12-14-06, LearnTexasHoldem:
Short Stack Strategy in NLHE Tourney
Top 3 Beginner Rooms
Or so I thought...
The spot comes: A player with only a few thousand chips more than I (Blinds are $300/600 I have about $6,000) limps after a fold. My read is that this player limps with weak holdings, not the kind of player to limp with a monster. I am in the small blind. The player to my left in the Big Blind is tight so I know he will have to pick up a real hand to call my push. I tell myself before I even look down that I am pushing if the LAG big stack in the cut-off and the weak-tight button fold. They both do. I look down and see K2 of spades. Not horrible I guess but the cards are not important
I confidently push into the pot content that I will add a substantial amount to my stack ($1200 + $450 in antes + my SB and ante) unless Big Blind picks up a hand. The push bears weight because I have enough chips to dent someone's stack and I am not some wild all-in player by any means (I play more loose-aggressive than maybe I should but I am not a maniac).
Big Blind folds quickly but the limper who I had on a weak hand calls. My read was right - he turns over A3 of clubs, the definition of weak. Despite not being in horrible shape, I lose the hand and bust out.
I said this has happened before and it has - I have made pushes into weak-limper-type players before and it is amazing what they call me with after their limp but as often is the case when making a move, I still find myself a slight underdog when he does call. I was right about everything, I knew he was weak, yet he called off 80% of his stack on a big push with a weak suited Ace (he shrugged "It was the only Ace I've seen;" I bit my tongue not to say "so that made it a good hand?"). He never should have called that bet but he did.
Should the outcome of this hand (and others like them) change the way I play this type of situation in the future?
Brian
Answer:
Hi Brian,
You're definitely right about starting to push in your chips before the stack gets too short. You still have a certain fold equity, that is, a chance to pick up pots without contest when the other players fold better hands to your big raise. And a doubling up still takes you to solid ground - if there is such a thing in a poker tournament. On the other hand, if you wait too long and let your stack shrink too much, your opponents will start calling you with any two cards, so you will not be able to pick up any free pots. And even if you manage to double up, your stack will still be too small to keep you out of trouble.
That said, the point in a tournament where you should start pushing all in is not easy to identify. There is an obvious risk in starting the pushing too early. If you raise all-in with too big a stack you will look desperate and people will be more inclined to call you down. Likewise, for every push you make it will be more and more obvious to your opponents what you're up to, and they will lower their calling requirements.
With ten big blinds in the stack, it may be just a tad early to make that kind of loose pushes. We all know the empty feeling when you take a shot with K-2 and suddenly the tournament is over. Maybe you could sit tight for a while still and wait for a better hand. But then again, eventually it all comes down to a personal decision. If, like you said, you want to avoid getting too short, the move you described is probably sensible and correct. Even if the outcome is disappointing, one must realize that the situation was already bad, and any move under those conditions is bound to involve the chance of immediate elimination.
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