Should my red line be dipping as much at the micro stakes? I'm mainly going for value and doing typical 'beat the micros' strategies but my red line is somewhat concerning.

overall 20bb/100 after 27,000 hands of 2nl and 5nl. (7,000 hands are 5nl)

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Okay so I just realised I have to use something else to upload pictures but my red line is -$99
blue line is +$214
net profit is +$115
net ev ia +$121

the red line shows a gradual dip mostly, with more drastic dips during downswings where I could barely win a hand.

I think you should separate your profits by stake in order to conclude it better

The red line is improved by getting opponents to fold. If your opponents aren't folding, then your red line isn't going to be that good. That's just how poker is at the very lowest stakes.

If you filter it for Vpip too I’m sure you’d see that it is actually the blinds that’s causing your red line issues. The way I see it if your playing TAG and against a lot of stations then blue line/green is all that matters. I’ve had a flat red line for stretches of hands where I’m running like god but for most part red is a downward slope at micros.

My red line is actually positive. But it's a sample of just 10k hands at 5NL (FR) on Stars. I have additional hands at 5NL (6max) where my red line is also positive and upward-sloping.

At 5NL (FR), I'm playing around 17/14/7, cbet flop 75, cbet turn 58, cbet river 39, total AF 2.8, attempt to steal 37.

In my current shots at 10NL (both FR and 6max), I get the impression I can't get away with cbetting quite as much. But at 5NL (FR), I seem to be getting away with it and I suppose frequent double-barrels are a good part of what's driving my positive red line.

You can cbet pretty widely. If you bet 75% of the pot, you only need folds about 43% of the time. Against someone who seems like your standard poker regular, you can probably cbet every single time.

I haven't got any experience at 2NL & 5NL, however, at 25NL & 50NL, I have a positive red line (over last 30k hands - 2.2bb/100) and the player pool is pretty bad so I can't imagine it differs that much at 2NL & 5NL but I could be wrong.

My stats are:

VPIP: 22.6
PFR: 16.6
3bet: 7.7
Squeeze: 7.6
Cbet F: 64
Cbet T:48
Cbet R: 63
AF: 2.6
AFq: 52
Att St: 48

Without seeing your stats it is hard to understand what is contributing to your red line drop. Can you post them?

There is a common myth that you can't bluff at the micro stakes. This may be true for some players but it is not representative of everybody.

Think about it..., at the micro-stakes people are playing a wider range, which means that their range will be weaker. Yes, some players will call your bets within bottom pair, gutters etc but there will be others that don't. It is your job to try and find the players that do over-fold and exploit them, as it is your job to find the players that over-call and exploit them by value-betting them to death.

On a side note, if you v-bet more, your red line and blue line should both increase if you are doing it correctly.

increase in red line + increase in blue line = lots more profits.

Yes, you can play a "beat the microstakes" style of play but most likely, you'll be stuck in the microstakes for a long time as it will only work on the population at those stakes. I would be looking at spots to bluff, value bet light, squeeze, etc. that will put pressure on opponents that will force you to become a better player and increase your overall win-rate.

Key stats to look for when picking your spots to bluff/vbet etc are WTSD, Fold to Flop Cbet and Fold to Turn Cbet.

Hope this helps.

I´m winning nicely at 2nl and 5nl fr with a negative redline. -10 bb/100 seems good to keep close to 10 bb/100 at 5nl and even more at 2nl since both stakes are very value orientated imo.

-20bb/100 too much I think. Points I would focus:

- BB defense. Learn ranges vs each position and opening sizes.
- Improve your 3bet game, either ip or oop, and as the aggressor or the defender (you open, get 3betted and flat).
- Learn postflop defense. You´re probably overfolding esp vs small cbets.
- Squeeze/3b squeeze more.
- Do not make aggro plays esp postflop just for the sake of having a pretty redline.
- Do not become a calling station just to save your redline.