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.
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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.
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