After you register for real money play at an online poker site, a quick perusal of the cash game tables will reveal a number of games, each of which has its own available online poker stakes. The stake levels are generally referred to as micro stakes, low stakes, mid stakes and high stakes.

Finding Online Poker Sites With Varied Poker Stakes

Before registering for real money play with any online poker sites, it’s important to understand their available poker stake levels. Some sites reveal their stake ranges directly on their site. In other cases, you may need to download the online poker site’s software or try the instant play version in order to browse the tables, which are always affixed with stake levels.

The best online poker sites offer a wide range of stake levels for their cash games. Look for an online poker site that has stakes as low as $0.01 / $0.02 and as high as $500 / $1,000. If the online poker site offers game types such as Pot Limit Omaha, it may offer even higher stakes – up to $3,000 / $6,000. The best online poker sites also offer tournaments at a variety of stake levels, ranging from buy-ins of only $1 up to $500 for major multi-table tournaments.

• High Stakes Online Poker Sites – High stakes poker cash games are those that have the highest stake levels allowable at online poker sites. High stakes tables are usually occupied by a combination of professional live and online poker players and individuals with enormous bankrolls, who sometimes treat poker as a gambling game and rely solely on card strength. It’s not uncommon to see high stakes poker cash games with limits of $500 / $1,000 or even $3,000 / $6,000. Hundreds of thousands of dollars are won and lost each night at high stakes online poker sites.
• Low Stakes Poker Sites – Low Stakes games are those with small blinds and big blinds of only a few dollars. At most online poker sites, the majority of the action occurs at the low stakes levels. Low stakes games are known to provide an ideal training ground for poker grinders looking to ascend to the higher stakes levels. This is because many poker experts find the micro stakes tables to be too similar to free play poker games, resulting in potentially poor play and betting decisions since virtually no money is on the line.
• Micro Stakes Poker Sites – Micro stakes games are usually defined as games with stakes so low that they’re only offered at online poker sites, as live poker rooms wouldn’t profit from them. Micro stakes games generally offer very soft competition and include cash games that have stakes of only a few cents and tournaments with a buy-in of around $1.
• Mid Stakes Poker Sites – Mid stakes poker games are often defined as games in which the stake levels are represented in tens of dollars, such as $5 / $10 up to $25 / $50. Unless your bankroll is large enough to support it immediately, it is only advisable to enter mid stakes poker games once you’ve thoroughly developed your poker skills and you understand the importance of things such as bluffing, slow play, avoiding tells, tight-aggressive play, avoiding tilt and bankroll management.

How To Read Available Online Poker Stakes

As you browse the listing of cash games at an online poker site, you’ll notice money values attached to each table. These money values represent the stakes used for the game. For example, a No Limit Texas Holdem table with stakes of $5 / $10 indicates that the small blind is $5 while the big blind is $10.

Many poker sites require you to buy into a poker game for a minimum value equal to a multiple of the stake level. For example, you might be required to buy-in for at least 40 times the amount of the small blind.