Switching play style in microlimit

Hi. I'm new to poker (played about 3 months). This site has been very helpful to learn poker strategies and theories, so thanks to everyone that's part of it.

I play the penny tables on pokerstars, mostly heads up and 6max (working on reads). I started experimenting this week by coming in with a small stack (1/5-2/5 of buy in) and play loose/aggressive/stupid. I'd expect to lose my first buy in eventually but along the way have people start calling with bad hands. Then I come back with double the first buy in (close to max) and play a lot tighter for a little bit hoping to catch a hand and doulbe up before they notice I switched (which might take a long time). Or else if I make $ then I switch to tight.

I know a lot of you do real well by switching your style back and forth, but I have lost money consistently the last week (some from playing bad, but lots of bad beats after I play tight again) even though I won slow but consistently trying to be TAG all the time.

So I'm wondering if you think this is a bad idea, or if I am the right track but doing something wrong (like bluffing too much to get a maniac image when most people don't pay attention & would be calling my big hands anyway)

You're not the first person to suggest the idea of throwing money away to build a loose image. Even in a live game, I'd think this a bad idea, but online in microlimits, I'd rule it out completely. Not only are the players unlikely to notice + react significantly, but it's likely that several will have left the table by the time you're ready to capitalize on it. Further, I expect you'd see many of them playing just as loose without doing this. Finally, it ruins any chance you have of making reads, since you're not letting them follow their natural groove quite as well.

You might try reversing your strategy. Play ultra-tight for 30-40 hands and then loosen up and bluff at a big pot or 2. Unfortunately, this almost certainly won't work at a penny table, and even at higher limits only works against people that pay attention. At the microlimits, I really think you will do better by playing loose/passive preflop in late position. You can limp about half your hands CO and Button because the chances of a raise are lower and if someone does raise after you, you will know how many callers there will be before you decide to call that raise. Just make sure you only continue if you flop a great hand when you play crappy cards in LP.

I now understand there is little reward to building image at microlimits. Thanks for the insights!!!

Image building online is overrated, except in SNGs and late in MTTs.

You basically need to have the same players with you to capitalize. In Ring, the table is fluid, and even in MTTs, early, the table will change a lot.

In a SNG, where you're locked in with the same players a while, there can be some benefit to it, and Late in an MTT when things have settled down.

Even then, at Microlimits, it won't matter.

Just play your game, and make your money.

The only thing I have found that the microlimit players take notice in, is your 24s catching a flush against their minraised preflop KK. A lot of time, they'll be pissed at you and try to play back at you on most pots your in with them. It's time.. to slowplay that set for max value!