The Short Stackers

I've been playing a lot of cash games online recently and I'm seeing some interesting trends. The Short Stacker is one. It's become such a big issue that PS has adopted tables with a minimum 50BB to sit.

It's clearly becoming more common and almost any time you see an intelli poker avitar they're short stacking. If you're not familiar with the concept here's the basic gist as far as I can gather. You enter the table with the minimum buyin and try to double up with one hand. The starting hands range from AK-AJ, AA-88. Any time you raise into one you have to be ready for an all-in re-raise. That's it. All-in re-raise with premium cards. Rarely opening with an all-in because obviously they'd never get called. There's some stretches from the idea but that's the basics.

I can't imagine this being profitable but I'm seeing a lot of the same players doing it at multiple tables so somebody must be making money. I'm sure they lose 2/3 for the most part though. Other than the hand below it doesn't seem like they win as many as they lose.

I think part of the theory revolves around the caller thinking, "it's only $20 more" and making a looser call than would otherwise.

Anyway, I'm still not sure what to think. Do I like em, do I hate em, do I care? It was clear to me real quick that I shouldn't make the call without a premium hand and hope for better than a coin flip. I figure I'll come out ahead regardless.

The hand below is an example. A little extreme but he's certainly a short stacker. He left the table shortly after doubling up. That's the other part of it I think. Kind of a hit and run.

What do you think?


PokerStars Game #18033372399: Hold'em No Limit ($1/$2) - 2008/06/09 - 21:49:33 (ET)
Table 'Veritas IV' 9-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 2: downgoesdown ($219.25 in chips)
Seat 3: superchosen ($240.75 in chips)
Seat 4: cko32007 ($293.75 in chips)
Seat 5: Dinero2005 ($367.75 in chips)
Seat 6: davidakos ($31.15 in chips)
Seat 7: jnic00 ($381 in chips)
Seat 8: MeleaB ($140.60 in chips)
Seat 9: POKKER PHD ($198.25 in chips)
cko32007: posts small blind $1
Dinero2005: posts big blind $2
iceoholic: sits out
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Dinero2005 [Kd As]
davidakos: calls $2
jnic00: folds
MeleaB: folds
POKKER PHD: folds
downgoesdown: calls $2
superchosen: calls $2
cko32007: folds
Dinero2005: raises $10 to $12
davidakos: raises $19.15 to $31.15 and is all-in
downgoesdown: folds
superchosen: folds
Dinero2005: calls $19.15
*** FLOP *** [Tc 8d 4d]
*** TURN *** [Tc 8d 4d] [3d]
*** RIVER *** [Tc 8d 4d 3d] [9h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Dinero2005: shows [Kd As] (high card Ace)
davidakos: shows [5d 7d] (a flush, Eight high)
davidakos collected $64.30 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $67.30 | Rake $3
Board [Tc 8d 4d 3d 9h]
Seat 2: downgoesdown folded before Flop
Seat 3: superchosen (button) folded before Flop
Seat 4: cko32007 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 5: Dinero2005 (big blind) showed [Kd As] and lost with high card Ace
Seat 6: davidakos showed [5d 7d] and won ($64.30) with a flush, Eight high
Seat 7: jnic00 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: MeleaB folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: POKKER PHD folded before Flop (didn't bet)

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I love having short stackers at the table. They are soo easy to bust...they just wait for AJ + (sometimes less) and push blindly whatever the action (my experience of them anyway).

I think anyone adopting this strategy is severly limiting their game. Especially if that person has a skill edge. Short stacking means you dont play small pairs for set value, you dont play suited aces or connectors because you never have the right implied odds....and often they only get called when their beat preflop (10 BB's woth A10, AJ, KQ are common...and knowones calling a 10 BB raise with a hand thats behind that).....its a horrible startegy....

I've noticed this kind of play a lot too. If someone wants to enter a game with a fifth or less of my stack, and start shoving, I'm more than happy to have them there. I took out 3 low stacks in about 15 minutes in my last session.

In a 6max game, you know there's probably 2 or 3 opponents who are waiting to get the short-stacker. The only frustration is when someone else gets them before you can.

Of course, usually, you will have to temporarily adapt your own strategy whilst there's one of these types present at the table. In most cases they aren't there very long.

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i have noticed at the lower NL tables these intellipoker guys go all in alot...
these players recieve bonus fpp from stars for using that avatar, maybe they are house players

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2007 THFSOP LIMIT HOLD' EM CHAMPION

I have also been noticing this on the smaller tables on stars.

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According to their FAQ page, they don't have house players.

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2007 THFSOP LIMIT HOLD' EM CHAMPION

i agree with that