04.01 Shorthanded.pdf

6/10/04 This is the fifth draft of the chapter on Shorthanded Limit Hold’em in Hold’em Brain by

King Yao. Please email feedback, suggestions, comments, opinions, questions to

KingYao@HoldemBrain.com or you could use the Feedback Form to email me at the bottom of

the page.

Hold’em Brain: Shorthanded Limit Hold’em

Introduction to Shorthanded Limit Hold’em

Shorthanded Hold’em games are hard to find in brick and mortar poker rooms. In the middle and

lower limits, it is played at times, but never with any regularity. Sometimes players are willing to

start a game shorthanded in the hopes that it fills up, but if it stays shorthanded, they quickly move

to another limit or leave. The exact opposite would happen late at night or early in the morning.

During these times, players would leave to go home, thus leaving the game shorthanded. The

players who still wanted to play would have no choice but to play shorthanded or go home. These

games are often good games because the players still playing are usually the ones that are stuck

and are not playing their best game.

The internet has changed the world in many different ways. In the poker universe, the internet has

brought online poker to many players, and it has brought more interest to shorthanded games.

Many online casinos have tables set up specifically for shorthanded games. They may have a

6-player maximum table, a 5-player maximum table or heads-up tables.

Shorthanded Hold’em may be right for you if any of these describe you:

you can tolerate the wilder fluctuations in the shorthanded games

you are willing to play more aggressively

you get bored waiting for hands in full games

you like action and would like to get involved in more pots without giving up edge

you do not mind getting heads-up in many situations after the Flop

your strength is in reading hands and playing the players

If any of these descriptions pertain to you, then shorthanded games may be right for you. These

are games that loose-aggressive players prefer. In fact, the loose-aggressive players can often

perform better in the shorthanded game by just playing the same way that they do in full games.

The shorthanded games suit their style better than full games do. The loose-aggressive players’

natural play now becomes closer to the winning formula in shorthanded games. This is not

necessarily because those players understand the differences between shorthanded and full games.

They are playing the game the same way that they know how, and it just so happens that their

strategy is closer to the correct strategy when there are fewer players than when there are more.

Meanwhile, the tight-passive players will have trouble in the shorthanded games if they do not

change their strategy from a full game. Playing tight and waiting for high quality hands means

giving up a lot of edge to the aggressive players in the shorthanded games.

The Spectrum of tables with different number of players

Shorthanded Limit Hold’em is a very different game than a full 10-handed or 9-handed game. It

looks like the same game, the rules are the same, but there are many differences. Even within the

realm of shorthanded games, there are distinctions between those that are semi-shorthanded (like

a 6-handed game) versus those that are extremely shorthanded (like a 3-handed game).

Here are comments on games with different number of players and how they may be different.

10-8 players : Full Game. Most poker literature assumes the game is played with a full

complement of players. Some casinos have ten seats at the table, making a table of ten players a

full table, while other casinos only have nine seats.

7 players : There are two distinct types of 7-handed games. A 7-handed game can play very much

like a full game. This can happen when a couple of players have just left the table and the new

players have not arrived at their seat yet, or when a couple of the players are taking a break from

the game. If this is the case, then for the most part, it will play very much like a full game. Most

players will not adjust their mentality toward the game. The other type of 7-handed game is one

that looks like it is a permanent 7-handed game. The game has been played 7-handed for a while,

and there is no real expectation that the game will fill up anytime soon. In that case, the game will

usually be just a bit more aggressive, as the mentalities of the players are focused on 7 players in

the game rather than 9 or 10. In this case, the players are now used to the fact that the game is a

7-handed game and will not revert back into a full game anytime soon. However, in general, most

7-handed games will still resemble a full game. Each hand can be viewed like a full 9-handed

game where the first two players have already folded, thus leaving 7 players in the game.

