Shorthanded Poker Strategy

August 06, 2008 - Martin Bradley

(Credit: marcdark)

Poker Strategy: Short Handed No Limit Hold'em

The popularity of 6-handed ring games instead of a full 9 or 10 man table continues to increase. The main reason for this is that it gives people the opportunity to see more hands an hour and gives them the opportunity to be more creative in their style.

Here some tactics that are good to remember when playing on a table with less players than the norm.

Top pair is usually good

What is different from a full ring No Limit game to shorthanded is that in a full ring game you learn to distrust your top pair especially if it is a low one. Shorthanded play especially in an unraised pot would mean that a top pair is usually safe. Make sure that you don't undervalue your top pair if you are more used to full ring games and lose out on cash.

Be aggressive with your draws

If you flop a draw and no one is betting then there is a great opportunity to put in strong bet to try and take down the pot there and then. The reason for this is that there are less players and therefore a less chance that someone will have a strong enough hand to call or re-raise you.

Steal more often

Attempt to steal the pot by betting and re-raising with middle pair and in late position. Many times other players will have missed their flop but will continue to bet so as to try and take the pot down anyway. As in shorthand play there is a less likely chance that they have actually hit then test out players in the correct situations and you will find that you will make a decent chip profit from this.

Preflop position isn't as important

Calling under the gun in a full ring game is a rarely used tactic because of the amount of play still to come. In short handed games there are less players to act and therefore less chance of someone waking up with a monster. This allows you to play with a wider range of hands that if they do improve can give you the absolute nuts.

It's easier to trap

All the above patterns of betting are used by many on shorthanded tables, and because more people play greater amounts of hands, it sometimes can be much easier to set up a trap when a flop comes you way big time. Check raising is always a useful tactic but players really can hang themselves in shorthanded play when they think that they have an easy pot to pick up. Make sure you take notice of your opponents wisely and don't get trapped yourself!