Friday, May 25, 2007

Strategy Against Shortstackers

On almost every table there is at least one player who buys in short-stacked. I am annoyed by them, and sometimes I make rather loose calls against them because I feel I can afford it. These loose calls add up quickly, and looking through some past hands and stats, I think I need to tighten up against some of the shorties.

There are two different kinds of short-stackers. The ones to look out for are the regulars. These players know how to play a short stack. They usually buy in for the minimum, and then just wait for a hand to double up with. I have found that these players' ranges for a minimum buy-in shove are AQ+, 99+. So I need to stop paying them off with 22-88 and AJs.

The other short-stackers are the ones who buy in for $356.34 (their full bankroll) at 5/10NL. Usually these players are taking a shot with what they have left in their account. Some of them are willing to take risks, and others are very tight and don't want to go broke. Regardless of which style they play, with these players I look to play aggressive preflop by raising their limps with position, and 3-betting hands instead of flat calling.

1 comment:

cheet said...

it's cheet from OT, I read this and realized I've been making the same mistake. I'm starting to tighten up more when calling these short stacker's shoves. I have every regular short stacker as a net loser, it's amazing to me that these guys still try this shit