Preflop Play in Shorthanded Games
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Many players struggle needlessly with shorthanded play. This column will dispel a myth about shorthanded play and then address a common mistake people make when the game goes short.
“In shorthanded games you pay the blinds more often, so you have to play more hands to compensate.”
“ Playing in a shorthanded game is theoretically no different from playing in a full game where some players have folded. Being under the gun in a four-handed game is the same situation as being one off the button in a ten-handed game where everyone has folded to you.”
These two beliefs about shorthanded play are commonly held, but they contradict one another. The first idea suggests that you should play more hands in the four-handed game, while the second suggests that you should play the same number. Both can’t be right, yet finding the fallacy in either is difficult.
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Tags: 6-max, big-blind, blind-defense, blind-play, bunching-effect, limit-holdem, poker, preflop-play, shorthanded, showdown-value, two-plus-two, twoplustwo
