Why so many shortstacks?

[Ragnar]

I've played the Ed Miller short stack strategy quite a bit. Most of the big stacks don't have a clue what I am doing. The comments are sometimes nasty and always ignorant. It is really kind of fun.

I've played it to begin to learn no limit, and observe the play, but am playing more max buy-ins now.

The majority of the people with short stacks don't know what they are doing, so that is additional cover for the ones who do.

There is an additional reason to play the short stack. It is a good way to clear bonuses multi-tabling.

[prayformojo]

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Baring a few players using a Ed Miller style shortstack strategy it is mostly weakplayers with small backroll looking to gamble a bit.

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Other than the time I used it for a while last year as an experiment while clearing a bonus, I have yet to see a player playing this strategy consistently. (I admit that consistency might be difficult at a single table, if the player triples up and is no longer a short stack.)

From my experience at 50NL through 200NL, short stacks tend to be short because they're afraid of losing money. Theoretically, their lack of chips could make their decisions easier, but as a group they compensate for this benefit by consistently making atrocious pre-flop decisions. In a remarkable exercise of irony, the short stack's fear of losing a lot of money somehow morphs into an eagerness to lose a little money, and soon! I have given up on respect for any short stack without a read, because they consistently get all in pre-flop with hands ranging from weak to insane.

[bnorthro]

Not sure what site you're playing on, but the softwares default buy-in probably has something to do with it. Crypto has an 80BB default, Full Tilt has a 20BB default (HORRIBLE) and I see a TON of shortstacks on Full Tilt.

[jb9]

[ QUOTE ]
From my experience at 50NL through 200NL, short stacks tend to be short because they're afraid of losing money. Theoretically, their lack of chips could make their decisions easier, but as a group they compensate for this benefit by consistently making atrocious pre-flop decisions.

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This has been what I've seen at 25NL and 50NL games. And when I have seen preflop pushes for 10-40BB, it has rarely been with AA, KK, QQ, or AKs. More often it is A9s or 67s.

I've also seen plenty of real bad postflop decisions like chasing draws that you would have had implied odds to chase with a full stack but you certainly do not have implied odds to chase with a short stack or putting in $10 out of a $12 stack and then folding the turn rather than putting $2 into a $30 pot...

A lot of these players might be playing a better (although still not good) game if they had deeper stacks since they like to see a lot of flops and play hands that need good implied odds.

[prayformojo]

I meant I don't see people playing Ed Miller's shortstack strategy (ultra-tight, raise pre-flop, all in on flop). I see people with short stacks all the time on every site. The decision to enter as a shorty doesn't seem to be a strategic one, but a matter of fear or perhaps, as a result of the default buy-in you refer to, laziness and ignorance.

[los_toros]

They keep rebuying at 25NL for like $5 and then all of a sudden you see them rebuy for like $4.73 and realize they have no money left because you took it all. Poker is goot.

[derosnec]

99% of shortstacks are easy money.

Let's review the preflop reraise all-ins I faced yesterady from shorties:

Me: KK Shorty: Q3o
Me: AA Shorty: KTs
Me: AKs Shorty: 33
Me: QQ Shorty: A3s

[jafeather]

I agree with bnorthro that this has a lot to do with the site's default buy-in, as I see the majority of shorties buying in for that amount. Let 'em. They might as well come to the table waving a big "donk" flag. How many other ways do you ever get a read on a newbie before hand 1?

Sure, sometimes the shortie is a better player than you would automatically give him credit for. I think the winnings I accumulate from the players I peg correctly more than compensate for any losses I'll take in the short time I might be underestimating one.

[Petomane]

Thank you for so many good answers.

[pokerspite]

They're killing time between tournies.
Seriously.