Monthly Archives: November 2010

How to Play Short Stacked In MTT’s

There are a range of very defined methods for playing short stacked in an MTT which are all derivatives of a main tenet of short stack strategy which in very general terms is to play only the best starting hands and play them very aggressively. When short stacked you can’t afford to go limping into pots or giving away BB’s unnecessarily, it is not in your interests to bleed chips to your opponents who will in all likelihood have larger stack sizes than yours. You need to have a pre-defined set of hands that you are prepared to play in a given position at the table when you reach a pre-determined level of chips. Most people determine that they are playing short stacked if they have a stack size in the region of 10-35 times the BB. Once you hit these levels you should consider your short stack strategy. When you are short stacked you need to take into account the following variables –

  • Stack size relative to the BB
  • Starting hand strength
  • Betting strength
  • Table position
  • Opponents betting

Stack Size Relative to the BB When Short Stacked

It’s fair to assume that if you are in the 10-35 BB range in a MTT tournament you need to start considering your options. If you are at the lower range, you need to start to seriously consider your options. Short stack strategy can be tailored slightly depending on how drastically short stacked you are. For example if you only have 10 times the BB you may need to consider betting big with lesser starting hands so you don’t fade out of the tournament due to the blinds and antes. Patience is a key factor in playing poker well, it is even more important when utilising a short stack strategy.

Starting Hand Strength When Short Stacked

As a general rule you should consider playing these range of starting hands if you are short stacked at the following levels –

35 BB
* AA
* KK
* QQ
* AKs
* AQs
* JJ
* AK
* AQ
* AJs

25 BB
* AJ
* TT
* ATs
* KQs

15 BB and below
* AT
* KQ
* KJs
* KJ
* AXs
* AX
* QJs
* QJ

Betting strength When Short Stacked

Simply put if you are in the BB ranges as noted above and you don’t get a starting hand that is the equivalent to the starting hands I have mentioned, you should not be betting at all. If you have a poor hand on the BB and can check to see a flop, that’s fine, you could always hope for a lucky flop and take it from there, but do not under any circumstances call a bet in the hope that you can see a cheap flop. Invariably, a deep stack will see you calling and raise you. Therefore, if you don’t have a playable hand, don’t play it. On the other hand if you are dealt a strong hand in the range displayed above, it’s time for some action. There are two schools of thought if you have a playable starting hand using short stack strategy. The first is to bet half your stack with a view to potentially betting the other half post flop. The second is to simply go all in pre flop. Of course, there will be an element of luck in both betting options. Take into account the relative strength of your starting hands and also the historical behaviour of the table when faced with all in or large raises. A point to consider is that if you have to play short stacked for a while then you can become predictable if you choose to go all in when you hit a large hand every time. You will be faced with the frustrating scenario of nobody calling your all in which would be a waste of your great cards so try to mix up your play between large raises (half the pot post flop if there are callers or 4 times the BB for example) and all in bets. Folding equity is an important factor to consider when deciding to raise big or go all in. The higher the bet you make, the easier you are making it for your opponent to fold their cards. For example, say that you have 3 callers to your all in bet, 2 of those may not hit the flop and fold post flop due to the perceived weakness of their hand in relation to the amount of chips it would take to continue. Therefore, you are no longer against 3 other players, it us just you and one other player.

Table Position and Opponents Betting When Short Stacked

Table position is a critical element of poker when playing the short or deep stack so it is important to consider your table position and the betting strength of your opponents when you choose to play a hand. Take into account that if you are in late table position and nobody has raised before you and you have a playable hand that is even at the lower end of your acceptable starting hands list you should be confident to enter the hand with a big raise or all in bet. If in mid position with no raises, play your mid range acceptable hands strongly and if in early position play your very best starting hands strongly. If there has been a raise or multiple raises before you, it is important that you play the most powerful starting hands in your acceptable starting hands list very strongly. If you don’t have an ace with strong kicker or a very high pair you need to consider strongly whether to enter the pot at all.

Short Stack Strategy Factors to Consider

 

  • Select a range of hands to play when at a given BB level and play them hard. If you get a starting hand not in your range of playable hands don’t play it unless you can see the flop for free.
  • Don’t attempt to bluff. If you have a strong hand, play it very strongly and get the chips in the middle.
  • Don’t call any bets (certainly in early position), either bet big or make an all in bet.
  • Small pairs and connectors are useless starting hands when using a short stack strategy.
  • If you make a big pot and your stack size increases outside of the short stack zone, start to play your natural game again.
  • Have patience and stick to the plan!

Short Stack Strategy Series

Given the name of this blog I think it’s only right to delve into short stack strategy. I’ll be covering short stack strategies over the course of the next few blog posts with a view to covering only multi-table tournament play initially.

Even the strongest of online poker players have played in a MTT shortstacked. It’s the nature of the game that cards and momentum will ebb and flow unless you favour the uber aggressive style whereby you will either become a deep stack pretty quickly or go down in a blaze of glory before you have the indignity of being a table pauper.

For the most of us, we will consider ourselves to be playing the short stack if we are in the range of 10-35 BB. Note that short stack strategy is determined by your stack relative to the blinds and not when compared to the stack size of your table competitors. In a nutshell short stack strategy dictates that you only play a small range of high value starting hands, and play them hard. The trick is to determine the correct starting hands to play in relation to stack size, table position, tournament position, opposition and a range of other lesser factors.

Playing a short stack style can be a fairly mechanical way to play poker because you should be familiar with which hands you are going to play in a given position which takes away some of the finer points of the game. In some respects because you are short stacked you have effectively relinquished the element of bluff to some extent – you simply don’t have the luxury to lose your chips to elaborate bluffs. This isn’t to say that bluffs don’t have a role in short stack strategy – they do, but they have to be played with more discipline.

With good judgment and a bit of luck, by playing a solid short stack strategy you should hopefully propel yourself from the realms of the short stack to a more manageable mid or deep stack. At that point you can pick up your normal poker style again and go for the win.