Short stack strategy (SSS) for no limit holdem poker This is about a near game theory optimal (GTO) strategy for short stack no limit holdem. If you play in the $1/$2 no limit holdem game at the California Commerce Casino, the buyin is $40 or 20 big blinds (20BB). How short you are in relation to other stacks dictates the ideal strategy around the bubble. For example, if you have seven big blinds under the gun and hold AQ, this is a clear shove at a table where the other players have 15–20 big blinds. You must attack here to try and get back in the game. Poker Strategy with Short Stack Basics of Short Stack Play. Three basic principles apply to short stack tournament strategy. Your position, reputation, and hand quality are most important. Short stack poker is about moving all-in at the right time. Because you have so little chips it’s really important to pick your bluffs wisely. IMHO the best short stack strategy is not to get that short in the first place. Once you're to the point where any bet is going to be called, you're in a crap shoot situation, and the thing that. The cash game short-stack strategy let me earn with big pairs while I learned to play drawing hands. If you want to try it, remember that you get three short stack buy-ins for the price of one full stack buy-in. That should be enough to tell you in one or two sessions whether the short stack strategy is for you. Keep calm and re-buy!

• Online Poker Strategy
• Short Stack Cash Game Strategy
• Short Stack Poker Tournament Strategy
• Full Stack Poker Game

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Being short stacked is a situation that happens in all game types. In hyper-turbos and spin-and-go’s, for example, you start with a short stack. And in tournaments, you can expect to be short often.

Here are seven tips that will prepare you for short-stacked situations.

Online Poker Strategy

Tip 1: Learn your preflop ranges.

When short stacked preflop, it’s important to use solid opening and three-bet-shoving ranges. You can determine those ranges with trial and error, and by studying good players.

(Better yet, you can borrow world-class pro Nick Petrangelo’s ranges by getting his new Upswing tournament course, Winning Poker Tournaments! Nick’s course comes with 250+ charts for six different stack depths.)

You can also use the SnapShove app, which tells you what hands to open-shove and three-bet shove (it does not provide opening ranges, though).

It’s important to adjust your ranges to how your opponents are playing. You should also stick to your preflop ranges until you have reasons to do otherwise, at which time you can adjust to target the particular mistakes your opponents are making.

Tip 2: Pay close attention to effective stack size.

‘Effective stack size’ is the least amount of chips in front of any player involved in a hand. It’s important to pay attention to effective stack size so that you can adjust your strategy accordingly.

Take a look at this example:

Player A stack size: $50
Player B stack size: $20
Player C stack size: $50

Player A Posts Small Blind of $1
Player B Posts Big Blind of $2
Player C Raises on the Button to $4

Here, the effective stack is determined by player B’s stack, which is $20.

Now suppose that player A is holding A A. What should he three-bet to? Obviously, he can three-bet anywhere from $6 to $50. But to determine the correct size, Player B’s stack size of $20 needs to be taken into consideration.

A standard three-bet size as the small blind would be $12. This achieves something: if Player B goes all-in for $20 and Player C calls, Player A can reopen the round of betting because the all-in is $8 more than his raise (also $8 more than Player C’s raise), thus allowing for more value preflop.

Tip 3: Consider post-flop playability.

‘Post-flop playability’ is how well your hand hits various flops, and how it plays after the flop.

This is important in short stack formats because after a preflop raise the stack depths are often too short to maneuver post-flop. This means you’ll usually be all-in either on the flop or the turn.

When short stacked with a hand that plays poorly post-flop, but is likely to the best hand preflop, jamming all-in is often the best play. It allows you realize all of your hand’s equity and avoid tough post-flop decisions. Examples of hands to jam with include small offsuit A-x hands and low pocket pairs (22–55).

Short Stack Cash Game Strategy

Just make sure to make this play only when under 20 big blinds deep.

Tip 4: Don’t shove all-in for too many big blinds.

It may seem like a good option to jam all-in for 25 big blinds from middle position with a hand like A 5. However, the risk-to-reward of such a play is poor. You’ll usually either win a small pot or lose a big one.

Instead, the optimal play is to use more standard sized raises, or fold when holding a weaker hand and/or expecting other players to three-bet. Save your stack for better spots and stronger hands.

Tip 5: Don’t be timid.

Inexperienced players are often too passive at shorter stack depths. They fold almost everything, waiting for a premium hand to double their stack.

Playing tight can be the correct strategy in some cases — most notably on money bubbles of tournaments. But playing tight too often will lose you more chips in the long run.

The same applies to limping on the button. As a general rule, don’t limp the button. Your opponents will notice, can assume you are doing it with weak hands, and can easily steal your limps by isolating.

Instead, raise either with the intention to win the blinds or to gain value from calls.

One final way of playing too tight while short stacked is to under-defend from the big blind.

Your opponents can profitably raise smaller with a wide range of hands if you fold too often from the big blind. Allowing them to pick up a free blind every orbit amounts to gifting them a 5 percent (or more) increase to their stack.

To stop opponents from abusing your blinds, defend by calling or raising a decent range of hands.

Tip 6: Never choose to be short stacked.

This applies to cash games and tournaments with add-ons, where you have the option to buy in for less than the maximum.

Choosing to sit with less than the maximum hurts your chances of beating every opponent in your game. It can prevent you from making the correct play, or from putting pressure on those opponents with equal or larger stack sizes. In short, it means you’re leaving money on the table.

Sometimes, however, sitting short is a good idea. Namely:

• To lower your variance when taking a shot at a higher stakes game.
• When the strongest players in the game are deep and the weakest players are short.

Tip 7: Expect variance, and prepare for it.

Short-stacked poker can leave you with a lesser edge than you might have in deep stacked formats. This is usually offset by the fact you can play many more hands in the same amount of time.

But with a lesser edge comes heightened bankroll requirements. Hyper-turbos, for example, require more buy-ins than other formats. Failing to account for this can be your demise of even very competent players. So, it’s important to find out how many buy-ins you’ll need for your chosen short stack format.

Conclusion

Short Stack Poker Tournament Strategy

Time spent studying effective short-stack play will lead to gains of knowledge and an increase in your win rate. Though, as always, studying is no substitute for playing. So get out there and try some short-stacked formats for yourself. And good luck!

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Full Stack Poker Game