“Bully the High Stacks”
by Michael Green

Our Resident Party Riches Legal Protector

A chip and a chair.

There isn’t even a novice poker player in the world who hasn’t heard this saying before. Whether it gives hope to players who often find themselves very low stacked early on in a tournament is a wonder, but there no mistake that it’s definitely a saying that is not without it’s meaning.

The reason there has been a poker explosion within the past few years is quite simple: We’re watching regular Joes (and Janes) take pots away from top players! We’re not playing a complicated game of chess against Bobby Fisher. We’re engaging in a game of cards (whether online, at home, or in a casino) where we’re equipped with a good amount of skill and a modest amount of luck (or vise versa).

This leads to an interesting and incomparably attractive quality in the game of poker. You might be “outplayed” in one hand by, say, Scott Fischman and lose a tremendous amount of your chips leaving you staring at just a few in front of you. But in the next few hands, you “suck out” and your right back in the game equipped with not only chips but with some auspicious hope.

Unlike chess (which in no way I’m putting down), unforeseeable things can happen in poker (those chess pros can foresee a win that’s several moves away!). In poker either luck can be behind you, or, as some day, “the Poker Gods”. Then can come a beat that’s just so terrible you want to take a vacation from the game to let off an enormous amount of steam.

When you’re looking at only a few, little clay denominations on the felt, barely enough to shuffle, you gotta think there should be a plan. How though? Other than picking a hand to move all two or three chips in there must be a strategy, right? That’s where the acting bug bites! Here are some tips with the your Hollywood performance at the table:

1. Staring down an opponent is annoying. If you’re carrying AA, KK, AK in the short stack and you’re begging for a call, annoy your opponent with a stare-down, a lick of the lips or even a kiss.
2. Obtain information with chat. Players like Freddy Deeb, Antonio Esfandiari and Umberto Brenes (in Spanish) are well known for this tactic. In the short stack, it is even more vital.
3. You might want to wait for something better than low pocket pairs when you’re not in the blind. T.J. Cloutier has said, “Sometimes you have to make a stand with a middle pair.” At a relatively full table, these low pairs to mid-pairs (2 2 to 7 7) are less than marginal against even modest cards like Q8 and K9.
4. Players will put you all in a lot. Control your temper and fold frequently. Wear glasses if you need to so you can hide your anger.
5. High stacks LOVE to bully. If a high stack is in the small blind and you’re in the big blind and he/she raises you all-in, calling with A 2, 9 10 and such will most likely be in the lead of junk like 3 7, 9 3, hands your raiser most likely has.

Now who doesn’t bluff? Now that there are pocket cams (to see a players hole cards at the table) there is a lot of bluffing to boost one’s own ego and end up looking like a hot shot. Sure you can take a stab or two when you got a good stack of chips, but when your chips are burning away you got to control it.

Chris Moneymaker made a commitment to himself to control his bluffing. Why? Because even though he made the “bluff of the century” against Sam Farha at WSOP 2003, it has gotten him into some trouble since then (he busted out early in the WSOP 2004). This commitment is especially important for short stacks.

I saw Mike Sexton play at the Morongo Casino in Cabazon CA. in the Poker Superstars Invitational 2005 (where points play a significant part in advancing). When he got short-stacked, he folded so much he didn’t play a hand for probably an hour in real time. Then he did something bold yet brilliant: He decided to make a call (not for all of his chips) with a sneaky little hand, 6 8 suited in relatively late position. Other players probably thought he had paint (two face cards) with that call but if low cards came on the flop or there was a big draw for him, he could make a move (which he didn’t at that moment since he caught nothing on the flop and there were quite a few players in the hand) and take down a modest pot (his patience paid off – he ended up finishing high enough to advance).

With this in mind, it’s wise to remember the following DO NOTS with a short stack:

1. It’s no time to show off. Do not bluff!
2. Watch your position. Don’t call even with paints cards in very early position unless you have enough chips to make all but one player call in front of you.
3. Try limping in with a sneaky little suited connector (not too low though) if you have enough to do so in relatively late position (without raises before you).

With all this tips in mind, you should find yourself with a different frame of mind when you’re short changed. Believe it or not, it’s considered a strategy, and this is key in thr beautiful game of poker.

Who knows what lies ahead for this now massive sport. Will its greatness diminish in less than a few years? If it hasn't yet, it won't for a very long time.

 

Michael Green