Short-Handed Play Basics

[eaglezoners]

When a full table becomes short-handed at critical junctures in tournaments, you have a situation where large blinds are coming around twice as fast as usual, and there could be only 4 or 5 people playing at your table. Waiting for the "nuts" to come is a bad strategy as your stack will get eaten by the blinds. Thus, the situation dictates that you must play looser and more aggressively.

Aces and Kings have more worth at tables with less players than they would be at a full-handed table. High cards in general become more valuable.

When you get an Ace and only 8 other cards are dealt that hand to your opponents, the likelihood they also have one is substantially decreased from the situation where 18 other cards are dealt to your opponents at a full-table. Thus, this enables you to play looser than you would normally.

Playing draws at short-handed tables is generally disfavored. Generally, not enough people will call to make the draw profitable.

One view was that these starting hands were acceptable in a short-handed situation.

Any Pairs 55+
A10 or higher
KQ
QJ
JT

Others said just about any ace was acceptable to play as it was unlikely an opponent would have one. This view also approved of K8 or better. But I think experience should be your guide in playing weak aces and kings.

There are many different views as to how loose one can play. Much will be dictated by the size of your chip stack.

One other common theme was to always raise when you went entered a hand; no limping, so you put the burden on your opponent to call or fold. In any event, your raise and his response will give you valuable information.

I cannot emphasize that table position, knowing your opponents' tendencies and relative stack sizes and the game situation are critical factors in deciding how to proceed.