DIE Shortstack Scums of the Earth!

Seriously, short stackers tilt me. They seem to be everywhere, even in the smaller sites such as Pay No Rake and WSEX. If you don’t know who they are then let me explain to you. Let’s say you’re sitting at a 1/2 nl game and there’s a few players with $250 stack, a few with $150 and there will almost always be one or two shortstack scum(s) with $20. That goes for almost every limit at almost every table - they always tend to buy in for 20 big blinds or less whereas fish generally buy in for 20-70 big blinds and good players always buy in full for 100 big blinds. They are like bacteria and seem to be multiplying, I kid you not. There’s even manuals out there with hand charts available.

They are completely selfish and their goal is not to play real poker and get a feel for the game and players and make a lot of money. They prevent others from playing proper poker (decent post flop) since many times they will overinflated pots by pushing pre flop like complete retards. For example, let’s say you happen to be there on the button with TT or AQ and you raise  two weak limpers and the scum shoves the BB and one of the limpers calls the scum’s all in. Now, on the flop if you bet you will create a side pot. You have no idea what the scum has and many times you are forced to check down and allow the limper to outdraw you.

It’s only goal is to double up and leave and torment another table and repeat this vicious cycle indefinetely. If it happens to lose its small buy in then it will just reload continuously. Imagine someone did that in a live casino game - they wouldn’t since they wouldn’t be able to stand the constant abuse but online they can hide behind their pretty monitors like cowards and annoy the hell out of the poker community.

Some sites such as Full Tilt Poker have introduced tables with deeper buy ins that prevent shortstackers from practicing their evil ways and that’s a positive step. I have asked Betfair continuously to introduce such measures and have been ignored for years. They don’t care as long as they make their rake.

I am a professional and do what I can not to go on a tilt with a few anti-shortstack techniques I have picked up which I will share with you:

• Avoid tables with many shortstackers: That’s easy but not as easy when they join your table and there is still a fish at the table.
• Minimum Raise them to death when you are on the button (or when you’re in the small blind and they are on big blind) and they are in one of the blinds: Most of them cannot and will not play post flop and adapt a raise/fold attitude. By minimum raising them, it makes it more difficult for them to shove since they have to risk more to win less. If they do happen to call, you are likely to be much more skilled post flop and have position which makes things much easier.
• Trap them with big hands: You can even open limp on button or small blind with a big pair and many times they will likely push and thus trapping them.
• Do not call their all ins light: Its very tempting to try to bust them but be selective when calling them in light, usually 55+ and ATo+. I used to adapt a win/win attitude of calling them light, ie: if they double up they leave and if they lose I earn a bit of cash but that’s not really profitable financially, only psychologically.
• Three bet where you might flat call in late position: This is to avoid having to fold pre flop with speculative hands like suited connectors and small pocket pairs.

Good luck against these scum and let me know how you get on.

BrasilNut