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Short Stack Strategy


In poker, playing with a short stack means playing with fewer chips than anyone else at the table. Short stacks are determined by your chips in relation to the blinds. You could have a short stack because you run out of chips as play progresses, or because you have bought into to the game starting with a short stack.

Although we would not want to be in the unenviable position of being the short stack player and having less poker chips than anyone else, all of us have been in this position at some time or other, whether through choice or bad luck. In either case a good poker player will employ a helpful short stack strategy.

Playing with a short stack, with particular reference to tournament games, can be a significant obstacle to winning. With a short stack, your manoeuvring room, as far as play is concerned, is reduced. And since most bets, in Texas Hold ‘em, for example, are made on the turn and river rather than in the pre-flop and flop rounds, a player with a short stack is unlikely to go past the flop round. So, because of this lack of manoeuvrability, you should play on big, solid hands that have a good chance, rather than hands that are only potentially strong. Avoid hands with small pocket pairs or suited connectors – these are best played with a deep stack of chips. Such speculative calls should be avoided firstly because you could be re-raised, and secondly because your chances of hitting your set or flush /straight draw are not high, and it’s better not to risk decreasing your short stack further. Playing big suited hands (cards that can make top pair) with a short stack is wise.

Effective short stack strategies vary depending on the exact size of the stack. Usually, a short stack in a poker tournament or a cash game consists of 40 or less big blinds.

Another point to bear in mind while considering short stack strategy is that you should think about your position carefully. If there are loose defenders in the blinds, or loose players with big stacks behind you, keep your hand standards high. On the other hand if there are tight players behind you, whether in the blinds or not, you can be more relaxed as far as the quality of your starting hands are concerned. Try and be the first one into the pot, be brave and don’t wait too long before you make your move.

If you would like to practise your short stack strategy and improve your game, there are several sites that offer the perfect setting for gaining some experience with this kind of strategy. 32 Red, for example, offers Sit ‘n’ Go tournaments where ‘extreme turbo’ games provide a good opportunity to practise your short stack strategy. The ‘super turbo’ tournaments at Bodog and Titan Poker are also good places to practise; at Titan, the blinds increase every minute while there is a 1500 starting stack and blinds increasing every three minutes at Bodog.