Short Stacked Tournaments
Recently I have noticed a trend among poker rooms around the country. The starting chip stacks STINK!!! Will this ever change? I highly doubt it, so I have developed a new approach.
The card room where I play generally has 2 multi-table tourneys, and SNGs. The multi-table tournaments are usually $200 buy-ins and $300 buy-ins, both are 4000 or 8000 starting chips respectively. The latter blind levels are 50-100 start and double from there. The $200 buy-in blinds start at 25-50 and double from there. Personally, I would not play these tournaments, if not for the fact there are few options, so I must. This poker room also runs $50 and $100 SNGs on a regular basis. These chip stacks are HORRID!!! Starting stacks are $500 in chips and blinds at 25-50 and double from there, with 15 minute levels. These I very rarely play, however, I play these well, and have a good ROI.
First, Lets start with the multi-table. When playing poker at any level, patience is always a factor. When you are in a tournament with a short stack right out of the gate, patience is all but important. Generally, if you wait too long, you have nothing to bargan with as far as a stack goes. Therefore, 2 things must happen in the early stages. You must get all the value out of your big hands, and secondly, you must be able to make things happen. This usually means using aggression and reads as a means to take pots. This also means gambling a bit with medium hands when you know you can get in cheap. Most of what I find in these type of games is that almost any raise is a pot committed raise. Very much so after a few levels. This is an extreme factor in how and when you play a hand, or how you play a hand. I have played the same tournament for 5 years now and have repeated only 4 times. Why??? Chip stacks are too small to play poker. I know, its all poker, but i refer to these tournaments as push fests. With push fests, you need some luck, to win.
Now that we know what we are up against, lets get down to business.
Limping….. only in the first round, or at a table with an extremely aggressive person, in which case you will re-push with a monster and try to get him committed. Keeping in mind that if you miss the flop with a limping hand, bluffing is not much of an option. That is why limping is a bad idea. My personal view is that I don’t ever play a hand without a raise, and I usually always over raise. By this I generally make it 5-8 times the BB. If you have a wired pair of 2s and you raise, you just don’t have enough chips to play a lot of hands. A good rule for 1st stage limping is to keep a small percentage in chips to limp with, when its gone you change gears.
Hand Ranking….I know you think I’m going to say play the top 10% of hands, and you’re right! If you are one of the lucky ones early, then you can loosen up and try to KO a few short stacks, but the best way to advance is to play tight and aggressive with you starting hands. I will generally fold pp 8 or below, unless I’m in push mode in which case, its all going in.
Value Betting…….most of the players in the early rounds(mostly beginners) never know how to value bet the hand. As a seasoned pro , this is a monster mistake, which can easily cost you a cashing spot. Find the value in the opposing player. I have found sometimes after flopping a monster, a minimum bet provokes action later. Remember poker is about odds. If you can get a player to call out of odds, over time you will win.
Stay tuned for parts II &III
Related posts:
- Protecting Your Chip Position
- Slow Playing Aces
- Why Call When You Can Raise?
- Sun Tzu and the Art of Poker
- Jeet Kune Poker
Categories: General Poker Articles
