A good reader named Virginia writes:
There are columnists recommending playing with short money in wild games as an opportunity. What do you think?
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. His no limit wild game is easy to locate and we can win a lot of money.
Let’s call the game $1-$2 no limit where nearly every pot is raised preflop making it $40 to go. All the players have thousands of dollars in front of them. In this example the players are all hard chargers, a simplistic mix, but just right for our illustration.
You’ve decided to sit among these bad boys with, let’s say, $200 in front of you. Look at all the money you can win! You can play a strategy for wild games that has received a lot of attention lately and has been written about by some very good player/writers.
Your $200 stack is perfect for the commonly recommended, mathematically foolproof way of beating wild games. Some poker pundits are even quick to say that, if you’re just coming into the game, you should be sure to buy only $200 or less in players’ checks because it gives you the math advantage you’re looking for.
You’ve bought your $200 and you’re now at the table, waiting for a good hand. You HAVE to wait for a good hand among the madness because all your checks will probably be committed early in the hand you choose, probably pre-flop. You get Big Slick, Big Chick suited, or better. One of the wild raising players (they all are) makes it $40 to go and there are already three callers. That makes the pot $163, so you move all-in for nearly $200. You choose to move all-in because, if you saved some of your stack, your next bet wouldn’t have any bite in it. Besides, you’d rather have the pot right now with your all-in bet because it would be safer than watching the others draw to their hands. The pot is likely yours because you’ve been waiting and you’ve been judged by all to be a tight player.
Winning with the all-in preflop, you’ve just increased your stack to $363, less the rake and the blinds you paid while waiting. If you can do that again, your stack will have more than doubled to around $526. Then you can leave, if you like, a happy winner. And the table will be glad to see you go.
The strategy is mathematically foolproof because your small money is playing against several players’ big money and they can only attempt intimidation in the amount you have in front of you. The opponents don’t have a playing advantage because you can’t be pushed around.
But the math fails when you stay in the game. Consider how many times in a row you have to go all-in and count on your hand holding up in order to have enough money to slug it out, toe to toe, with the big stacks. There will be those players who will take pleasure in bluffing your scared money away and/or moving you and your new stack all-in until you are drawn out on. But you can start all over again with another $200. People who play this strategy nearly always buy more than once. Most will buy many times and have a lot of buy-ins to recoup.
Parenthetically, in a tournament this tactic is a must. Also, in a tournament, the quality of starting cards you wait for will have to be weighed against time and the oncoming galloping blinds. However, in a cash game you can wait much longer.
Every strategy has its weak points. To find out what’s wrong with this strategy let’s ask a couple of questions.
When was the last time you gave action to someone who was waiting forever for a hand? When you did give action, weren’t you fairly sure you had him/her beat? In other words, in good company the best kind of showdown hand usually will be sent against the short stack.
In our example, you moved all-in after the preflop raise had been called by three people. One of the players could easily have had a hand that could contest the all-in raise. If you lose, you will likely start over and it could happen again a few hands later.
But let’s say you win a couple of hands and you have an improved stack. Suddenly, you are playing K-Q. After all, you have some money and you can’t wait forever for pocket aces. The pot is raised as usual in this hand and you make the call. The flop is K-8-2. There is a bet and a call (seldom a check in this company) and you move all-in. When no one calls, you win the pot. In this hand, the only way you can get called by a good player is if you are beaten. When that player calls, you will be committed with the weaker top pair. Maybe the winner will be the A-K sitting behind you.
Sorry, Virginia, I’ve seen it too many times. Because there is no play (room to maneuver) in the short stack game and your stack is risked in its entirety each time, the decision to stay at the table will lose most of the time. To win, be sure to leave early.
However, every now and then I see someone come to the table short stacked and win an almost unbelievable series of pots. When it happens, the player can quit anytime with what is a terrific win and leave the others talking about how lucky he/she was. Or the player can stay and have the chance to win thousands.
Let’s ask a couple more questions. When you hold pocket aces or other large hand, which would you rather be – short stacked or tall stacked? With aces, would you rather be subject to a draw without future betting or would you rather have some control of the coming action and a chance to win more?
A table change is only a floor man or click away. Finding a game where you are able to maneuver is more fun than showdowns and is the accomplished player’s preferred way.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sam O’Connor is the author of the popular book How to Dominate $1 and $2 No Limit Hold ‘Em. You can contact him at HowToDominate@aol.com