Why We Should Abolish The Micros?

Almost three years ago, former WSOP Main Event champion, Aussie Joe Hachem alerted the whole world with a simple remark: Poker is dying! Months later, Daniel ‘jungleman’ Cates complemented Hachem and said: Online poker is dying! The poker operators reacted one by one admitting the market isn’t that healthy at all and made up fancy words for this status quo like ‘ecosystem’ and ‘predatory environment.’ So they tried to reshape online poker protecting ‘the recreational’ more and the ‘professional’ less.

They added new games, more luck-based and casino-like, decreased the incentives meant for the massive grinders and YES, increased the rake. And if you think the time for experiments has passed, well guess again! Because more cuts are coming for the PokerStars regs and probably more costs to deal with aka a higher rake.

But are these decisions any good for the ‘ecosystem’? Is the ‘ecosystem’ getting more and more healthy? Unfortunately the positive effects aren’t visible at all, that’s why the online poker operators need a different approach, a more drastic one that could actually work. And an alternative to just increasing the rake!

(Photo: Cardplayer.com)

An Alternative Solution

Once again, the rake discussion is in center stage and widely talked among the poker players, both professionals and recreationals. The perspective however is different: it isn’t about decreasing the rake BUT actually increasing it. A new wave of opinions have emerged as of late saying that increasing the rake especially at the lower stakes is actually good for the game long-term. Daniel Negreanu has voiced this opinion recently in a podcast. You can watch it below (jump to minute 27 to get straight into the action):

Last month, Twoplustwo owner Mason Malmuth also offered his take on what online poker needs to get over the hump: increase the rake at the small stakes, limit multi-tabling and end all volume-based bonuses.

According to the two, by increasing the rake, you make the micro stakes unbeatable which can force the low stakes regulars to flee to the higher stakes and leave the recreationals battling against each other which can result in a much better overall experience for them. So the higher stakes receive an influx of ‘new players’ and the recreationals can stand a chance and win a fair amount of the time (even though long-term, they are losers).

Nevertheless, this doesn’t solve the ‘ecosystem’ problem LONG-TERM: the game is revolved around the recreationals and the higher stakes need recreationals NOT low stakes grinders who can adapt and make the games even tougher or just give up as they know they won’t be able to make a profit if they continue playing. Indeed, a low stake grinder can become a reg fish but only for a short amount of time. In the long run, the field remains depleted of recreationals. That’s why there is a need for an alternative solution, one that actually has implications on the general poker field, not on the operator’s financial statement. A solution like abolishing the micro stakes once and for all.

OK, but WHY?

Why DO It?

Online poker especially at the cash micro stakes (Sit & Go’s included also) has become more or less of a nitfest. More and more players - most of them from the second and third tier countries in terms of income - have become full-time grinders with no intention of moving up. Why? Because they make a decent living just by playing the micros plus the games are definitely easier. As a result, the micros have toughened up to a point that the recreationals are being destroyed just like at the higher stakes. So why keeping the micros any longer?

The whole idea of the smallest of stakes was to be a training field for the poker pro wannabes with no bankroll, a transition place to hone your skills before moving up. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case anymore as stakes like 2NL and 5NL now are like 25NL or 50NL in the old days skill-wise. And since there is a need for a new wave of players at low and mid stakes to sustain the overall poker economy and the high stakes in the future, abolishing the micros makes more and more sense.

If the operators get rid of the micro stakes and leave 25NL or 50NL the lowest stake to play cash online (like in the early days of online poker), not only the micro grinders will be forced to move up but also the recreationals (the same applies to some Sit & Go’s with $5 or $7 or even $10 being the lowest stakes one can play). The low stakes will suddenly become juicier and the winrate for the top range will increase exponentially leaving them room to take shots at the higher stakes (more money at the high stakes as a result). Simple trickle up economy.

And if the operators also limit multi-tabling, then we may see new bursts of life at the high stakes and nosebleeds. Zoom and Fast poker isn’t a solution, forcing a tight player to loosen up because he has less tables and a lower hourly IS!

Why Poker Operators DON’T Do It?

The good news is that recently, in some countries like Belgium and Romania, 2NL isn’t available anymore on platforms such as PokerStars. Unfortunately though, this has nothing to do with PokerStars’ attempt to abolish the micros. Most probably, the decision has to do with the legislation in those two EU states.

In fact, the possibility of taking such drastic measures is slim to none. Why? Because most of the rake comes from the micros. The micro stakes generate a massive revenue for every online poker operator as the rake is sky-high compared to the actual blinds/buy-ins (table cap for the cash games included) and borderline sustainable in some cases and also, at those stakes, you can find the largest number of open tables, players and recreationals. Cumulated, all these variable are gold for the average poker room. So how can they possibly kill the goose that constantly lays golden eggs?

While abolishing the micros may very well be a decision with the potential of reviving online poker, the major problem remains that we might never find out… unfortunately!

What do you think? Is abolishing to micro a solution for today’s poker problems? And if not, what other solutions you see? Please share your thoughts with the rest of us in the comment section below.