Short Stack Judo Philosophy

"A post on Pocketfives.com last week made me think a lot about short stack strategies. The original post in the thread was "questioning" the strategy used by a well known poker player, who I will call "Bubba", late in a tourney after he became the short stack. The poster disagreed with the player's conservative play at the final table while short stacked. Most of the players who responded that it was wrong to hold for Tank to fail to push his stack in and try to double up. It was generally believed that Bubba was either incorrectly waiting for a very good hand or just passively holding on to move up a spot or two in the money. Either option was mostly thought to be very wrong. I believe otherwise. When I am in these situations, I think back to an interview I saw a few years ago with a poker pro at the world series of poker who said that patience was the key in these situations becasue it was important to get in with a hand that had a good chance to not only double you up but to keep you in the game as well. Each hand that is survived gives another opprotunity to catch another hand that may be the one to double you up or more, especially in this situation because most of the other players will put you on a desparation hand like A rag, a suited K or a small pair. While there is definitely a time to push with these hands, I don't believe that it is as early as most profess. It seems that those players want to push and hope that a single hand will hit and provide momentum. I believe that by being patient you give yourself a chance to catch more than a single good hand to push in a short period of time and go from short stack to a stack that you can work with and make a serious run to the final table.

In this tournament from AbsolutePoker, I found myself with a short stack following a stretch of being card dead and having a couple of hands not go my way. I waited a couple of rounds to either find a good hand to push and get heads up or a pair. The early positions were opening almost every pot and putting me in a position where I would be up against at least two other people. I wanted to avoid that if I could.


Stage #872337188 Tourney ID 1876689 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $300 - 2007-08-27 00:08:25 (ET)
Table: 31 (Real Money) Seat #3 is the dealer
Seat 1 - NIGHTHAWK01 ($3630 in chips)
Seat 2 - JIMMYBEAM37 ($5900 in chips)
Seat 3 - CHASIN 3S ($12565 in chips)
Seat 4 - SLUGGERWV ($575 in chips)
Seat 5 - RIVERSCREWED ($4340 in chips)
Seat 6 - INCRDRNKHULK ($16510 in chips)
Seat 7 - H2O_MAN ($2740 in chips)
Seat 8 - ZEROPLUS ($5050 in chips)
Seat 9 - ROOKIEG49 ($5805 in chips)
Ante $25
SLUGGERWV - Posts small blind $150
RIVERSCREWED - Posts big blind $300
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to SLUGGERWV [9c 9h]
INCRDRNKHULK - Folds
H2O_MAN - Folds
ZEROPLUS - Folds
ROOKIEG49 - Folds
NIGHTHAWK01 - Folds
JIMMYBEAM37 - Folds
CHASIN 3S - Calls $300
SLUGGERWV - All-In(Raise) $400 to $550
RIVERSCREWED - Calls $250
CHASIN 3S - Calls $250
*** FLOP *** [2d 3h 5s]
RIVERSCREWED - Checks
CHASIN 3S - Checks
*** TURN *** [2d 3h 5s] [8h]
RIVERSCREWED - Checks
CHASIN 3S - Bets $300
RIVERSCREWED - Calls $300
*** RIVER *** [2d 3h 5s 8h] [5c]
RIVERSCREWED - Checks
CHASIN 3S - Checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
SLUGGERWV - Shows [9c 9h] (Two Pair, nines and fives)
RIVERSCREWED - Shows [6d Kh] (One pair, fives)
CHASIN 3S - Shows [Qc Jd] (One pair, fives)
RIVERSCREWED Collects $600 from side pot-1
SLUGGERWV Collects $1875 from main pot

Sure there is an element of luck here, but I was able to put my tournament life on the line with a pocket pair; something that I believe is more
advantageous than a lone ace when I know I am going to get called. This hand led me to a hand with a lone ace, although suited, which gave me
the chance to get all of my chips in first and have some fold equity. I believe that the table having seen me be patient and get my chips all in with a pair
right before this helps me to get a fold here.

