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OHT Poker Strategy Newsletter
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A lot of poker players lack the skills needed to play a short stack.  I can think of countless times I have seen or have came back myself with a short stack to win a tournament.  In fact my biggest win came that very way.  I was down to 4 big blinds after a bad beat and doubled up twice in a row and the rest is 6k history.  My point is, don’t give up and it will pay off.  We have to face the fact that our hand is going to get run down some times.  Bad beats happen to EVERYONE, it is what you do after it happens that will make a difference
in your game.  Let’s look at playing the short stack and some strategies you
can apply to your game.

If you find yourself with a short stack you need to evaluate how short you are.  The best way to do this is to count the number of big blinds you have.  If the blinds are $100 $200 and you have $2000 in chips you have 10 big blinds.  Now that you know were you are at we can see how desperate you are to make a move. 

It is my opinion that you can grind as low as 5 to 6 times the big blind looking for a hand to shove with and yes most of the time at this point YOU HAVE TO SHOVE ALL IN.  To many players get short stacked and shove on the very next hand.  On the other hand, too many players wait to long to make a move.  Moving all in to soon or to late is where most players go wrong playing the short stack. 




Let’s look at moving in to soon.  If you just suffered a bad beat and you push with your very next hand and most players paying attention will call you with marginal hands and most likely more than one player is going to call and your hand is going to get run down.  Now if your next hand is AA go for it, but if you look down at Q2 FOLD and pick a better hand and spot.

Now let’s look at waiting to long to make a move.  If you get down to 2 to 3 times the big blind your all in move is going to get called by someone and more likely than not more than one player.  They will be looking to knock you out so they can move closer to the money or deeper in the money.  Even if you have AA chances are you will get run down. 

So we know when we need to make a move per our chip stack but what cards and what position your in will effect the final decision to move ALL IN.  First off you cannot be to picky about the hand you move all in with.  Ax, Kx suited, Paint (any 2 face cards) pocket pairs, even suited connectors are card you want to make your move with.  Sometimes when the situation is right any 2 cards will do.  Now you don’t want to be moving all in from early position.  What you are looking for is good position and a sense of weakness from the table.  If you get 2 limpers that usually raise their good hands and you have the button, this may be your spot.  Most likely you will shove all in and the table will fold to you.  If you get called hopefully you have live cards if not that is poker.  It is better to make a move and lose than to wait to long and blind yourself out.  Now if you get AA or KK it is obvious you should shove.  Now sometimes betting half your stack looks like you’re begging for a call or someone to come over the top.  I reserve a move like that for a marginal hand.  With premium hands take the shot, as I said before players are looking to knock you out.  Chances are you will get called and at that point all you can do is hope your hand holds up.  Now back to the half your stack bet.  Players that are paying attention will expect your all in.  By betting only half your stack this will make good players think twice about calling you (it looks like a trap).  On the other hand weak players will see it as a weak move and may call.  You will have to gauge the table and the players in deciding to make this move.  It has worked for me I can only hope it will work for you at some point.


How To Play Short Stack
So now when that bad beat happens and you find yourself with a short stack just stay calm.  Wait for the right spot to make your move but don’t wait to long.  Pay attention to the table, identify weakness and make your move when the time looks right.  The time is right when you’re cards, position or your read on the table or at least 2 out 3 items fall into place.  Let’s try and make it as simple as possible.

1. Start looking to make your move when you have 5 – 10 times the big blind.
2. Pick a good spot and a good time to make your move.
3. Don’t let the cards hold you up; you will have to move with marginal hands.
4. Think outside the box.  Sometimes the all in is not the best move, will the half your stack bet work or maybe even
    something else?

If you keep this in mind when you get short stacked you will double up more times than not and get back in the tournament.
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