Short stacks in poker

Strategies: short stacks in poker

Any novice poker player often doesn’t understand how to deal with a number of borderline situations. So in this case, you need to create a strategy that avoids having to make difficult decisions. And short stacks are the best option to consider at all times.

 The idea is to keep the stack to 20 bb. The best place to play is at a table with at least 7 players. Only the strongest hand must be played by betting all-in. Everything is very simple and straightforward, and as practice shows, quite profitable. At the moment there are a lot of poker players who play that way and they are called shot-stackers.

But it is important to keep in mind that there must be no more than two shorts at the table, otherwise the strategy will not work. The idea behind this approach is to bet the entire stack on a strong hand.  And you have to have a good hand to respond to the bet and go all-in. And in practice that rarely happens, and the opponent just folds.  In the other case, the hand still has a strong combination, so the opponent doesn’t have much chance of success. And if the flop is completely wrong, you should discard right away.

What’s the difference between a tater and a short stacker?

A shortstacker must leave the table immediately after a successful all-in, as any opponent can figure out the plan and take advantage of it. It’s a short game, and if successful, you should simply move on to the next slot.  So you have to wait, act and move on. That’s the whole point of shorting.

Of course, we’re not talking about any kind of poker here. It’s simply an opportunity for many players to make money. But in some cases, there are doubts about the appropriateness of this approach. This is due to the widespread use of this strategy, and if your opponent is not confident, there will be no response, and in another situation, there is a huge chance of simply losing.

Strategies in poker: Short stacks

What difficulties can there be?

By adopting this approach, the average stacker will become aggressive, take the challenge more often and be able to catch at a certain point. And at the same time, the shortstacker himself may not even know about the negative outcome until it happens. That is, the risks are always increased and one must approach the game wisely.

Overall, the short stack strategy is not without its disadvantages. First of all, other players will be against this approach to the game. But at the same time, this approach to the game does not improve the poker player’s skills in any way; there is no question of making complex decisions and analyzing the game. After all, one can calculate the cards or at least bluff. In addition, over time, with any strong combination, the winnings will be extremely small; any player can read the actions and understand that there is simply no point in taking any chances now.  And there is no opportunity to wait long for a strong pair or a promising combination. That is, here the player relies only on the strength of his own cards and, one might say, a share of luck. All additional poker tricks that can be used in the game are simply ignored. 

In any case, everyone decides for himself the expediency of such a gamble, and understands whether it should be used.