Playing against short stack

#1 27th September 2005, 12:41 AM

I have been playing single table SNGs lately and doing pretty well at it. My problem is how to deal with the short stack at the end of the game, say when three of four are left. When four are left, I am usually pretty tight (don't want to finish out of the money) and think I may be giving away too many blinds to the short stack. Once in the money I still haven't figured a strategy that I am comfortable with. I have been calling with anything once I get over four times the short stack's chips. This will still leave me enough to call another all in if I lose the first hand. How do you all handle these situations?

#2 27th September 2005, 2:42 AM

You shouldn't be calling his pushes with marginal hands, you should be pushing into him and putting him under pressure.

#3 27th September 2005, 4:08 AM

You HAVE to be aggressive when it gets shorthanded in SNGs. I used to have the same problem, I played too tight near the bubble. A shortie is going to push with a lot of hands. If you have any ace and are getting good pot odds, you should be calling. Especially when the blinds get big, you really have to pay attention to the size of the pot, you are getting good odds to call with a lot of hands.

#4 27th September 2005, 4:51 AM

If you out-gun the short stack significantly or are the chip leader in the later stages of a SNG, you NEED to put the pressure on. Especially on the blinds. If you have a good lead, you have room to experiment and test the players to see what they will break from. Start with small raises, see if you can get them out of the hand, and keep pushing.

#5 27th September 2005, 6:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dorkus Malorkus

You shouldn't be calling his pushes with marginal hands, you should be pushing into him and putting him under pressure.

nuff said ALTHOUGH to expand slightly you want your aggression to EFFECTIVE. Meaning when trying to push a short stack around make sure you don't over commit yourself with a losing hand. Most important though is to be the one applying the pressure.

#6 27th September 2005, 2:06 PM

One other thing, I think its good to fold on some hands which are marginal so that the other player(S) respect your raises.
Fold or raise, but never call. Unless Trying to trap.

#7 30th September 2005, 6:08 AM

I would keep raising the shortstack's blinds, because he wouldnt call unless he had AA or KK or maybe AK, i dont think he would want to risk going on the bubble by calling with a medium hand like J10 or QJ.

#8 30th September 2005, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VIPERPS

I would keep raising the shortstack's blinds, because he wouldnt call unless he had AA or KK or maybe AK, i dont think he would want to risk going on the bubble by calling with a medium hand like J10 or QJ.

TOTALLY depends on the player that is why you MUST make your aggression effective DO NOT over commit yourself a good player on a short stack WILL spot you and take his stand with what you might think is a marginal hand but is better than yours!

Similar Threads for: Texas Hold'em Poker > Playing against short stack
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
The Official KC Strategy	KingCurtis	Tournament Poker	91	28th February 2011 2:16 AM
How much bankroll to play $1/$2 No Limit $60 Min Buy-in Live Cash Table?	Transient Spike	General Poker	3	2nd December 2007 5:50 PM
Help with playing short handed	PRLJAM FAN	Cash Games	4	4th October 2006 12:31 PM

Play Texas Hold'em Online Poker \| Playing against short stack
BetOnline Poker is a top online poker site accepting all US players with an INSTANT cash bonus of up to $900 FREE. It also has a casino and sports betting available.	PokerStars is one of the best sites to play online poker. Using PokerStars marketing code CCHAT you get a $600 bonus. Note: No US Players Accepted.