6 players : Some online poker sites have tables with only 6 seats. This game has a few interesting

aspects in that the under the gun player should play close to the same strategy as in a full game, but

the later position players can play much more aggressively. The reason the under the gun player

needs to play fairly tight is due to the increased aggressiveness of the late position players. This

means the early position players will get raised more often and it is more difficult to create a

multiple player pot since there are fewer players. With 6 players and fewer, it is usually incorrect

to limp into the pot with a call if no one else is in the pot yet. Any hand that is playable should be

a hand that is raisable when no other player has entered the pot. This is not true when there are

more players at the table because there is a chance that other players may limp in after you, thus

making the pot size bigger. In 9-handed games, when you limp into the pot in an early position

with a hand such as JTs or 77, you may be able to expect a pot large enough to make it a profitable

play. Once it gets down to 6 players, this possibility becomes too slim to consider limping in. You

will not be happy if you get raised and have to play the pot heads-up and in poor position when you

hold a drawing hand like JTs.

5 players : In a 5-handed game, many players will be ultra aggressive. The under the gun position

still needs to be somewhat selective, but a hand like A8s is now strong enough to raise all the time

in that position. Some players will take it too far and raise under the gun with a hand like K9o.

Those players will get punished since they will often get re-raised by players in a later position

who may hold hands such as AJo and KQs.

The cutoff and the button can be even more liberal. The button can arguably open-raise more often

(when he actually has the chance to) in 5-handed games compared to 3-handed games. In

3-handed games, it is almost guaranteed that at least one of the blinds will see the Flop. In

5-handed games, there is a slightly higher chance that the blinds will fold to a button open-raise.

Even if they call the pre-Flop raise, they will fold more liberally on the Flop than if it was 3-handed

games.

4 players : The under the gun player is the same as the cutoff player in 4-handed games. This

player should align himself with cutoff strategy more so than under the gun strategy. It is probably

fair to say that this player should not even think of himself as the player that is first to act anymore,

but rather, this player should focus on the fact that he is the second to last to act. In 5-handed

games, the button needs to be somewhat selective in re-raising the under the gun’s pre-Flop raise.

However, in 4-handed games, the button can widen his range of re-raising hands a bit because the

button knows that the under the gun player will open-raise with more hands when it is only

4-handed compared to 5-handed.

The small blind still needs to be aggressive and three bet when he actually holds a legitimate hand,

but fold most of the time due to the expected ultra aggressiveness of all the other players in the

later rounds. Since the small blind will always be in a horrible position on all streets, it is

important to force the big blind to fold since that player also has a nice positional advantage over

the small blind.

The big blind should be calling one raise with a wide variety of hands, but be very selective when

there are two bets to him. With two bets, it means at least one of the raisers probably has a

legitimate hand. So the big blind must also have a legitimate hand in order to continue with the

hand.

3 players : There is only one non-blind hand in this game. The button must be very aggressive

because any chance that any of the blinds fold is a nice bonus. But the button must keep in mind

that if the blinds are constantly calling him, he must throw away some hands as well. The key to

raising on the button is how likely the blinds are going to call pre-Flop raises and how they play

post-Flop. If the big blind folds most of his hands, then this is a fantastic game for the player on

the button. Typically, in 3-handed games, the blinds will call more often when the button raises

than when the button open-raises in 5-handed games. In 3-handed games, the blinds will be

constantly pounded with pre-Flop raises (and raising pre-Flop themselves when they are on the

button) that calling a raise in the blinds becomes almost automatic with any hand. This aggressive

play can especially happen online. Online games are also much faster as there is no need to wait

for a human dealer to shuffle the cards. If the online players are playing quickly and using the

automatic buttons, the game may seem more like a video game than poker.

In 3-handed games, the small blind must be very aggressive when he has a good hand and re-raise

with them. The range of hands that the small blind can three bet with should increase compared to

that in 4-handed games when the cutoff player raises, but it should stay the same as when the

button in a 4-handed game is the open-raiser. As in most cases, calling a lone raiser when you are

in the small blind position is a poor strategy because it gives the big blind, another player with

position over you, a cheap way to play the pot.

If the button is open-raising with many hands, as should be expected, then the big blind should be

calling with many hands. The big blind should also often re-raise pre-Flop depending on how the

button plays on the Turn. The reason the big blind should think all the way out to the Turn is due

to the differences in how opponents will act on the Turn when they do not have anything.

