Playing Against Short Stacks - Short Stack Poker Strategy

For whatever reason, some people like to buy in to poker games for significantly less than the standard buyin amount. Many no limit tables have minimum buyins of just 20 big blinds and you will often see short stacks buy in for that amount or just slightly more.

Short stacks are annoying because they mess up the rhythm of poker games, offer little money to be won and make random all-in bets into small pots. Short stacks are especially difficult to play against when there is another full stack in the pot with you. It’s tough to put 20 BB in the pot when you have to worry about the other full stack coming over the top.

The good news is that there are certain ways to deal with short stacks. Because they are almost always weak players, they leave themselves open for exploitation. It’s not too difficult to beat short stacks as long as you keep your cool and learn how to play their game.

Fight Fire with Fire Against Loose Short Stacks

One of a short stack’s greatest weapons is his fold equity. Short stacks win a lot of pots without a contest because the full stacks know the short stacks are willing to gamble and get it all-in on a moment’s notice. As a result, full stacks tend to play too tight against short stacks.

Remember that when you play against a short stack, you also have a 20 BB stack. It’s not like you can win or lose any more than he can. You also have all the same annoying moves available to you that a short stack does. Use those moves and fight fire with fire.

Do you get annoyed when you raise preflop and then some short stack open-pushes on the flop? Well, try the same thing against him. It’s all about fold equity here. The short stack knows you don’t often have anything and that you will be forced to fold if he pushes all-in first. The next time you play a pot against a short stack, try turning the tables on him and be the first person to make a big bet on the flop.

You can’t be afraid to gamble with short stacks because their game is based on other players being afraid to do just that. Once you prove to a short stack that you’re not afraid to gamble, you can put him in many difficult situations. For example, try 3-betting a short stack with a wide range of hands preflop. His only options will be to fold or push all-in. Both options look bad when he knows you’re willing to call his pushes.

With all the dead money in the pot and the limited risk, you don’t have to have very strong hands to call pushes from short stacks. Many times, you can even be only 35-40% to win the hand and it still be correct to call because of all the dead money in the pot. You just have to be prepared for a high variance session.

Play Normal Against Tight Short Stacks

Some players buy in to poker games short because they are playing with scared money or simply don’t have enough money for a full buyin. These players often play a tight game and do not rely on their fold equity like the loose short stacks do. These short stacks are a lot easier to play against.

Against tight short stacks, you can play a normal, tight-aggressive game. You might even try pushing them around a little and see how they react. If you find out a short stack is playing with scared money, he will be very easy to read. Bet and raise the tight short stack and collect that scared money for yourself. Any time the tight short stack fights back, just fold and get right back to it the next hand. These players play a very predictable game.

Adjust Your Raising and C-Betting Standards

Before you make a preflop raise or c-bet, note the short stacks yet to act and ask yourself how likely it is that they will push over the top. Sometimes, you’ll realize that you need to adjust your raising/betting standards. With weak, stealing hands like 45s, you might want to back off on the preflop raise or the postflop c-bet when there is a short stack yet to act.

This doesn’t mean you need to tighten up a whole lot. Remember earlier I said that you don’t always have to have a premium hand to play against short stacks. As long as you have a decent hand, you can play. With weak hands and loose short stacks, your best bet is to avoid the bottom tier of hands that you normally play against big stacks.

When There is Another Full Stack in the Pot

I mentioned earlier that one of the toughest times to deal with short stacks is when there are other full stacks in the pot. You don’t want to commit 1/5th or 1/4th of your stack in the middle when you still have to worry about other full stacks. The answer to this problem is to ignore the other stacks.

What you might not realize at the time is that the other full stacks are just as worried about you as you are about them. They don’t want to get deeply involved in the hand only to have you come over the top with some massive raise. When playing against a short stack, just ignore the full stacks until they do something that says they are interested in playing a big pot.