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#Post#: 38--------------------------------------------------
Short-Stacked Poker Tournament Strategy
DIR By: Mudsill
Date: January 28, 2013, 11:08 am
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I can't even count how many time I've been short-stacked in a
multi-table tournament. I've literally played thousands of games
over the years and been chipped down to a tiny little pile of
chips in the majority of those games at some point or another,
often multiple times throughout the tournament. Unless you're
fairly new to tournament poker, you've probably also been
sitting on a short-stack more times than you can remember.
First, before I share my short-stack MTT strategy, keep this in
mind. This is the strategy that works for me. If it doesn’t work
for your style of play, don’t use it. While it is a
mathematically sound strategy, you may take a more passive or a
more aggressive approach, and my strategy simply not be
conducive to your style of play. And keep in mind that I don’t
play to place. I don’t play to finish in-the-money (ITM). I only
play to win. For the money. And for the glory. I would rather
finish on the bubble every single time I play than to
intentionally settle for anything less than 1st place just to
make a little money.
Second (if you decide my short-stack strategy is right for you),
you should put yourself into the mindstate that becoming
shortstacked in poker tournament is not a bad thing. It's simply
a part of the game. You get a starting stack. The blinds
increase regularly. The field decreases. Suckouts happen. Bluffs
get called. Big hands crash. Stacks get short. These are all
elements of everyday multi-table tournament play. So unless
you've figured out some way to win 100% of the tourneys you play
in, you will end up with a short stack at some point in many,
and I mean many, of your MTTs. You have to accept this as a part
of the game.
If you start a tournament with 10,000 in chips and the blinds
start at 25/50, you have a general idea of your betting strategy
at that point. If you start a poker tourney with 1,500 and the
blinds start at 25/50, you likewise start with a general idea of
your betting strategy. Why should it be any different if you
have a stack of 5,250 with the blinds at 400/800? Of course your
strategy would differ in each of these scenarios, but you would
still have a general idea as to what your betting strategy is
going to be at that point.
Third, stay off tilt. I'm well aware that's easier said than
done, but do it. I don't give a shit if the blinds are at
500/1000, and you were just sitting on a 100K stack when you got
them in best and lost when he hit a (vomit) 2-outter on the
river to knock you down to 8K in chips. Forget about that 92K.
It's gone. Get over it. Get up and walk away. Pour yourself an
ice-cold glass of Dr. Pepper and come back to the table. Or turn
off your tilt by pretending it was you who just won that pot. Or
try doing what works for me; I "start" the tournament in my
mind. I think of it like a late reg. I just got to the table
with a starting stack of 8K, and the blinds are at 500/1000.
What betting strategy am I going to use at this point? Make it
strictly mathematical. You won't do this on tilt. So do whatever
you have to do to get the fuck off tilt, and "re-enter" the game
from a completely mathematical standpoint.
Fourth, remember, you can't get knocked out unless you are
all-in. Every time you go all-in, it presents an opportunity for
a double-up, but it also presents an opportunity to get felted.
A handful of stolen blinds via uncalled preflop raises will also
equate to a double-up without the possibility of getting knocked
out. Every all-in shove is another potential knock-out you have
to survive.
Therefore, and finally, get that classic
10-big-blinds-is-short-so-look-for-Ace-10-or-better-and-shove-all-in
strategy out of your head. If you have 8 to 15 BBs, you can
still stick out a 3-blind prelfop raise at the right opportunity
to attempt to steal the blinds. If it works, you chip up
(without the risk of getting knocked out). If it doesn't work,
you are still left with at least 5 Big Blinds. Now you can refer
to the 4 to 7 Big Blind strategy and make a comeback. I shit you
not when I say this; I have literally, literally, been knocked
down from 1,500 to 30 chips in the opening round with the blinds
at 5/10 in a field of over 200 players to then come back and
make the final table. I have made more money in tournaments
where I have had to overcome a shortstack than I have in
tournaments where I was never under 30 blinds until I was out.
Though this strategy may not work for you, I can guarantee that
it works very well for me. You may want to give it a try for a
few dozen tournaments and measure the results in terms of an
increase/decrease in your average finishing position, ITM/FT/Win
percentages, and ROI.
So here it is, in a nutshell:
When I’m down to 8-15 big blinds, I’ll begin looking for my
move. The "move" is not necessarily an all-in shove. A
reasonable preflop raise can work just fine in the right
situation. The “move” involves pushing the action, and
definitely not calling an all-in with anything shy of a premium
hand. The “move” is not based so much on starting hand selection
as it is on situational awareness and taking advantage of
opportunities presented by opponents. If, for example, everyone
folds to you in late position and the players all left to act
have been playing super-tight, an reasonable preflop raise (or
an all-in move) will work more often than not to take down the
blinds and antes and buy yourself another orbit around the
table. Likewise, if there is a loose raiser at the table,
re-raising him, especially if you have established a tight
table-image, is a great way to add a few extra big blinds to
your stack by forcing him to fold.
When I’m down to 4-7 big blinds, I am at that point going to
continue my 8-15 BB strategy, but at this point I’m also willing
to shove or even call an all-in with:
[*]Pretty much any ace with a strong kicker
[*]Any pocket pair
[*]Or pretty much any other hand that I feel can give me a
coin-flip chance of winning.
Even once I’m down to 1-3 big blinds, I don’t see this as the
time to do anything retarded. While some big risks are obviously
going to have to be taken here, they can still be calculated
risks that have a decent chance of putting me back in the fight.
Here’s where I use the strategy utilized by mathmagician poker
pro Phil Gordon:
[*]In the blinds, if more than half your stack is already in the
pot, go all in. Seriously. Don’t even look at the cards. At that
point, it doesn’t matter what the fuck you have. Take your
chances, and good luck.
[*]From early position, settle for an all-in shove or call with
anything you would play with 4-7 BBs, plus any ace, any medium
or higher suited connector, or any hand Q-7 or better.
[*]From middle position, I’d be willing to shove with anything I
would play from early, but in order to go up against an early
position bettor, I’ve got to have something with more promise
and less easily dominated than a weak ace. Look for a strong
ace, pocket pair, or a suited connector in this situation.
[*]From late position, since I’ve got some time before the
blinds get back to me, I’ll be far more selective with my hand
selection. In this scenario, I’m looking to be the first in the
pot, and I’m looking to shove with a pocket pair or a strong
ace.
As I said, I have had great success with this strategy. Give it
a try, see how it works out for you. I hope it works out as well
for you as it has for me, as long as it's not my chips you're
taking. Good luck. See you at the tables.
Click here to test your poker tournament skill at Aced Poker
HTML http://www.aced.com/_VXI8dnY2nN4Gu8t3BXHzdWNd7ZgqdRLk/1/
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