Short-Handed Poker Play

[Manne]

By Pete “TheBeat” Giordano
Many who hear the name “TheBeat” may recognize me as the jerk who knocked them out of a tournament or two. Those I call my friends, however, tell me that I am one of the best on-line tournament player around (why do you think I call them friends!). While I have played a lot of live main events, 95% of the time you will find me playing on-line, and a good deal of that time is spent on Interpoker.com where they have arguably the best tournaments on the net for guaranteed cash prize pools, added money prize pools, or guaranteed seats to tournaments like the WSOP.

Playing online allows me to play multiple tournaments per day. Last year alone, I made over 100 final tables. Since Jan 1st of this year; I have played 19 final tables, winning 6 of them. So I have a lot of experience playing short-handed.

If you ask 3 professional on how to play short-handed, you may get 3 difference opinions. I can only tell you what has worked well for me. There are many variables that come into short-handed play—Where are you at regarding being “in the money”?, What is you stack size?, What is your table image?, How are others playing?, What are the blinds in comparison to your stack size?, How is the tournament structured (does it give you a lot of play)?. This article will talk about generic short-handed play.

The most important thing to understand about short-handed play is to use common sense-- hand values go up with the fewer hands dealt. The fewer hands dealt, the less chance that a big hand will be dealt. Therefore weaker hands go up in value. All of this needs to be figured in when dealing with your starting hand selection. For example in a 10 handed game a Q-9 will win 12% of the time, in a 6 handed game the Q-9 will win 20% of the time, in a 2 handed game a Q-9 becomes a favorite winning 58% of the time. Hands you may not normally play, like J-6, become a favorite in a 2 handed game (J-6 has a 51% chance of winning in a 2 handed game).

Many times when you get to 4 players or less, you will find yourself playing heads up before the flop. Since there are less multi-player hands, less hands will hit on the flop. Thus, high cards like an ace or king hold a special value; many times these cards will win the hand without hitting anything. This is the reason why good players will play more hands and get more aggressive as the number of people at the table goes down.

The next thing you need to know is that in a short-handed game blinds and antes are coming around at a dizzying pace. There is a good chance that you could cripple yourself if you wait for premium hands. Good players get more aggressive stealing blinds and antes, while avoiding playing hands that will build huge pots that will allow their opponents to get large amounts of chips. Don’t get married to hands; if you are re-raised preflop don’t be afraid to throw it away. I played with Phil Ivey many times, the one thing that sticks out in my mind is that he likes to raise pre-flop, but when he is re-raised, and he is on a bluff he will throw it away, while other players of lesser quality call the re-raise and end up losing large amounts of chips.

If you’re in a pot, take the lead. I don’t mind being on the bus as long as I am driving. A bet on the flop will take the pot most of the time. Of course good players understand this. Don’t be afraid to a re-raise into a flop bet, this seems to win 3 out of 4 times, especially when you are raising into a guy who has been very aggressive. Showing weakness is never good, but it is death when playing short-handed. If you find yourself calling a lot of hands and try to get to the river for free, you’ll wind up calling off your chips aimlessly. Again, when playing short-handed, if you’re going to play a hand, make sure you’re dictating the action.

Finally understand who you are playing against and change your play accordingly. If you are playing a tight player, then push a lot of hands, make them fold pots or make them pay to get to the river. It is imperative that you steal blinds and antes. If a tight player pushes back, throw it away. If you are playing an aggressive player, don’t build big pots, he will do that for you. Hang around -- pick your spots -- steal blinds when appropriate. Sooner or later you will be able to trap your opponents and get paid off.

We have just scratched the surface of short-handed play. Get a good book, read it, understand it, and practice. Better yet – on Interpoker.com there are four SIXPAK tournaments a day where you start six-handed and continue that way all the way to the final table. These SIXPAK tournaments play as if you are on the final table from beginning to end! I recommend them to anyone looking to improve their final table or short-handed play.

See you Online…