Short handed poker is a logical choice for the winning Texas Hold ‘em poker player. Money is made playing poker when the winning poker player makes good decisions. As the action is faster in short handed poker there are more opportunities for a good player to make profitable decisions at the table. Short handed poker increases the aggression and exposes players who think they understand the game but do not. Money can still be made at short handed poker.
Most of the live poker tournaments on television are short handed variations of poker so if you want to enjoy success and make a name for yourself, mastering this style of poker should be part of your poker strategy.
Your pre-flop hand range needs to be a little looser because you will be facing the blinds in 33% of your hands. As nice as it would be to wait for premium hands, even at the beginning of a poker tournament you do not have enough time to catch a premium hand and then be paid enough to compensate for the regular blinds you are losing. Also, your hands would be vulnerable against connectors and so on that other poker players will be playing. High suited connectors and low pocket pairs are very playable in short handed poker. With only five other players being dealt to, there is more chance that a hand you would automatically muck like AJ in early position at a full ring table is a hand you should play short handed.
Depending on whether you limped pre-flop you need to continuation bet with top pair most of the time. It is a very strong hand in short handed play more so that full ring games. Re-raise a continuation bettor with these hands. Do not instantly muck second pair because often it is the best hand but opponent knowledge is important here. With a good draw you can bet immediately to try and take the pot there and then and use any opponent re-raising to decide whether you are completely beaten or you can shove to flip for the pot if you believe you may have a chance to win.
One tip from the books published by 2+2 is that when the opening few positions on the table fold the action plays out like a full ring table. This makes sense as the only players left are the late positions and blinds just like in full ring. It just takes less folding to reach this point on a short handed table.
The biggest difference between full ring and short handed poker games is the aggression. You will encounter much more aggression with experienced players knowing exactly how to put you in uncomfortable situations. Your weapons for pushing the action to weaker opponents is bets such as the pre-flop raise, the three bet re-raise, continuation bet and betting out post flop. Passive play will not work at short handed games. Opponents are usually aggressive all of the time so bluffing becomes a real skill which must be used against only certain opponents and be well timed.
All poker sites offer short handed poker in both cash games and poker tournaments and the tables tend to be full at the lower stakes games with some middle and high stakes games being contested at peak times of the day where traffic to these rooms are highest.
If you feel you need to be more aggressive at the poker table, learn short handed poker. There are many short handed poker guides and specific tuition articles online which you would do well to research. Short handed poker is a complicated game that cannot be solved by one article.
By Malcolm Clarke