Short-stacker prodding bet - an easy cost-saving hold'em read
Short-stackers are everywhere. They sit waiting and suddenly go all in. Some call them a plague and detest their presence at the table. Others simply laugh and take their money. How could one hate them? Their strategy is so basic that it leaves virtually nothing to the imagination. If they have an all in hand then they engage, otherwise they fold. But how do you know when they'll shove?
A bit of observation
Be aware of the minimum buy-in.
The short-stacker is a player who brings the minimum buy-in to the table with the intention to go all in whenever they hit a premium hand. Some short-stackers are pretty open about it and do nothing to hide. Others try to be clever and do a minimum buy-in plus change, misleading some into thinking their stack has been depleted.
In Texas Hold'em there are a lot of playable pre-flop hands, some with high value, some with marginal value. Often you may want to limp in or push a small 2-4BB bet. There are only a limited set of hands for the 2-bet, and even fewer for an all-in move. Short-stackers pose no danger to the limping hands or to the premium hands. A shove can simply be answered with a fold or a call.
All those hands in between are typically how a short-stacker makes their money. Either they push out the already posted bets or they win with a better hand at showdown. Blocking their stack growth is simply a matter of not donating money and getting pushed out, or going all-in with the better hand.
A trap setup
In a micro limits game it is quite normal that the short-stacker will simply push all in immediately any time they get their premium hand. Usually there are enough gullible people around who call and help the short-stacker make money. As the limits creep up, the short-stacker needs to set up a trap; a sudden all-in move will do nothing but make other players fold.
There are a few tactics you can use against a short-stacker at this point. Which one depends heavily by position, but sometimes you only have one of them in your arsenal. Simply pay close attention to how the short-stacker has played previously to decide which it is.
High lead from any position
Short-stackers aren't normally interested in winning small pots, they wish only to get all their chips in and double up. So with a 3-5BB lead out they aren't hoping to be called. They are hoping for a raise which gives them an excuse to shove. The action now goes back to the raiser who is now being offered decent pot odds and makes the crying call.
Enrico has pocket tens and again has position on Nicole. He's positive now that Nicole plays at a minimum pocket tens thus her 4xBB lead is troublesome. Despite what all his books say about pocket tens he knows his current expected value is negative versus Nicole. He makes a very disciplined lay down.
Limping from early position
As short-stackers don't play a lot of hands, and indeed play very few hands, they don't actually play limping quality hands. That is, a limp from early position should immediately send up a warning flag that the short-stacker is setting up a trap. A player who ignores this warning and makes a moderate bet will likely find themselves facing a shove.
Enrico looks down at J♥ T♥ in middle position. Nicole under the gun limps in. Enrico recalls that Nicole has played just a handful of the last 50 hands and is a notorious short-stacker. He suspects any bet will be shoved, and though he likes his cards, he doesn't like them that much. He limps in to see the flop cheaply.
This time Enrico is looking at pocket aces. Nicole has limped in again. Rather than his standard 4-5BB on premiums he puts in a smaller 3BB bet, trying to represent a good, but not great hand. Nicole, thinking she's closing the trap, shoves and is immediately called by Enrico, who is the favourite to win.
Late position shove
This tactic is really the most obvious of the three; it's just a shortened form of the lead out. Here when any player out of position has put in a bet, the short stacker will simply shove. Since there is a good chance of getting folds here, they can do this move with less than premium hands. Taking notes on the short-stacker here is very useful. Some crazies will actually pull this stunt with Ace-anything or small pocket pairs!
Melanie has pocket tens and leads out with 3BB. She gets one caller from a tight player in mid position and an all in from Rogan in late position. Rogan is a short-stacker who has been pushing all in for what seems like every second time on the button. She's seen him go to showndown with cards like AQs so she feels comfortable calling this bet. The tight player folds as expected.
A Bit of Practice
While playing at any table, take a quick moment to note all those players who have a stack exactly at, or near the minimum buy in, for the table. Count how often they make any type of move and what type of followup action they have. Compare it to what we've discussed here and you will likely find a match on at least a couple of those players.
The biggest value in this information is saving money. You don't want to be entering pots which are guaranteed to be shoved while you're stuck with inferior hands. Against such players, hands you would normally raise preflop may warrant just a call on the hopes you hit the flop. Hands you'd normally call you can just fold to a short-stacker tactic. If you feel you have a hand that would normally win against the short stack you can also be brave and call them. You will lose sometimes, but if you've watched carefully you'll win more often than not.
The Game
For a bit of practice with these people, we've set up a simple game of hold'em with many of the short-stackers at the table. The other players are fairly typical players.
There are three variants of short stack players here, each has a different set of starting hand requirements. Can you beat them at their own game?
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