selective buy in

[amoeba]

Whenever somebody mentions using the Ed Miller short stack strategy on this board, there is a lot of disdain and cries of " play real poker".

If for example, you are sitting at a table filled with smart lags and dumb maniacs, I think the short stack strategy is the best.

you would be giving the smart lags a lot of implied odds with your preflop raises and be forced to make a lot of difficult decisions post flop with marginal hands. If they are decent enough, I really doubt you can get much of a read on them as to when they are pure bluffing and when they have the nuts.

Instead, I'll force them to change their game by buyin in short and going short stack. once I've doubled my stack, they should have adjusted and I can start playing normal.

If they don't adjust, I continue short stack.

[BZ_Zorro]

If you're a winning player, why?

[amoeba]

because I feel there are some tables in which short stack strat is the most profitable one.

Thats my point.

The advantage of short stack strategy is that you don't have to make any difficult post flop decisions with single pair hands.

most of your losses to smart lags result from either getting bluffed off a hand that was good or losing a huge pot due to a misread.

short stack strategy avoids this and allows you to take full advantage of the way to profit off these guys, which is being tight preflop.

[BZ_Zorro]

Makes more sense with the edit.

For me, buying in short would be missing on a lot of profit. Lags or maniacs at a table are a dream situation, the more the better. If a lag is really tough I just wait for good hands or leave (rarely).

I like being fully stacked against lags because they generate huge ave pots and lots of action, and other players make mistakes against them which you can take advantage of as a third party (i.e. getting action on your hand, hiding your strength). I deliberately seek out those tables and buy in full.

Interested in what others have to say.

[amoeba]

I think position has a lot to do with this but for example if Im forced to sit in front of the smart lags ( good postflop players) for most hands and I want to still make money off the maniacs, I think buying in short is a good strategy.

Poker isnt just call, raise, fold. If you have a choice in buy in, you should maximize that choice.

at a table in which others were worse postflop players then buyin in max is of course the right choice. But at a table in which they are good postflop players but like to take a lot of flops then I think short stack strategy is the way to profit.

[gulebjorn]

I have never sat at a table with a full buyin, thinking: damn, I wish I was shortstacked. I try to constantly have a read on every single player at my table, and act accordingly, but I just cannot understand why buying in short would give you an advantage.

Edit: if you are at a table with a bunch of LAGs that are better than you postflop, you should change tables instead of trying to minimize the edge they have over you by buying in short. JMO.

[meleader2]

Why not just buy in for the full amount and REALLY put them to the decision...there's no real diff. between pushing preflop for 10$ with AK and pushing preflop for 25$ with AK except the amount of $ u'll lose.

Just don't play with scared money.

[swolfe]

good players make money by making good decisions. having deeper stacks means that there are more decisions and that the decisions (especially on later streets) will matter more.

[Lalit Khajuria]

I usually buyin short only the first time of the day I sit down. Just to get the feeling of game and right mindset. After maybe 15-20 hands I rebuy up to max(unless ive allready got lucky and have the max /images/graemlins/wink.gif )
I just personally dont play my best game in the beginning of session. And this is how I make sure it costs me as little as possible.

[elus2]

[ QUOTE ]
Why not just buy in for the full amount and REALLY put them to the decision...there's no real diff. between pushing preflop for 10$ with AK and pushing preflop for 25$ with AK except the amount of $ u'll lose.

[/ QUOTE ]

there are multiple streets to play in poker.