When Adam asked me if I'd be willing to write a monthly article for pocketfives, I originally had some concerns. Having graduated from college more than a year ago, would my writing skills be up to the task? As a player who plays on instinct and habit, would I really be able to put my style into words? Lastly, what topics could I write about?

After all the questions and comments I've received on my short stack play, it didn't take me too long to think of a topic for my first article. I have developed a reputation for being a cockroach when I get short stacked, both online and in live multi-table tournaments. <READMORE> Sometimes I can't decide if it's a compliment, considering the object of poker isn't to have the fewest chips possible for the longest period of time, but it's something I can't dispute. Last November in the Foxwoods WPT, we had a starting stack of $10,000 in chips, and I managed to cash without ever having over $28,000 chips.

I'm not sure what the true definition of a short stack is but I would say it's somewhere around 8-12 big blinds or less. When you've got 8-12 BB's or so, it's time to start trying to pick the best situation to get your money in. This is by no means panic time, but if you wait too much longer, it will become just that. The key to survival as a short stack is to pick up the blinds enough times to last you until you can get yourself all-in in a dominating position.

For example, let's say I am in a tournament with 75 people left. The blinds are 1000-2000 with a 100 ante, and I've got 18,000 in chips. At this stage, raising and folding to a reraise is rarely a good option. That means that if I’m going to play a pot, I’m either going to steal the blinds or I’m going to be getting all-in with my tournament life at stake.

There are four major factors that I look at when I'm in a situation like this. I will go into all of these in depth in this article. They aren’t in any particular order, but are all important in a unique way. First, what is my hand? Second, what is my position? Third, has the pot already been raised? And last, if it was raised, who was the raiser?

Although hand selection isn’t always the most important factor, it can be the most critical as to life or death in a tournament. The far and away most common mistake I see people making, when playing a short stack, is pushing all-in with Ax. People get the mindset that they are willing to push with any A (sometimes even with a raise in front of them), and barring a major suckout, that is usually the end of them. When pushing with Ax, you are praying for everyone to fold, because you know that if called, you are almost always going to be dominated by a bigger Ace or a pocket pair higher than your kicker, leaving you with 3 outs. The only times you’ll ever be ahead when pushing with Ax is if you get a loose call from a hand like KQs, in which you are only a very slight favorite. I would recommend pushing hands like KQs, KQo, KJs, KJo QJs, JTs, and all low pairs way before you think about pushing Ax. The only time I would ever advise pushing with Ax is if you are in late position and have about 6 BBs or less. Otherwise, I would wait for a better spot.

When I am short stacked, I don’t consider position to be overly significant. Although getting a good hand in late position is ideal, early position actually has some advantages. First, you are less likely to face a raise in front of you with someone committed to calling your all-in, and second, an all-in push from early position makes your hand look stronger than it actually is. I would sometimes rather be able to push all in with KQs from 3rd position than get KQs in the cutoff. In the cutoff, I’m much more likely to face a raise in front of me in which I have to decide whether to come over the top or fold. A 3rd position all-in will usually get A2-AT to fold, so the only hands you really have to worry about are AK, AQ, AA, KK, and QQ. Otherwise I’m either going in ahead, in a race situation, or picking up the blinds.

The toughest situation to play short stacked is getting dealt a good (not great) hand with someone making a raise before it gets to you. Usually when someone raises, they will be committed to calling a short stack’s all-in, regardless of what they are raising with. Obviously if I have a big pair, 99+, AK, or AQ, I’m going to be coming over the top 100% of the time. But what if I hold a hand like ATo in the cutoff, and there has been a standard raise in front of me? A lot of people will always come over the top in this situation regardless of who is raising, but there needs to be a closer look at who the raiser is. If a tight player fires out 6000 from 2nd position, I would muck without even thinking about it. Tight players generally don’t raise with A9 or less, especially from 2nd position, so I’m not going to risk my stack when I am 50-50 at best and likely a huge underdog. In contrast, if a big stacked, loose player to my right raises to 6000, I will almost always come over the top. He is likely raising with any Ace, most Ks, or any 2 random cards, just looking to pick up the blinds. In this case, there is a strong chance I am in a dominating situation and a much smaller chance that I’m being dominated.

Small pairs are another tough hand to play short stacked and should be considered very similar to the ATo mentioned above. If I’m dealt pocket 5s in middle position and nobody has raised in front of me, I am going to be pushing. But if there is a raise by someone in front of me, with no real fold equity, the risk of them having a higher pocket pair far exceeds the possibility of them having a hand like A3, A2, 33, or 22, in which you’d be more than a slight favorite.

Sometimes when you play as a short stack, you won’t have the luxury of getting anything that resembles a decent hand. If this is the case, try to locate who the tightest players at the table are and attack their blinds, especially when you’re in late position. Even if you push with a hand like 8Ts and get called, you still have a decent chance of sucking out, regardless of what you are up against. When you get down to 5 BBs or less, it’s now time to panic. Pushing with hands like QTo, T9s, K9o in any position are a must; otherwise you’ll just be blinded down to nothing. At that stage, you just hope to get all in with live cards and pray that you hit something.

Many poker players do not have the patience to play as a short stack for any extended length of time. They try to force a double up instead of waiting for the best situation to get all of their money in. There’s no way I could address every type of situation you’ll face as a short stack in one article, but hopefully some of these tips will improve your game. Good luck to everyone at the tables.
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