Against opponents that will keep betting until someone raises, it is better to just call the pre-Flop

raise and wait until the Turn to put in a check-raise with a good hand. You want the players who

are ultra-aggressive to hang themselves with their own aggressiveness, so do not stop them from

playing aggressively too early in the hand. If you suspect these players will slow down and play

more reasonably if you re-raise pre-Flop or check-raise on the Flop, then you should not reveal the

strength of your hand until the Turn and let them do the betting for you instead.

Against opponents that may slow down on the Turn when they do not have much, it is best to do

the raising pre-Flop. You would not be able to count on these players to bet when you check to

them on the Turn. Against opponents like these, you would prefer to get their money in early since

they are less likely to give it to you later. Clearly, understanding how your opponents play is

important. With fewer players, it becomes even more important.

An interesting aspect in 3-handed games is the difference in seat selection strategy compared to

games with more players. Typically you would want the aggressive and better players to sit on

your right and act before you have to act. This way you can see their actions before it is necessary

for you to act. However, the players that play well in shorthanded games will often play the small

blind correctly, that is, they will usually re-raise or fold in that position. Compare that to a bad

player that will often call a raise while in the small blind. His call in the small blind would give the

big blind 5:1 odds to see the Flop (there are 5 small bets in the pot - 2 small bets from the button,

1 small bet from the small blind and 1 small bet posted by the big blind). The bad player in the

3-handed game may also make the mistake of limping while on the button. This allows the small

blind 5:1 odds to see the Flop (there are 2.5 small bets in the pot and the small blind only needs to

put in a half of a small bet). So if the bad player sits to your right, you can benefit most from his

mistakes when he is on the button and in the small blind. If the bad player sits to your left, the

player that will benefit most by the bad player’s mistakes is not you, but the third player.

Assume you are in 3-handed game with one good player and one bad player. The first chart is

when the bad player is sitting to your right. The second chart is when the bad player is sitting to

your left.

Bad Player on your right

Your

position

Bad Player’s

position (on

your right)

Mistakes by Bad Player

Who benefits most by the

mistakes by the bad player

Small Blind

Button

Limps in too often on the

Button. This is great news

for the Small Blind as he

gets 5:1 odds to see the

Flop.

Small Blind (You)

Big Blind

Small Blind

Calls raises from the

Button. This is great news

for the Big Blind as he gets

5:1 odds to see the Flop.

Big Blind (You)

Button

Big Blind

Calls raises from the

Button. This is not good or

bad news because many

players will call anyway.

Nobody

Bad Player on your Left

Your

position

Bad Player’s

position (on

your left)

Mistakes by Bad Player

Who benefits most by the

mistakes by the bad player

Small Blind

Big Blind

Calls raises from the

Button. This is not good or

bad news because many

players will call anyway.

Nobody

Big Blind

Button

Limps in too often on the

Button. This is great news

for the Small Blind as he

gets 5:1 odds to see the

Flop.

Small Blind (not you)

Button

Small Blind

Calls raises from the

Button. This is great news

for the Big Blind as he gets

5:1 odds to see the Flop.

Big Blind (not you)

Since you are in the blinds/button dynamic in every single hand in 3-handed games, the advantage

of having the bad player on your right becomes very useful in the pre-Flop round.

These issues are why it is better to have the better player to your left and the worse player to your

right in 3-handed games. Most of the good players have it ingrained in their head that they want

other good players to sit to their right. While this is true in most cases, they may not understand the

change that occurs when the game is exactly 3-handed. Thus the good player will often comply

with your wishes by deliberately choosing a seat to your left (if they consider you a good player).

Typically one would also care about having position post-Flop against good players. Players

want to act after the good players have already acted rather than before. However, when in

3-handed games, many players will call with hands that they would not in a full game, and the

hands play a little bit more on “cruise control”, since it is difficult to get anyone who has a piece

of the board to fold. This means that having position post-Flop is a bit less meaningful in 3-handed

games compared to games with more players. I believe the edge gained pre-Flop by having the

good player to your immediate left in a three-handed game is greater than the edge lost by having

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