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Cash game strategy, short stacking vs buying in full

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Wednesday November, 25th 2009 by fullhouse

There are a handful of different options that cash game players are generally presented with when it comes to buying in at a table. The majority of players will buy in for somewhere around 80 to 100 big blinds, but you will also have the option of buying in short. The minimum at most tables is usually 20 big blinds, though some sites have now implemented 40 big blind minimums. The strategies for short stackers vs full stack players vary greatly. There is a lot more variance for a short stack player than there is for someone who can properly play with a full stack. It is often said that short stackers don’t buy in for the full amount because they wouldn’t know how to play with a 100 big blind stack. While it may certainly be true that some player short stack because they couldn’t play with a full stack, there are also some short stackers who have learned how to play a short stack to near perfection. Short stackers do not get much, if any, respect in the poker world. Short stackers are perceived as scum because they kill a lot of the action at the table as far as big pots go. Even though short stackers do decrease the average pot size, a good short stacker will often inject a bit of life into a table. The unique approach of a short stacker will frustrate many players, anger some players, and prove profitable for some players.

Full stack approach to cash game poker

When you read any type of poker advice it is generally assumed that the player is buying in with a full stack. ABC and straightforward poker requires that a player buy in for close to 100 big blinds for pretty much any strategy to be effective. Take a 3 bet bluff for example. Would you be able to 3 bet with a $20 stack at .50/1 if you had a weak hand? Of course you wouldn’t, the 3 bet itself would cost you your entire stack.

Short stack approach to cash game poker

Short stackers follow an approach that can best be summarized as “Shove or fold.” The short stack way of life is just as this phrase indicates, players either try to get their entire stack in the middle or avoid the hand altogether. The reasoning for this strategy is really quite simple. When you have a small stack you will be getting called down by a wider range of hands when you shove all in than if you had a full stack. Since players will be calling you down with a weaker range of hands you will be profitable with a wider range of hands. The key to successful short stacking is determining just where your edge exists in any particular situation. For example, if you are 4 bet shoving with AJ time and time again but only get called by AQ+, you will be burning your money. If you are shoving with AQ+ and are consistently called by pocket pairs and AT+, however, you will prove to be incredibly profitable. A short stacker needs to simply decide whether they can double up and win a decent pot with their hand. If their hand is good they will force the issue, if not they will get out of the way.