Buying in for a short stack?

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Caissa

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I acquired a very modest bankroll as a result of a freeroll and I've been playing SnGs and freerolls. I tried $2NL a couple of times and got creamed. My bankroll isnt nearly big enough to support putting $2 on the table at any one time.

I've heard there are people that play cash games short stacked. Is this feasible (for 10 or 20bbs)? What's the variance like? How should I be playing it? Are there any articles/videos that anyone knows about. 6Max or full ring?
 
n3rv

n3rv

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It can be done and can be fun but I wouldn't recommend it as an optimal strategy. The variance will be greater for you and less for the rest of the table. If you are short-stacked you basically just have to fold a lot more and then push all-in a lot more any time you are probably ahead. Full ring gives you a few more hands per blind to get a better hand, and probably has slightly less variance overall.

However, even this takes some experience of knowing the right positions and you say you are just starting out and getting creamed at $2NL already. Therefore, playing short-stacked won't help your game much at all, it will probably just help you lose less each time you play and reinforce some bad habits.

Honestly, it might be better to just keep playing the lowest SNGs and freerolls for a while until you have a better understanding of bankroll management and variance. Even if you created a proper bankroll with play money and went up the levels there it might give you a better understanding of why you need one.

$2NL will still be a lot tighter and different to any other game you have played so far. But at least if you gain the experiences of beating something at the easiest levels and then going up in levels to a tighter game, it could help you grasp the concept more of why you need a lot of full buy-ins and need to adapt your game depending on the type and the stakes.

That said, if you keep getting it in behind and losing at any game, it won't matter how many buy-ins you have. You need to consider studying the game away from the table to help you stop getting creamed when you return. This can mean searching for generic articles or videos, but it might also mean analysing any hands you lose in order to work out why you lost them, and how you will stop losing them in the future. This will be the main way to keep full stacks.
 
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CactusCat

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I was where you were only two months ago.

Don't do it. Yesterday I watched as a shortstacker buy in for exactly 20 bb. He called and folded most of his blinds away, then the third hand, called, flopped trip 10s, turned quads, and tripled up, winning a 23c pot... loled so hard when I saw it.

I recommend out the freerolls just a little bit more, at least to the $15-$20 range. Then you have enough for ~15 $1.00 buy-ins. 50 bbs is enough that you can afford to call with small pocket pairs and setmine. You can get it in with TPTK profitably, whereas you might be less eager with a full stack.

Patient, smart play is enough to run it up to $30-$40, now you can start buying in $1.50 or for the full hundred bbs.
 
ScooperNova

ScooperNova

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I like to buy in short stacked, especially in PLO. At the microstakes, your not going to get many more calls than you do anyway, so suckouts are about the same.
 
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