Lou Krieger on Short Handed Play in Poker

Are you one who avoids shorthanded games like the plague?  It seems that a lot of folks are uncomfortable with short-handed play.  After all, most of us play at a full table, or mostly full table, the vast majority of the time, and the kinds of things that are frequent occurrences in shorthanded play just don’t happen when eight, nine, or ten opponents are in the game.

I can still recall the first time I played in a shorthanded game.  Things were different, to be sure, and anyone, even the neophyte that I was back then, could have told you that.  I was confused, not at all certain what I was wrestling with, nor knowledgeable enough to deal with it.  Eventually I learned that the differences between shorthanded play and a playing in a full game are not all that complex, although they can be somewhat frightening when the experience is new or unfamiliar. 

Choosing the right starting hands when the game is shorthanded is very different than selecting playable hands for a full game.  Hand values change dramatically as the game becomes progressively more shorthanded.  Some hands that are playable in full games shouldn’t be played at all in shorthanded games, while others hands that you’d cast away without a moment’s hesitation in a full game are raising hands when the game is short.

Lou Krieger represents Royal Vegas Poker. Royal Vegas gives you a free $10 to play poker (no deposit required)

To some extent, playing Texas hold’em shorthanded is similar to a full game when you are in late position and everyone else has passed.  When that happens, you’d much rather have a hand like A-9 offsuit than 10-9 suited.  After all, when you’re up against the blinds, that lone ace might be big enough to win.  A hand like 10-9 suited plays better against a full complement of opponents.  It’s the kind of holding to build a straight or a flush with, but it won’t win many pots without improvement. 

Big cards are much more valuable in shorthanded games simply because they can win without improvement.  Flush and straight draws, particularly if they do not include high cards, just can’t attract the number of opponents in a shorthanded game to make them profitable in the long run.  You’ll still complete the draws you play with the same regularity, but the payoff won’t justify the odds against hitting your hand.

There is, however, one significant difference between shorthanded play and a playing at a full table after most of your opponents have passed.  When most of your opponents pass at a full table, you can assume they were not holding big cards. Because most of your opponents probably had small to middling cards, the deck figures to be rich in bigger cards, and if you are holding an ace or a couple of face cards you probably stand a better chance of catching part of the flop.  

But if you’re in a five-handed game and the two players immediately to the left of the blind muck their hands, you’re really can’t be sure what’s left in the deck.  Although it’s safe to assume that the folders had trash hands, not enough hands were folded to be certain that the deck is now bunched in favor of high cards flopping.

Blinds come around much more frequently in a short game, and most players become more aggressive.  Since drawing hands, like mid-range suited connectors, won’t attract a sufficient number of callers to make playing them worthwhile, “…pump it or dump it” becomes the tactic of choice.   Your opponents will no longer require A-K or A-Q before they raise; in a shorthanded game, any ace is a potential raising hand.  Moreover, if you call a raiser, you won’t necessarily know what your opponent is holding.  When he comes out betting into a flop that doesn’t necessarily figure to have helped him and in a shorthanded game he most assuredly will come out betting, regardless of what the flop looks like  you might have to call all the way to the river even if you’re not holding anything stronger than a naked ace. 

With aggression the rule rather than the exception, and blinds that come around twice as often as they do in full games, position becomes more important because you will probably have to gamble a bit more.  After all, you can be quite selective when the blinds come around only twice in every nine or ten hands.  It’s not a luxury you can afford when you are in the blind 40 percent of the time.

Since big cards increase in valuable when the game is shorthanded, it stands to reason that the value of a pair increases even more.  After all, your middling pair of sixes is probably a favorite against the blinds, particularly if your raise will cause at least one of them to fold

One of the tough things to determine in a shorthanded game is whether to keep playing if you are called after you’ve raised with a mid range pair and the flop contains an overcard or two.  Determining whether your opponent was helped by the flop, or is merely bluffing can be difficult.  An ability to read your opponents is certainly important; it always is.  And it’s even more important when playing shorthanded since larceny is more prevalent than it is in full games where the best hand generally has to be shown down to take the money. 

This is another case of, “…it depends,” and as usual, it depends on your position, how well your opponents play, the composition of the board, the relative aggressiveness or passivity of your opponents, and whether you can read them with any degree of accuracy.  If you can’t get a read on your opponents, you’ll simply have to play your hand for its intrinsic value.  This smacks of gambling. But in shorthanded games where the blinds are a major consideration because they come around so rapidly, it’s is just too costly to surrender them along with mucking every hand that is not helped by the flop particularly when that flop does not appear to have helped your opponents.

In full games it is fairly easy to release hands like second pair or even a pair of aces with a poor kicker. But in shorthanded games these are playable hands.  Moreover, whenever you make a big hand, consider checkraising. It’s the perfect tactic to use against overly aggressive opponents. 

If aggressiveness and the higher variance that’s a predictable consequence of more risk-taking are the potential bugaboos of shorthanded play, there’s plenty of opportunity too. When the game is shorthanded you’ll be able to take advantage of weak players more frequently.  By the same token, if you are facing opponents whose skills are superior to yours, the best tactical maneuver at your disposal is to pick up your chips and find a different game.

Shorthanded games are difficult for many players simply because they do everything at their disposal to avoid them.  It’s neither better nor worse game than full-handed poker.  It’s different; that’s all. 

But if you’re a winning player in a full game, you can easily learn to play well when it’s shorthanded.  But to do that, you have to play. So the next time the table gets short, try holding it together.  Ask the floorperson to reduce the collection or rake, and tell your opponents that it probably won’t be too long until the game is full again, and keep on playing.  After a while, I kinda think you’re gonna like it.

Lou Krieger represents Royal Vegas Poker. Royal Vegas gives you a free $10 to play poker (no deposit required)