The following article is aimed for beginner poker players and players simply looking for a basic strategy to use when playing as a small stack in a texas holdem cash game table, the most optimal short stack strategy involves lot of math, EV calculations and so on which take some of the fun away from playing poker, for that reason we wount touch those subjects in this article. However if you are serious about becoming a short stack shark in the mid and high stakes tables we suggest that you take look into those things.

Ask most any poker player and they’ll tell you one of the hardest positions to be in is the short stack in a Texas Holdem cash game. As such, it’s imperative to develop a short stack cash game poker strategy, preferably before you find yourself in such a diabolical situation.

We’ve been scouring the online poker forums, reading a multitude of opinions and asking real poker players how they feel about playing a Texas Holdem cash game as the short stack. After testing a few theories, we came up with a hypothesis of our own. Could it be better to start as the short stack right out of the gate?

We’ll talk more about mid-game short stack poker strategies in a moment, but for now, let’s explore this intriguing theory.

Starting Cash Games as the Small Stack

We posed the question of starting Texas Holdem cash games as the small stack, and the response was overwhelming. It seems nearly everyone agrees that it’s best to buy-in for the maximum amount, assuming this gives them more leverage over their opponents. But is that true?

Our theory was that by starting out small stacked, your opponents see you as little more than fresh meat, comparable to veal; young and innocent, lacking in experience but oh so tender. The only difference is no one feels guilty about devouring the fare. As it turns out, in low and mid-stakes Texas Holdem cash games, this small stack poker strategy was quite effective!

Coming into the table as the short stack, no one pays much attention to you, aside from waiting to scoop your mediocre chip stack. You are not considered a threat by anyone, and even though you are folding repetitively, you’re not necessarily deemed a tight player, but rather someone looking for any hand marginally worthy of pushing all-in. Hence your opponents put you on weaker hands, and are always ready to call against you.

The simple poker strategy here is to keep folding until you have a premium starting hand. Pocket rockets are ideal, of course, but  since your opponents are putting you on weak hands, a high pair or an Ace with a strong kicker will do the trick.

Once you double up, adjust to your regular poker strategy and continue on as you normally would.

If you play online poker, however, we actually suggest exiting the table as soon as you’ve doubled up (just keep in mind that this might anger certain people if you do this day in and day out, so be prepared to deal with those moments when you are getting yelled at). Find a new table and once more enter as the small stack. So long as you’re not having one of those incredibly bad days – we all have them sometimes – this small stack cash game poker strategy should prove moderately to highly profitable.

In-Game Small Stack Poker Strategy

For those who find themselves short stacked mid-game, the poker strategy is essentially the same, but not always as effective. If you’ve been maintaining a tight poker strategy thus far, you will simply continue to play tight until that diamond hand comes along. Knowing that you’re tight to begin with, your opponents will still put you on a slightly weaker range of hands, but will be less willing to call your push unless they have a fairly decent starter of their own.

If you’re playing live, let yourself appear just a little bit frustrated. Don’t get too dramatic. Run your fingers through your hair every once in awhile, lean back in your seat and look up to the ceiling for a few seconds. This subtle reaction will tell any observant poker player that you’re ready to push with just about anything. From there, it’s all a matter of time. Wait for the right moment and strike the death blow!