Skilled online poker players will have the ability to suss out whether, in any given situation, the cards they hold are likely to be worth playing. However, another important factor they should take into consideration is the size of their opponent’s stack, especially those rivals who have yet to play and so have short stacks. If we are to be perfectly blunt about the whole affair, your ability to actually watch the short stacks that are on the table at a given time will have a major effect on whether or not you will play.
This may sound rather harsh but like any other home truth, the sharpness of the words should hopefully reinforce the gravity of the message. Take for example, if you have a solid hand at your disposal such as Queen-King suited on the cut-off, this is the sort of hand that you would likely raise with. However, the fly in the ointment with this particular scenario is where a blind also happens to be a short stack and wishes to muscle on into your play meaning that you will need to take a mighty step back and then reassess your plans. Whilst your rival may still be short stacked in comparison to your own hand, his success at your expense may end up leaving you with a short stack as well, while at the same time doubling him up.
There are some poker players who will go to extremes in order to try and stop a short stack dead in the water but they end up focusing too much on the offensive side of things leaving their flank absolutely wide open for exploitation and further harm. I have lost count of the number of times when I’ve seen players raise in this situation only to be reraised by the short stack and end up going to showdown with only a marginal edge.
One of the major problems you will find when you are trying to get short stacks to play with you is that because you are forcing their hand you will find that you are now in the midst of a negative EV. This will not be true if you happen to have the luxury of a large stack at your disposal, where you can simply sit things out and win in the long term.
You will often find that these ICM plays will also work wonders whenever you find yourself with three or four hands, and where the blinds are large. In this situation, aggression will pay dividends and so make sure you use it appropriately. However, if you happen to be at a full table then you must take heed of the various positions of the stacks that everyone else has.
Learn how to play poker, improve your strategies, and find the best deals and best poker sites online at Best-Poker-Sites.net
Get exclusive referral codes and bonuses at Bonus Code Poker.
No comments yet.