Stage #872339539 Tourney ID 1876689 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $300 - 2007-08-27 00:10:21 (ET)
Table: 31 (Real Money) Seat #5 is the dealer
Seat 1 - NIGHTHAWK01 ($3580 in chips)
Seat 2 - JIMMYBEAM37 ($5850 in chips)
Seat 3 - CHASIN 3S ($11665 in chips)
Seat 4 - SLUGGERWV ($1850 in chips)
Seat 5 - RIVERSCREWED ($3890 in chips)
Seat 6 - INCRDRNKHULK ($15260 in chips)
Seat 7 - H2O_MAN ($2690 in chips)
Seat 8 - ZEROPLUS ($6575 in chips)
Seat 9 - ROOKIEG49 ($5755 in chips)
Ante $25
INCRDRNKHULK - Posts small blind $150
H2O_MAN - Posts big blind $300
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to SLUGGERWV [6s As]
ZEROPLUS - Folds
ROOKIEG49 - Folds
NIGHTHAWK01 - Folds
JIMMYBEAM37 - Folds
CHASIN 3S - Folds
SLUGGERWV - All-In(Raise) $1825 to $1825
RIVERSCREWED - Folds
INCRDRNKHULK - Folds
H2O_MAN - Folds
SLUGGERWV - returned ($1525) : not called
Seat 4: SLUGGERWV collected Total ($975) All-In

This move adds 675 chips to my stack, more than a third of its prior total. On of the measures I have heard before that I do use in these
situations is if an all-in move will increase your chip total by fifteen percent, then it is an appropriate bet size, you are not overbetting the pot and
risking too many chips.

This is the next hand I played, I folded my rags from my big blind because there were already three people in the pot for an amount for which I had no fold
equity.

Stage #872346270 Tourney ID 1876689 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $400 - 2007-08-27 00:16:14 (ET)
Table: 31 (Real Money) Seat #3 is the dealer
Seat 1 - NIGHTHAWK01 ($6380 in chips)
Seat 2 - JIMMYBEAM37 ($4950 in chips)
Seat 3 - LITTLEPEEWEE ($2780 in chips)
Seat 4 - SLUGGERWV ($2875 in chips)
Seat 5 - RIVERSCREWED ($2990 in chips)
Seat 6 - INCRDRNKHULK ($13870 in chips)
Seat 7 - H2O_MAN ($4980 in chips)
Seat 8 - ZEROPLUS ($5275 in chips)
Seat 9 - ROOKIEG49 ($5005 in chips)
Ante $50
SLUGGERWV - Posts small blind $200
RIVERSCREWED - Posts big blind $400
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to SLUGGERWV [2d 2s]
INCRDRNKHULK - Folds
H2O_MAN - Folds
ZEROPLUS - Calls $400
ROOKIEG49 - Folds
NIGHTHAWK01 - Folds
JIMMYBEAM37 - Folds
LITTLEPEEWEE - Folds
SLUGGERWV - Folds
RIVERSCREWED - Checks
*** FLOP *** [Kc Qd Ac]
RIVERSCREWED - Checks
ZEROPLUS - Bets $400
RIVERSCREWED - Folds
ZEROPLUS - returned ($400) : not called
*** SHOW DOWN ***
ZEROPLUS Collects $1450 from main pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total Pot($1450)
Board [Kc Qd Ac]
I didn't feel that pushing into at best a coin flip was beneficial here. I was close enough to getting into the money that passing on this marginal hand was
an easy decision for me.

Here's the hand everyone wants with a shortstack. I wasn't ready ahead of time with a decision whether going all in was the best move to get a call or a limp hoping for a raise that I can go over the top of for my stack. There is a fine line when your bets will be believed and the time when someone wants to look you up because their hand is worth a gamble. No takers here but at least I bought myself a round of cards to look at with the winnings.
Stage #872343087 Tourney ID 1876689 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $400 - 2007-08-27 00:13:35 (ET)
Table: 31 (Real Money) Seat #9 is the dealer
Seat 1 - NIGHTHAWK01 ($6730 in chips)
Seat 2 - JIMMYBEAM37 ($5700 in chips)
Seat 3 - LITTLEPEEWEE ($3530 in chips)
Seat 4 - SLUGGERWV ($2375 in chips)
Seat 5 - RIVERSCREWED ($3140 in chips)
Seat 6 - INCRDRNKHULK ($14960 in chips)
Seat 7 - H2O_MAN ($2090 in chips)
Seat 8 - ZEROPLUS ($5425 in chips)
Seat 9 - ROOKIEG49 ($5155 in chips)
Ante $50
NIGHTHAWK01 - Posts small blind $200
JIMMYBEAM37 - Posts big blind $400
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to SLUGGERWV [As Ac]
LITTLEPEEWEE - Folds
SLUGGERWV - All-In(Raise) $2325 to $2325
RIVERSCREWED - Folds
INCRDRNKHULK - Folds
H2O_MAN - Folds
ZEROPLUS - Folds
ROOKIEG49 - Folds
NIGHTHAWK01 - Folds
JIMMYBEAM37 - Folds
SLUGGERWV - returned ($1925) : not called
SLUGGERWV Collects $1450 from main pot

