Getting Started in Hold'em NL short stack question

[mgminbigd]

Long time reader, first time poster. I've been a limit hold'em player for a few years now and am interested in playing NL. I read Ed Miller's Getting Started in Hold'em and was fascinated by the short stack NL section. I have a few questions:

1. When playing in the blinds do you raise with the same hands that you play from late position or tighten up because of position? I assume you would raise the same hands if no one has shown aggression because it is basically a two bet system (Raise pre-flop, All-In flop).

2. If you play using this method, you won't be playing many hands and the blinds tend to chew up your stack. At what point should you add on to your stack to still make it effective?

Any information would be appreciated.

[Acepimp05]

sounds like a must read, but i know all the basics. Is it at an advanced level some what or someone just starting out in texas holdem ?

[mgminbigd]

It is a beginner's guide to Texas Hold'em. I have read a lot of books both basic and advanced. This one had some interesting concepts. I love the NL short stack section as I am new to the game.

[mike1270]

hi
all of the following assumes that i am playing ssnl on a short stack.
i have the same question as the first poster.
1 what do you do in the blinds?
2 when do you reload?

also-- i am a little unclear about the post-flop play. 1) if i hit the flop--all in? it seems like smaller bets might get more action if i really hit a good flop??
2) i miss the flop and 2 players check to me--all in why not a normal continuation bet?
3) i miss the flop and am 2nd to act vs 4 callers when 1 or 2 have checked to me--all in? i would normaly check and fold especialy if it was a scary looking flop??
4) i have a pieces of the flop(maybe 2nd pair) and someone is betting into me--all-in??

i have been playing ssnl on a big stack and winning but i just read the GSIH book this weekend and was thinking about using the super-tight short stack strategy at slightly higher limits. but i am a little unclear about post flop play. thanks

Ed - GREAT BOOK - THANKS

mike

[Ed Miller]

[ QUOTE ]
1. When playing in the blinds do you raise with the same hands that you play from late position or tighten up because of position? I assume you would raise the same hands if no one has shown aggression because it is basically a two bet system (Raise pre-flop, All-In flop).

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, with a short stack you should raise basically the same hands from the blinds as from late position. Since position won't matter much on future betting rounds, your only positional concern is that someone behind you will wake up with a big hand.

[ QUOTE ]
2. If you play using this method, you won't be playing many hands and the blinds tend to chew up your stack. At what point should you add on to your stack to still make it effective?

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, that's an interesting question. To be honest, I can't exactly tell you the "sweet spot," that is, the buy-in that maximizes your earn. There is such a spot, though, as if you bought in for just 1 BB, you wouldn't even be a favorite. And if you bought in for 200 BB, you'd be in trouble if you ran around moving in with hands like ace-jack.

I wrote the book mostly with the B&M games in mind... and most of those have a minimum buy-in of 20-30 times the big blind. I'm fairly certain the sweet spot for this strategy is at or below that buy-in number, so I merely advised to buy-in for the minimum.

But online I guess you can buy-in for less. I'm fairly sure an 8 BB stack will show a profit in most online games with a strategy like this (I know someone who tested that hypothesis). I'll leave it as an exercise to the reader to determine exactly what the optimal buy-in/move-in strategy might be. [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

P.S. I suspect the 20-30 BB buy-in might actually perform somewhat better than an 8 BB buy-in because it leaves you that flop bet. You'll get a fair number of crazy calls from people who see that you are all-in...

[Leavenfish]

[ QUOTE ]
I wrote the book mostly with the B&M games in mind...

[/ QUOTE ]

Why?
It's so apparent that so many more people are 'Getting Started' at Hold'em online these days...have been for a few years now. That does not seem to me to be where your target audience would be.

---Leavenfish

[Ed Miller]

[ QUOTE ]
Why?
It's so apparent that so many more people are 'Getting Started' at Hold'em online these days...have been for a few years now. That does not seem to me to be where your target audience would be.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, to be honest, that's my natural focus because those are the games I've played. You're right, more people are learning online these days. Fortunately, the differences between online and live for small stack no limit are not that great, the minimum buy-in notwithstanding.

One other reason I tend to write about B&M games is that the legality and future of internet poker (at least in the USA) is, in my opinion, in some doubt. B&M poker will always be played. I hope my books will still be relevant in twenty years.