$5 per half hour is probably slightly more than the average rake you’d pay playing a short stack at $1-$2. So you’re probably somewhat worse off with the time charge, but it’s not much worse off I’d guess. So yes, you should be able to profit I think, assuming your opponents are fairly loose, which they generally are in a $1-$2 game.

You aren’t going to make a fortune buying in for $60, but you should be able to squeeze out a few bucks an hour in winrate while you learn and get comfortable. And naturally you’ll play some deeper-stacked hands after you double up.

I was just curious about how a short stack strategy would work in a small game in a card room that takes a time charge, like Foxwoods. The 1/2 blind game there has a $60 minimum, a $300 maximum, and a $5 per half hour time charge. That’s a pretty hefty time charge. It seems especially large when playing a short-stack, as I would think that you take down fewer pots (I could be wrong as this is slightly made up for by the fact that there isn’t much room for folding hands such as top pair to big bets on the turn and river).

My question is this: Could it still be profitable to buy in for this 30BB amount or should I consider buying in for a 50BB amount of $100? I’m not yet comfortable enough to buy in for 100BB or more.

Expect something in the tip jar soon. Do you take Neteller?

IMHO, there is nothing unethical about short stacking. It’s just part of the game. We give up something (the ability to win 100′s of bbs with the nuts), they give up something (the ability to play certain hands that rely on implied odds). Besides, if I sit down with 50 bbs and lose half my stack to a beat, we have the same situation…

I do wonder at the negative comments I receive at the tables sometimes… funny how an über-fish with a full stack thinks he has the right to mock your every move just because he has more money in front of him. Ah well, best remedy against that is to compliment them on their superiority, then push your AA against their T8o.

Other measures like not allowing to buy-in for shorter than you left the table are of course impossible in live games and certainly difficult to arrange in online sites, too. Nevermind the inconveniences it would have on the players.

I’m personally not “against” short stack strategy, but I feel that one real problem with it is the big possibility of messing up a hand that two deep stacks would have had. I suppose the deep stacks could just ignore the flop all-in of a short-stack, though it would indicate much about their representive hands, but a hefty reraise by a short-stacker might scare a deep stack player going against another deep stacker.

This is probably pretty basic board/hand reading stuff. I mention it because I think a lot of people underestimate the educational value of a short stack strategy. You get to see a lot of showdowns and therefore hands your opponents will play for 4-5bbs preflop and 5-15bbs on the flop. Studying that info, you will notice that it soon becomes a lot easier to put your opponents on a narrow (and correct) range of hands.

I know you intentionally did not go into flop decisions too deeply in GSIH, so that we could try to learn for ourselves. But is there any chance you will one day? Or… dare I say it out loud… might your upcoming book hold some answers?

And since I’m off topic anyway, I’m still intrigued by your comment a couple of months ago that the SSS might be even more profitable at 6max. Ah, how those VPPs would accumulate if only those damn blinds wouldn’t eat me alive…

There’s nothing in principle wrong with making a strong raise with a 40BB stack. The problems come if you might miss the flop AND STILL FEEL POT-STUCK because of the size of the pot compared to the chance your opponent might be bluffing/call with a weaker hand.

For instance, say you make it 5BB with AK and get called by a blind. You miss the flop. He checks, you bet 8BB say, and he check-raises all-in for 27BB more. You’re getting about 2-to-1 to call. Against some players your equity might be just around 33% because they would check-raise with a lot of hands. You’re in a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situation.

Against this player, you might be better off keeping the pot slightly smaller on the first two bets… especially if you still think you can get all-in against him if you flop top pair. That way, you make the same when you “get there,” but you lose less when you get check-raised on a bad flop.

If your opponent is weak and folds to a lot of cbets, then go ahead and make that big preflop raise.

You’re basically right on. When you have a 20BB stack, raising to 5BB and pushing any flop is generally a fairly strong strategy.

is there something wrong with strong raises preflop with a medium stack (40bb)?