Before you start earning significant money from poker, you will have to go through a difficult stage – learning to beat the micro limits. This is poker lingo for playing with the smallest stakes. It is at the micro-limits that most beginners stop because they do not know how to work on their game.
We are talking about Nathan Williams' book "Crushing the Microstakes" (CTM), in which the author shared his strategy, thanks to which he successfully became a professional player in the mid-2000s.
Crushing the Microstakes by Nathan Williams is one of the best basic books for beginners. We’ll review the information in it and its usefulness.
About the Author of Crushing the Microstakes
In the poker community, the most successful books are those written not by theorists, but by experienced players. One such author is Nathan Williams, also known as BlackRain79. Along with this book, he maintains a YouTube channel and poker strategy blog.
Nathan Williams had an interesting and far-from-standard career. Nathan started by playing with play chips in free poker games. The future coach and writer ended up getting about $60 together after some time. BlackRain79 was just getting started.
This is how his career began, which became quite successful. He quickly navigated the micro-stakes mire, rising to NL100, writing a popular book, and becoming a successful coach.
Nathan Williams is well-known for winning at micro and low-stakes and he always emphasizes one thing on his website. When choosing a site, BlackRain79 says look for soft tables and recreational players.
Summary of Crushing the Microstakes
The book contains only the main points, which beginners often do not pay attention to or misinterpret. After reading "Crushing the Microstakes", you will learn:
– How to build a proper and effective bankroll
– How many tables to play and how to arrange them
– What types of opponents there are and how to adapt your game to them
– Which poker software to use and how to set up a HUD
All material is presented in simple words and the poker lingo is explained to you by Nathan Williams. The book, published in 2011, has a number of ready-made strategies. All you had to do was follow the directions on the pages – and the readers' results went up.
Who is Crushing the Microstakes Useful For?
It cannot be said that the book "Crushing the Microstakes" has completely lost its relevance today. However, you can no longer trust it unconditionally. Some of the concepts described in it are long outdated. Poker has come a long way since then, and the number of professionals has grown many times over.
But still, the basic things Nathan Williams talks about can offer some fundamental knowledge. Some of you will also prefer the way the information is organized and appreciate a professional perspective.
How Can You Learn to Play Poker?
In 2022, there are better ways to learn than reading poker books. This was facilitated by fast internet, the development of video services, and many poker pros who recorded their courses and lessons. So a huge amount of material can be found online. For example, our catalog of poker guides contains a wealth of useful material.
After you get familiar with the basics and several more complex strategies, what is the next step?
It is also worth paying attention to auxiliary programs that can be purchased at the best prices in the GipsyTeam Shop. In the catalog, you will find programs for training in various aspects of the game: from hand analysis to teaching range thinking. For example, one of the most popular programs, Flopzilla, will help with both.
Free Poker Games on GipsyTeam
The GipsyTeam brand is the largest Russian-language poker site, with Spanish and English teams. We try to create the best conditions for successful poker players and we’ve been doing that since 2009.
– Current news is published on the main page
– Live forum – a place where you can discuss hands and strategies or just communicate with like-minded people
– Regularly updated poker room promotions for a profitable start to your career
GipsyTeam constantly holds joint promotions with poker rooms. The list of our free poker tournaments is always up to date and displays various sites. If one of them has an event you want, but you aren’t signed up, that won’t take very long.
The instructions on the poker room pages describe how to create accounts using our links and play in freerolls. If they are not visible, GipsyTeam support specialists can help. All consultations are free and we’ll never ask for sensitive data. Just write to support on Discord, Skype, or Telegram – they will answer you within a few minutes.
