Attack the Short Stack in Poker
March 23rd, 2009
Attack the Short Stack In Texas Hold ‘Em tournaments while playing poker online, the stack sizes will vary as the content progresses at the casino. Those who build and keep large stacks gain power over those players with dwindling chip stacks.
Going up against a short stack with your large stack is welcome position in online poker. The short stack can’t knock you out of the tournament, and this gives the advantage to the larger stack.
When you are the large stack facing a challenge from a short stack, the situation usually plays out with the short stack going all and the large stack left to decide whether to call. The short stack is desperate to double up, and must play any reasonably good cards or the escalating blinds will simply end it all.
If the short stack is less than ten percent of your chips, you should probably call. Even if you are beat, you’ve lost very little of your chips, and the small stack has only gained a small amount. The opportunity to knock out an opponent is worth the risk at this level. If the bet is more than 25 percent of you stack, you must calculate what your odds of winning might be. That is a significant bite out of your arsenal, and the short stack gets fortified with useable ammunition.
Isolating a short stack is also a strategic move that a large stack can leverage. When a short stack limps in, you can bet out big or raise the stakes to chase other players off the pot, and narrow the field down to heads-up with the short stack. You won’t lose many chips going heads-up against a short stack, and can add to your stack while eliminating a player and getting closer to the money or the top prize yourself.
