Short Stacked at the Cash Game

Monday, November 29th., 2005 (By the PokerStrategyKing)

It’s been a rough afternoon. You’ve taken some bad beats, you’ve played too loose when you shouldn’t have etc. Whatever the case may be you find yourself in a very unenviable position. You are playing at a cash game and you have a short stack. What are you going to do? One option of course is to rebuy. But what if you have no more funds available and your chips at the table are all you have left. You need to adjust your strategy or you will be going home very soon.

Just because you are short on chips doesn’t mean all is lost. All you need in this game is a chip and a chair and you’ve got both. You need to not become desperate and do something foolish. It’s just not necessary and you need to get out of that mindset before you do something foolish. What I suggest you do is to become selectively aggressive. What does that mean exactly. Well, being selectively aggressive is just what it sounds. You need to b finicky when it come to your starting hand requirements and when you do come into a hand, you need to be very aggressive. No more checking and calling and more betting and raising. The mindset I like to tell myself in this spot is that its either raise or fold. No more time for chasing. You either have it or you don’t. In this article, I’ll give you a couple examples and you can see what you would do under similar circumstances.

For each example, assume you are at a $1-$2 no limit hold em game and you have $100 in chips.

Example #1 – You are on the button with Ace King suited. The under the Gun player raises to $20 and is called by two players. The action is on you. There is already $60 in the pot. What do you do?

Well, by just calling here, you are committing 1/5 of your stack into this pot preflop, making that action very weak. Plus, if you miss, chances are someone hits something and you don’t have a big enough stack to bluff with putting you in an ever worse position. I recommend going all in before the flop. You may win the pot uncontested and take $60 to add to your stack. Plus, if you are called, you may still win the pot knowing you got your money in with the best of it.

Example #2 – You are in the Big Blind with King – Queen of Spades. The flop comes with 3 spades including the Ace giving you the nuts. There are 6 other players in the pot. What do you do?

Without question, this is a great time to slowplay your hand. You are holding the nuts. Someone outdrawing you here is highly improbable. If you bet out, you can scare away your opponents and lose money. I suggest checking and calling as long as possible. I even recommend doing so on the River as well as you want to have overcalls. Then if someone raises on the Turn or River, you can then raise later on. Remember, you are short stacked. You want to maximize your money making opportunities.

Example #3 – You are Under the Gun with Pocket Aces. You limp in. A middle position player raises to $15 and the Small Blind makes it $30. The action is on you. What do you do? There is already $45 in the pot and you hold the best starting hand in hold em. You must go all-in here and get your money in before the flop. If someone calls and you get outdrawn, you still got your money in with the best of it and if you do get called, you stand a good chance of doubling or even tripling up.

What do you think about these examples? I want to hear from you. Send your comments/questions to info@pokerstrategyking.com

Until next time, may the chips fall your way.

(For more poker strategy and tips, please visit the PokerStrategyKing’s website at www.pokerstrategyking.com )

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