I stayed alive long enough that I now get the hand that gives me a real stack.
Stage #872350503 Tourney ID 1876689 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $400 - 2007-08-27 00:20:11 (ET)
Table: 31 (Real Money) Seat #7 is the dealer
Seat 1 - NIGHTHAWK01 ($5780 in chips)
Seat 2 - JIMMYBEAM37 ($4350 in chips)
Seat 3 - LITTLEPEEWEE ($2580 in chips)
Seat 4 - SLUGGERWV ($6615 in chips)
Seat 6 - INCRDRNKHULK ($14070 in chips)
Seat 7 - H2O_MAN ($4180 in chips)
Seat 8 - ZEROPLUS ($5325 in chips)
Seat 9 - ROOKIEG49 ($6205 in chips)
Ante $50
ZEROPLUS - Posts small blind $200
ROOKIEG49 - Posts big blind $400
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to SLUGGERWV [Qd Qs]
NIGHTHAWK01 - Folds
JIMMYBEAM37 - Folds
LITTLEPEEWEE - Raises $1200 to $1200
SLUGGERWV - Raises $3200 to $3200
INCRDRNKHULK - Folds
H2O_MAN - Folds
ZEROPLUS - Folds
ROOKIEG49 - Folds
LITTLEPEEWEE - All-In $1330
SLUGGERWV - returned ($670) : not called
*** RIVER *** [10h 4h 3c 9s] [8c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
LITTLEPEEWEE - Shows [As Qh] (ace high)
SLUGGERWV - Shows [Qd Qs] (One pair, queens)
SLUGGERWV Collects $6060 from main pot

No action for awhile. Then I decide that the pot odds are right to call and there's a chance I might be good. I was, all the way until the flop.
Stage #872388297 Tourney ID 1876689 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $800 - 2007-08-27 00:53:37 (ET)
Table: 40 (Real Money) Seat #9 is the dealer
Seat 1 - DA_BLANK ($18830 in chips)
Seat 2 - SLUGGERWV ($7795 in chips)
Seat 3 - MBUNN66 ($46352.50 in chips)
Seat 5 - HHRJOHN ($25047.50 in chips)
Seat 6 - PGHMICK ($3322.50 in chips)
Seat 7 - JOHNNYRTRACK ($9290 in chips)
Seat 9 - MASTERB8 ($14042.50 in chips)
Ante $75
DA_BLANK - Posts small blind $400
SLUGGERWV - Posts big blind $800
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to SLUGGERWV [Kc 9s]
MBUNN66 - Folds
HHRJOHN - Folds
PGHMICK - All-In(Raise) $3247.50 to $3247.50
JOHNNYRTRACK - Folds
MASTERB8 - Folds
DA_BLANK - Folds
SLUGGERWV - Calls $2447.50
*** RIVER *** [10s 7s 3c Jh] [3h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
SLUGGERWV - Shows [Kc 9s] (One pair, threes)
PGHMICK - Shows [10c 7c] (Two Pair, tens and sevens)
PGHMICK Collects $7420 from main pot

The very next hand is the coup de grace.

Stage #872389558 Tourney ID 1876689 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $800 - 2007-08-27 00:54:52 (ET)
Table: 40 (Real Money) Seat #1 is the dealer
Seat 1 - DA_BLANK ($18355 in chips)
Seat 2 - SLUGGERWV ($4472.50 in chips)
Seat 3 - MBUNN66 ($46277.50 in chips)
Seat 4 - BEERDOC ($24030 in chips)
Seat 5 - HHRJOHN ($24972.50 in chips)
Seat 6 - PGHMICK ($7420 in chips)
Seat 7 - JOHNNYRTRACK ($9215 in chips)
Seat 9 - MASTERB8 ($13967.50 in chips)
Ante $75
SLUGGERWV - Posts small blind $400
MBUNN66 - Posts big blind $800
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to SLUGGERWV [Ad Kh]
BEERDOC - Folds
HHRJOHN - Folds
PGHMICK - Folds
JOHNNYRTRACK - Folds
MASTERB8 - Raises $2400 to $2400
DA_BLANK - Folds
SLUGGERWV - All-In(Raise) $3997.50 to $4397.50
MBUNN66 - Folds
MASTERB8 - Calls $1997.50
*** FLOP *** [8s 9h 3c]
*** TURN *** [8s 9h 3c] [7d]
*** RIVER *** [8s 9h 3c 7d] [6d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
SLUGGERWV - Shows [Ad Kh] (ace high)
MASTERB8 - Shows [Ac 10h] (Straight, six to ten)
MASTERB8 Collects $10195 from main pot

I thought my play put me in a position to final table this tourney. The last two hands, especially the final hand, were certainly hands that could have
grown my stack. I believe that, while I was fortunate with the first hand, once I got it and it held up, I was always in a good position to chip up."