[GrunchCan]

I have always agreed with pzhon that buying short can be the most +EV play, depending on who you are and where you're playing.

But I disagree that buying for 50BB is ever right, if 50BB isn't the minimum buyin. If buying short is the most +EV move for you at a particular time, then there are two overriding reasons why that is so. First, it limits the amplitude of your errors. Second, it reduces the chance that you can make a mistake postflop, since you are going all-in preflop so frequently.

Buying in for 50BB rather than the absolute minumum comprimises both of these considerations. Since you bought in for more, you can lose more when you're wrong, and you'll get all-in preflop infrequently which exposes you to postflop play.

So basically, if it's more +EV for you to play short, then the best ammount to buyin for is the absolute minimum.

In fact, I might go so far as to say that if it's theoretically most +EV to play short, but the minimum buyin is 50BB, then in reality it's most +EV to play deep at a (edit) smaller game. The reason for this is becasue the amplitude of your errors is unchanged in reall dollars, but becasue your stack is so much bigger in relation to the pot, you will not often have to make crying flop calls becasue you were potstuck. Being deeper allows you to dodge losing situations more often.