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Lesson: 70
Managing the Short Stack
Mark Vos
July 24, 2006
A couple of weeks back, I won the $2,000 No-Limit Hold 'em event
at the World Series of Poker. It's a great honor to have the bracelet.
The $800,000 that I got for first place is, of course, awesome.
For most of the tournament, I was short stacked. But, I think I
played my short stack well and, for this tip, I thought I'd share
some thoughts I have on short-stack play.
The key to my short-stack survival was that I was able to steal
enough pots to stay alive. There was only one play I could use;
move in, and hope everyone folded. It worked out for me, despite
the fact I was card dead most of the day.
There were a couple of reasons my steals were effective. First
was that I was careful not to let my stack fall below seven or eight
big blinds. In No-Limit tournaments, it's very important to do your
stealing when you have at least eight to 10 big blinds. If the average
stack is between 20 and 25 big blinds, which is common in the later
stages of tournaments, and you move all-in for eight or more big
blinds, only very strong hands are going to call you. Your opponents
won't want to risk becoming a short stack by losing a confrontation,
so there's a tremendous amount of fold equity.
If your stack drops to the point where you only have five or six
big blinds, you're far more likely to get called. So you need to
be very aware of the size of your stack and the location of the
button. If you're sitting on eight big blinds and you're in middle
position, you should look for a chance to push in and steal before
you move through the blinds.
While you're on the short stack, you also want to have a tight
image. You want everyone to think you're patiently waiting for a
strong hand. If you give off this impression, you are going to get
a lot of respect, which should increase the likelihood that your
opponents will fold when you move in.
When I'm on the short stack, I don't mind moving in from early
position, even when I'm under-the-gun. I did this frequently in
the WSOP tournament I won, even when I was holding rags. It worked
out well. I had a tight image, so an early position move looked
very strong. Unless someone picked up a hand like pocket Queens
or Kings, I was likely to pick up the all-important blinds and antes.
When you're on a short stack, you need to stay alive while you
wait for decent cards. The key is to find situations where your
opponents are likely to fold. If you keep your stack over eight
big blinds, create a tight image, and move in from a variety of
positions, you have a good chance of stealing enough pots to stay
alive in the tournament. Hopefully, things will go your way and
you'll pick up some hands so that you can build your stack up and
take out the tournament!
Mark Vos
Play
Online Poker
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