Short-handed Theory
Introduction
In this article
- Short-handed Theory
- Articles to help you improve your game
- Factors that can influence your play
Your first experiences in poker should be made at the full-ring tables. But once you have spent enough time there, you will reach the point where you are ready for short-handed play (no more than 6 seats at the table).
This article will introduce you to the basics of short-handed play. You will also be given a number of other articles that go into further detail.
More action
You can expect to find a lot more action
at the short-handed tables. This is simply because you have 5 opponents at most. You will have to play with weaker hands more often to stay in the game.
You have to learn to play with marginal hands. There aren't many hands you would raise with out of an early position in a full-ring game, but you will need to play significantly weaker starting hands when you are short-handed.
You can't avoid the action until you have a strong starting hand. You can't be afraid to show aggression and attack the blinds.
Before the flop - Your image
You can find a number of practical examples of pre-flop play and theory in the pre-flop articles. Find these links below.
Your image is a decisive factor! You can't sit back and bide your time waiting for a strong hand before getting involved, like you would do in a full-ring game! In fact, you can't even follow a chart when you are short-handed, since your play depends heavily on factors other than your own two cards.
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After the flop - Tougher decisions
A lot of people will tell you there isn't much difference between full-ring games and short-handed play after the flop. This isn't really true. Knowing your opponent's "range" becomes very important. This is usually pretty easy in a full-ring game. You can imagine what a tight opponent might have after limp/calling from early position, and what it means if he then 3-bets on the flop.
Putting your opponent on a range is more difficult in short-handed play. An open limp is usually a sign of a weak player. If a good player wants to play a hand, he open raises. Anyone acting behind him is more likely to 3-bet. You can imagine how much wider the ranges must be.
You will rarely be able to interpret a 3-bet correctly. It could be a good hand, a marginal hand, or even a bluff. Bluffs are much more common in short-handed play. There is usually no way around it.
If you are sitting behind an aggressive player who open raises every hand, you are going to have to stand up to him. Your opponent will read you like an open book if you keep folding until you have a strong hand.
You are basically forced to throw in a 3-bet with a marginal hand now and then, preferably with a hand that won't be dominated if you get called. The articles below teach you how to play on the flop, turn and river.
Know your opponent
You need to pay more attention to your opponents and try to put them on hand ranges. Your post-flop play depends heavily on the range you assume to be facing. Standard contibets are not very effective, since you will usually get called.
Your opponents can't wait for a good hand any longer than you can. This makes "set mining", which is a part of many tight players' full-ring game, a meaningless effort.
Limp/calling with small pocket pairs won't be profitable in the long run, since you need to hit a set to start any action after the flop.
Statistics
become increasingly important. Of course, you should always be paying attention to your opponents, even when you're not involved in the hand, but this is rarely possible.
A stat program, such as PokerStrategy's "Elephant", can take a lot of work off your shoulders and help you estimate your opponent's range more accurately.
A pre-flop raise, which would signal a very strong hand at a 10 max table, means that a player doesn't have implied odds in 6 max.
If you play passively on 6 max tables, and then suddenly become aggressive, your opponents will know you have a very strong hand. You won't be able to stack your opponent often enough to make your strategy profitable. This is why you also have to show aggression with marginal hands on the flop.
The "theory" of post-flop play doesn't change much, but you have to pay close attention to your opponents. A flop raise doesn't necessarily indicate a strong hand; it might easily be a bluff or semi-bluff.
As a result, certain hands can be taken to the showdown more often. You will find more aggressive opponents at 6 max tables. You will have to adjust your game to the more aggressive nature of short-handed games.
If, for example, you are facing an opponent who often raises with a draw, you can protect your top pair to the point of going all-in on the flop.
If the board is drawless, you should tend to see yourself way ahead/way behind and call down. You can and should tend to play somewhat more loosely than you would in a full-ring game.
Balancing and deception
This is an important part of balancing your lines and your deception. You don't want your opponents to be able to read you (deception) and know what kind of hand you are on. Deception isn't as important a part of your full-ring game, since you will usually be more concerned with your own hand on a 10 max table.
Naturally, your opponents on a 6 max table will question whether or not you actually have a strong hand and will adjust their games accordingly. This requires you to take an opponent oriented approach. You won't find yourself making automatic decisions, but rather analysing the situation at hand and asking yourself what your opponent might have.
There are two important points to keep in mind when putting this into practice:
First of all, you should play fewer tables. Making autocalls, raises etc. when multi-tabling in full-ring games without having a specific read on your opponent is one thing, but it's impossible to do so on a short-handed table. You should always be able to keep an eye on the table action and on your individual opponents.
Observe how your opponents react in specific situations. These reads will help you the next time you are playing against the same opponent.
Variance vs. bankroll management
One of the main problems with short-handed games is greater variance. This might not impress you much, but variance can have an effect on many aspects of your poker game.
This could be tilt! If bad beats tend to bring out an outburst of emotion or if losing your stack throws you off key, you will run into trouble at the 6 max tables (at least in the beginning). Losing stack after stack isn't unusual.
You will run into a lot more situations in which you have to play for an entire stack with a marginal hand at 6 max tables; there's simply no way around it.
This becomes a serious problem when you lose sight of your A game and begin making uncontrolled decisions. It's easier to make a lot more expensive mistakes. Try to stay calm in these situations and read the Psychology articles on tilt. They can help you diagnose a tilt phase and help you get out of it.
A combination of greater variance and the fact that players tend to lose discipline when the stacks are flying back and forth, lead us to the well-loved subject of bankroll management.
Bankroll management has a number of purposes, but the most important one is, as always: not going broke! This is what keeps you alive throughout the inevitable downswings that every poker player has to deal with.
Of course, bankroll management can also help you stay off tilt. Play at a limit where losing a couple of stacks won't set you back too much. You know these losses are an unavoidable part of the game, so don't let them get to you.
You should always have at least 25 stacks when playing short-handed. If, however, you aren't the most disciplined player, you should have a few more. And even after you have gained experienced, never play a limit with less than 25 stacks in your bankroll.
What's left to say? Short-handed games are growing in popularity so you'll probably end up playing them sooner or later.
You can find a lot of weak players at 6 max tables. They like being in the hand (rarely fold before the flop) and like the action. Full-ring tables are usually too slow for them.
Aside from facing more weak opponents at 6 max tables, you will also be able to find a larger number of short-handed tables. You will find more 6 max than 10 max tables available, especially as the limits increase.
At the same time you can always rely on the old truth, "Seek and you will find." There are full-ring tables at higher limits. but at some point you will probably be curious and want to give short-handed play a try... and careful, you might get hooked.
Conclusion
This article shows some of the basic differences between short-handed and full-ring play. Of course, when it comes to picking a game, go with the one that is the most fun for you.
If you've been playing full-ring for quite some time, you may want to give 6 max a try. Just be sure you haven't missed out anything in this article and give the pre-flop and post-flop articles a read before you get started.
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