NLHTP#17 The Advantage to Being Short Stacked & Calling PF AI Raises

[wallenborn]

The Advantage to Being Short Stacked

In a tournament, having to play short-stacked is an obvious handicap. In cash games tough, the usual objections to playing with a short stack are largely myths.

[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] You can't hurt your opponent, but your opponent can hurt you. This is completely true and completely irrelevant.
[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] With a short stack you can't push anyone off a hand. This is true and relevant. And it goes both ways: you can't bluff, but you can't be bluffed either.

Short stacked play has a few distinct advantages.

[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] Deep stacks often play loosely against each other, so when you enter the pot, you will usually face weaker hands.
[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] After you're all-in, your opponents will keep betting, often forcing a player to fold who might outdraw you.

Why play deep then?

Bad players lose a lot more money playing deep stacked than they would if they played a short stack. They lose that money primarily to deep stacked good players. Good players have to buy in big to get a shot at that extra profit.

When should you play short?

[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] When you move up in stakes
[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] When you have just joined the game



Calling Preflop All-in Raises

Preflop All-ins are common in tournaments, where stacks are often small compared to the blinds. They happen in cash games, too, and even if you buy in deep you can occasionally be in a situation where you have to react to another players prefop all-in. The strategy for this is rather simple: it depends on the opponent's pushing range and the pot odds you're getting.

Against a very tight (pushing range JJ+,AK) player your calling range must also be very tight. Even with 2-to-1 pot odds you should call only with TT+,AK. If his all-in bet is large compared to the stacks you should only call with QQ+. If he is looser, you can call with a wider range only if the pot odds are good. Calling a large push with a wide range is only correct against a true maniac.

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Aat 2-to-1, you should call more loosely than the range of hands you expect from the raiser, at 3-to-2, you should call slightly more tightly than the raiser, and at 6-to-5 you should call significantly more tightly.

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And of course, special circumstances may always change a call to a fold here. Your utility function may be nonlinear, in a tournament for example, or if the all-in represents a large fraction of your bankroll.