A look at why the rake is so high at micro and small stakes HU, and introduction to how I will find out if NL50$ HU can be beaten.
From time to time there are discussions on whether or not it is possible to be a winner at micro and small stakes HU. Even though the players are horrible you still have to beat the rake, which are very high at the lowest stakes.
The reason for the whole "is micro stakes HU beatable" discussion is that HU is generally speaking the most expensive kind of cash games you can play.
Why Is HU Expensive?
You usually play 50% or more of the hands dealt to you, compared to around 24% in 6-max and 18% in full ring. This means that you will be participating in a hand where rake is taken more often.
So compared hand for hand, you will be paying a lot more in rake when you play HU, simply because you play more hands. In addition HU players are much more aggressive than fx. 6-max players, so you will often get all in with marginal hands, which means that even more rake is taken.
Why Is Small Stakes Games Expensive?
In No Limit there rake are usually 5%, with a maximum cap of 1-3$ depending on the stakes. At micro and small stakes the usual rake cap is 1$.
1$ may not sound like a lot, but when you compare it to the fact that NL1000$ usually has a rake cap of 3$, it should be clear that there are a significant difference.
Rake cap compared to blind size
Rake cap at NL1000$ = 1/3 big blind
Rake cap at NL50$ = 2 big blinds
Pot size required to reach rake cap
NL1000$ = 6 big blinds
NL50$ = 40 big blinds
This means that the full 5% rake will be taken from many more pots at NL50$ than at NL1000$, so relatively speaking, you will be paying much more in rake at NL50$ than at NL1000$.
So, You Much Do You Pay In rake at NL50$ HU?
Well, I don't know...
I have installed iPoker Hand Grabber and will be datamining NL50$ HU for the next couple of days in order to find out.
If you want to do a similar experiment yourself, you can read my guide to datamining iPoker - Otherwise stay tuned for the result.
I will post an update some time next week, and hope to have a big enough sample size to conclusively show whether or not it is possible to beat NL50$ HU early next month.
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