make sure that you are applying the right concepts to the right players, not the right limit...

What the micro-posters were referring to was that at the lower limits, very few people will be thinking about YOUR hand. (Unless there's something really obvious and scary on the board, of course.) Because of that, bluffing is rarely useful. Things like table image matter much less as well. About 90 percent of the time, people at the micro (and SS) level simply play their own hands.

As SSH (and most any other book with lower-stakes advice) makes very clear, what you lose by not bluffing you get back by betting for value, which you can't do as often when the other players start "thinking."

The micros are a great place for you to get the mechanics down: what they call "ABC poker." When you're playing perfect ABC, you should be beating the micros and making the right moves on any given hand. YOU should think as much as possible: read the players, even read their hands, if you can. But in the lower limits you'll do just fine if you never assume they're trying to read yours.

Don't fall into the trap of wishing for "thinking" players. Take advantage of the "non-thinking" players. BB/100-wise, you may never have it this good again.

[goofball]

2M/4M

I think you've gotten some good advice, already. I'd like to add that from my short time around 2+2 I've seen more knowledge and insight into what I used to think was so simple a game than I would ever have guessed. And so much of it is coming from what I used to call, derisively I must add, "penny-ante" players. They play the "game" to a degree I couldn't imagine.

Keep playing, like has been said, at the limits you're comfortable in. Keep on studying your play. Don't worry about the idiocy you'll always see. You can not control one single thing - except what you do. Learn to accept what happens. Good or bad.

When you move to the next level, you'll learn more. Every level has it's own quirks/tendencies. Keep repeating what you know is right and eventually you'll win. You'll have swings, variances, etc., but anybody who plays regularly and understands the game knows and accepts that.

G/L

Thanks folks.

Excellent advice - I see the points.

Time to finish building the BR to move up to the $2/$4 tables.

[BottlesOf]

Medium Rare.

You should always be concerned about whether or not people in your game are thinking well. There is no absolute $ correlation.

[ QUOTE ]
Medium Rare.

You should always be concerned about whether or not people in your game are thinking well. There is no absolute $ correlation.

[/ QUOTE ]

That is what I was thinking but that was not the impression I derived from the microlimit forum replies I received.

I guess I need to learn to read between the lines.

I will strive to be the most attentive person at the table, so I can learn who is not paying attention, and those I should avoid.

[BottlesOf]

[ QUOTE ]
I will strive to be the most attentive person at the table, so I can learn who is not paying attention, and those I should avoid.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is an excellent plan.