Short Stack Strategy in Tournaments

[ILovePoker]

What is your short stack strategy in tournaments?

I mostly play No Limit Hold'em some when I'm short stacked I'll play tight and just play good starting hands. If it gets to the point where I'll be pot commited I'll just push all-in. Of course the best short stack strategy is to not get short stacked in the first place.

[young_mack]

Originally Posted by ILovePoker

Of course the best short stack strategy is to not get short stacked in the first place.

It always seems like the same players are always short stacked on the bubble or around the bubble of a tourny. I think it has to do with their tight play. Maybe if you switched up your game up. I do this so people keep guessing about what kind of player i am. It usually helps because it keeps players on their toes. If you play tight then players label you as tight and they wont play hands with you unless they have the best hand. In which case you'll never develop a nice size stack.

[ILovePoker]

That is true, you have to change it up early on in a tournament so players don't label you tight but when you're short stacked you pretty much have no choice but to play tight. Getting short stacked happens sometimes even when you're aggressive and get hit with a bad beat. You just have to pick a spot with some good cards and hope it works out.

[young_mack]

In all, when you're short stacked..just pick em right!

[ILovePoker]

As Scotty Nguyen would say "I'm all in Baby!"

It's nice when you can hit a good pair short stacked like AA KK QQ. Or even AK.

Although, I made it into the money the other day and I just had a few bad hands where it knock my chips down. I was short stacked and I picked up AK and I'm all in. I lost to pocket 5.

[young_mack]

I hate when you have a monster hand like AK and you get beat by a small PP. Happened to me quite a few times deep in tournaments.

[ILovePoker]

Originally Posted by young_mack

I hate when you have a monster hand like AK and you get beat by a small PP. Happened to me quite a few times deep in tournaments.

Yeah, monster hands can lose just as 2 7 off suit can win occassionally. Doyle Brunson just loves the 2 10 hand considering he won with it two years in a row. I've watched him win with it online too when I used to play in his bounty tournaments a few times.

[young_mack]

That being said...I might hold on to 10 2 lol

[ILovePoker]

Originally Posted by young_mack

That being said...I might hold on to 10 2 lol

It's an ok hand in late postition, I'm not so sure in early position. I'm not sure it makes a good short stack hand either, Doyle can keep it

I'm going to play in some NL Hold'em tournaments this weekend so hopefully I don't have to implement any short stack strategy.

[PokerDude]

Originally Posted by ILovePoker

What is your short stack strategy in tournaments?

I mostly play No Limit Hold'em some when I'm short stacked I'll play tight and just play good starting hands. If it gets to the point where I'll be pot commited I'll just push all-in. Of course the best short stack strategy is to not get short stacked in the first place.

I always do the same. At the begining of my poker play i have always lost half of my pot at the tournament start and then tightened up and took everyone else and usually went to ITM, i dont know why. Maybe the lost of my pot was like an advertisind and other people thought that i was fish :P (i was actually )