Shortstack strategy

It all comes down to hand ranges. Guys who buy in deep, they're playing to stack the other deep stacks at the table. Sure they play the premium pairs aggressivly, but those hands only come around every so often. Most of the time these guys are getting into pots with suited connectors, suited aces or small pairs. They're trying to flop either a monster made hand or a monster draw so they can take another guy's whole stack.

But the short stacker isn't playing that way. You're stealing the blinds and sometimes stealing pots on the flop. You're not looking for a straight or a flush or a set, you're just looking for top pair. Or a hand that might become top pair, or that might already be a bigger pair than the one your opponent has.

Say you're at a FR table UTG and you have a stack of 25BB You get dealt AQ. You raise 5x BB and you get one caller, the Button, who has a stack of 100BB.

Right away, you have forced the Button to make a mistake.

What kind of hand could a Button caller have? Honestly, he could have any two cards - any pair, any suited connectors, any suited ace, any suited face cards or any ace-face. And if he's loose at all, his probable range gets crazy - Any two suited, any two connectors, any two face cards. But it's really not that crazy, because a skilled & aggressive player can play hands like that profitably when he has position.

Provided both he and the initial raisor are deep stacked.

Say the button has a hand like 77. Pocket sevens really aren't that much of a hand. But one time in 9, small pocket pairs will make a set, and a set can often win an opponents stack, or most of it. But usually you don't make a set, and pocket sevens have to get mucked.

So 8 times it will cost the Button 5BB to see a flop, he won't get help and he'll have to muck, costing him 40BB total. The nineth time he will make a set and win his opponent's stack, or most of it.

But after your flop bet your stack is only 20 BB! So over time it's costing the Button 40BB for a chance of winning 20BB. It was a mistake for him to call your raise.

But he did. Say the flop comes J 8 5. You're first to act and you shove. Well, Poker Stove tells us that you're in deep kimchi. Any pocket pair vs two overcards, after the flop, is a 7:3 dog. The good news is that you're not playing with the cards face up. All the button knows is that he has a weak pair and he's looking as a big overbet from the pre-flop raiser. Same if he were playing a hand like 87s. He knows you could have easily raised pre-flop with JJ, or AJ or even QJ. He can't call.

And if he were playing 65s and had flopped an OESD, he's only getting 3:2 pot odds to see two cards and his odds of making a straight are a little over 2:1. And he has zero implied odds. He can't call.

Even if he did call, you've got 6 outs twice to suck out.

Those are the times the profanity filter works overtime. But you don't care, 'cause you took your double through and move to a differant table where you can buy in short again.

And that is why most players HATE short stackers.

Thanks to www.blackjake.net www.casinoebooks.com> i am a player that love the game and help gamblers.

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