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If you’re looking to play some mid stakes poker online, that’s exactly where things get exciting. Mainly because the money starts to become good enough, that you can take things a bit more seriously. It’s not like you’re going to be grinding $10 games to make a few dollars per week. This is more about making a few hundred or a few thousand plus per week.
I’m going to cover some different angles of where you should start. But it will mainly be 200nl and 500nl as those stakes are the sweet spot for when a huge lift in income starts to become obvious.
Why Play Mid Stakes?
Most people lean into low stakes when getting into poker. Which is fine in the beginning, but eventually you want to move up to the next level. Staying at the same stake forever will make you stagnant. There also is no real upside to staying at these long games. You will cap out eventually.
But when you move up, you’ll likely be surprised the competition isn’t all that much better. Sure, you will need to mix things up and bluff a little bit more, but these players aren’t all that great.
200nl
Okay, the first stake I would start at is 200nl. All this means is $200 cash games, and you usually want to play 2-4 tables at a time. Initially 2 tables will be fine because you don’t want to overwhelm yourself getting used to this stake. I would also try and stick with 6 max cash games when you’re playing.
The goal here is to get in some volume and see what your results are playing at this stake. For example, you should aim to play 10,000 hands per month as a good starting point. Even 5,000 hands a month would be good. Just try and set some time aside for playing.
500nl
And the second stake I want to talk about is 500nl. AKA $500 cash games. If you find you’re good enough to win on 200nl there is no reason to believe you can’t dominate the 500nl cash games.
The one thing I will say is the competition is slightly better here, but if you improve every week, you can still get an edge in these games. Kind of the same approach as before. Multi table 2-4 tables of 6 max cash games and get enough volume in to see what your results are. Once again try and reach between 5,000 to 10,000 hands per month to see if you are winning or not.
Winning Strategy
At 200NL–500NL, what works for me is keeping things more basic, not getting out of line. I’m not trying to make insane hero calls or run huge bluffs every session. However, you do need to throw in the occasional bluff. I focus on sticking to solid ranges and applying pressure in the right spots. You can find more resources on Pokerstacked.
Preflop discipline is huge for me as well. I stick to a lot of GTO principles, 3-bet aggressively with purpose, and avoid unnecessary cold-calling out of position. GTO stands for game theory optimal and it’s a concept you should be aware of you plan on taking the game more seriously.
Post flop, I think in terms of ranges instead of just my hand. On every board, I’m asking who has the range advantage and who holds the nut advantage, then I size my bets accordingly. I use smaller bets on dry, high-card boards and polarize them more on dynamic textures. I’ve found that most mid-stakes pools are still under-bluff rivers and overfold to big turn and river bets, so I value bet thinner and apply pressure when ranges are capped. Staying consistent, controlling my emotions, and reviewing my database regularly is what keeps me profitable.
Common Leaks
the biggest leaks I see aren’t crazy punts — they’re small mistakes repeated over and over. A common one is over-bluffing rivers, especially against regs who just aren’t bluff catching enough to justify it. Another leak is defending the big blind too wide without a clear plan for later streets, which leads to tough turn and river spots that bleed money.
I also see a lot of poorly constructed 4-bet ranges — either players never bluff, making them easy to play against, or they choose the wrong hands to bluff with and get crushed when called. Many players triple barrel in spots where the pool simply doesn’t fold enough, or they fail to recognize when the population under-bluffs and hero call too often. Emotional decisions after big pots are another silent killer. Fixing these small leaks and reviewing hands consistently makes a real difference at these stakes.
Final Thoughts
Playing mid stakes poker is something you should at least try out if you’ve been grinding the low stake games for a while. What you’ll end up finding is that the hourly rate is a lot better for the amount of money you can make, opposed to sticking with the low games.
Sure, the competition does get slightly better but it’s still not impossible to beat these guys. You should stay properly bankrolled when you’re playing and have around 20 to 40 buy ins minimum to ride out variance. Meaning you still must deal with your pocket aces getting cracked to pocket jacks every once in a while.
You should also be pushing yourself a bit to see if you have what it takes to take things to the next level. Understand all of the basics such as GTO, ABC, and keep your emotions in check when things aren’t going your way. If you want it bad enough, you can easily move up from the low stakes and move upwards to playing more mid games.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is 200NL–500NL beatable in today’s games?
Yes, but the edge is smaller. You need strong fundamentals, good table selection, and consistent study habits. Most profits come from small advantages applied over high volume.
What winrate is realistic?
For a solid regular, 3–5 bb/100 is strong. Anything higher usually requires strong table selection or softer sites. You can improve this, but you will need to be bluffing at a higher frequency. For example, in 200nl bluffing is a bit harder since players are sticky, but at 500nl bluffing can be very effective.
How tough are the player pools?
There are more competent regs and fewer recreational players compared to lower stakes. Players understand basic GTO concepts, 3-bet more aggressively, and defend better postflop.
How important is solver work?
Very important. You don’t need to memorize solutions, but you should understand patterns, bet sizing logic, and range construction.
How big should my bankroll be?
At least 50 buy-ins, though 75–100 buy-ins is safer due to higher variance. However, you can still get away with 20 buy ins if you have some skill and are good at handling variance and not letting your emotions get the best of you.
What’s the biggest adjustment from 100NL?
Less autopilot. You need sharper preflop ranges, better turn and river discipline, and stronger emotional control to maintain a consistent edge. Basically, you need to pay more attention to what’s going on in each hand.
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