Bullying

I play at Full Tilt poker and I play .05 .10 ring game. Lately I have been losing money. I don't know why. I think it might be that I go into the tables with only 2 dollars and other players that have 10 dollars or more can easily bully me out of hands. Also if I invest my money in one hand for only .50 and I lose my stack is very low and the bigger stacks tend to put me all in more. The big stacks also don't find .5o a lot so even if they don't have a great hand they will raise that much. That being one 4th of my chip stack I feel like can only play with great hands. Do you think I should play with more money in the ring games? Or play sit n gos so everyone starts with the same amount of chips?

I don't know much about shortstacking, but if you're getting bullied then you are doing it wrong. You can't keep paying to see flops and fold if you have no implied odds when you hit (b/c you are short). Either buyin full or research how to play as a shortstack.

Your profile says you play at Full Tilt. Now that they've introduced micros why aren't you buying in full at 2nl or 5nl instead?

If you're buying in short, you're not supposed tp let yourself get into situations where you can be bullied. Most of the times when you enter a pot, you should be pot-committed, which basically eliminates possibilities like folding after you have put in 1 quarter of your stack.

As for only playing premium hands, I think that's wrong too. It's over-simplified, but what you want to do with a short stack is play for it all and to be better than 50-50 overall. The difference can be a small percentage, but if it's in your favor, that's how casinos make billions from blackjack et al.

I have played the same $.05/$0.10 ring tables on Full Tilt. I buy in for the minimum $2 and have encountered the same bullying techniques. I usually have more sucess if I search for the table with the lowest average pot. Usualy around $.60. And I also look for a middle range % to flop so that it is clear that a big stack isn't just stealing blinds every other hand.

If you are getting bullied, that perhaps what I would do is buy in with a bigger amount ($5-$6) and play that as if it was $2. This should keep some bullies away, and just play it smart and as you would if it was $2, meaning that if you drop $2 below what you came in with, consider it as you have lost all your chips and its time to leave the table. this does put more of your money at risk, but if you play it carefully than you should come out all right (at least not bullied...)

You also might just want to play a bit tighter, I've been in this spot before and typically people are a lot more willling to call you down with mediocre hands. I know quite a few people who have the money to put $5-$10 at the table, but they stick to 1-2 just so they can't lose more than that in any given hand.

You should never go into any cash game unless you have at least 80 BB's. The reason is to stop you being bullied which is what is happening to you.

I was having the same problem at the 5/10c table at Full Tilt and a move to the 1/2 or 2/5c tables has helped me build my br back up.

If you're going to play short-stacked, play very tight and be prepared to shove when you hit big. It is an effective strategy if you have the patience. Read more about it in Harrington's books on Cash Games.

I don't play much cash, however I have been short stacked in many SnG's. you have the advantage of not worrying about rising antes. Be patient, find a premium hand and push. There have been many times where I was super short stacked and won it all.

There are two strategies in the replies, but not a solid explanation.

Buying in 'short' or 'shortstacking' is intentionally buying in with less than 80-100BB's, betting hard and fast, win or lose. Lose and you jump back in with a small buy-in and try again. Win and you leave the table, re-joining another table with a small (short)stack and leaving your profit in the cashier.

If you have a limited BR, then you should drop down in levels. The new micro limits are fine, but buy in with a decent 80-100BB and you won't be bullied around. The reason you see other players with the $10 is exactly what you observed. They can bully you and cannot be bullied themselves.

Ring vs SnG's ?? Quite different games. At any ring stakes, winning hands return at least double what you bet, more if there are more than 2 in the hand. SnG's vary with # of entries. If you are good at marathon survival and steady chip accumulation, then MTT's might be better for you. But if you don't make the top level of payouts, the return can be very small with a SnG returning a 20-30 cent or so profit on a $1.25 buy-in.

If you want to stay with ring games, step down in levels and buy in with a bigger stack.

If you have $2 at a table, from your point of view everyone has $2. The money behind that makes no difference whatsoever. Unless someone has less chips than you do, you are playing with a bunch of players with $2 each. You need to expand on bullying, how about a hand example where you were bullied?

+1

In cash games, the short stacks bully the big stacks, not the other way round. If you feel the opposite, you're doing something very wrong.

ja bullying is great short stacks are powerless to the huge bet powers.

if you have 2 dollars dont play against 10 dollars.
find a table where avergage i max 3 or 4.

^^ This and this vv
I'm guessing that most of the people that feel bullied as shortstacks are playing short because they are afraid to lose more at once/not rolled to play.

I think we have to read between the lines here. What zach says is right, in some cases, say for a shortstacker. But what the OP is 'indicating' is that he doesn't WANT to be in pots where 50cents is 25% of his stack and is unhappy with being put all-in. That kind of thinking does not fit with 'shortstacking' strategies, imo.

OP's only real question was .. "Do you think I should play with more money in the ring games? Or play sit n gos so everyone starts with the same amount of chips?"

Does 'scared money' come to mind ?? Nothing truly wrong with that (other than being a high risk position), but then he needs to step down in levels, buy-in with more of a stack, or switch to 'limit' games.