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Introduction : Short-handed play is, simply put, a Hold’em game played with six players or less. For some, they might not even realize they’re playing a short-handed version of the game - as five or six players can seem like a pretty large table and common in online poker. It’s important to realize the differences inherent in playing at a short-handed table than a table with more players. Because you’re going to be playing more hands, and placing more bets, you’re going to have to adjust your strategy.
The reason that players like short-handed play is that it has more psychological complexity than larger tables. What it comes down to is that short handed play has the features that a lot of players like most about Texas Hold’em. You have the opportunity to play your opponents to a larger extent: throw in well-timed bluffs, make huge calls and benefit from unforced aggression.
1) A Faster and More Expensive Game
Because short handed play is so much faster than other types of Texas Hold’em, a player will have to make tough decisions more often - the fewer number of players, the more frequently he’ll have to make decisions. An unskilled player might become quickly overwhelmed and be forced into bad decisions, especially in online Hold em. Consequently, if you’re able to understand the flow of the game, and sense when someone has tilt tendencies, short-handed play can be very profitable.
Keep in mind that the cost per hand is higher in short-handed games. In a $5/$10 ten-handed game, you pay $15 each round or $1.50 per hand. In a five-handed game, on the other hand, the price for each hand has doubled. This makes it more important to battle for the blinds and pick up pots where nobody has hit anything.
2) Bluff and Value Bet More Often
Because of this, bluffing becomes an important skill, as you just can’t wait around for the good hand to appear. On the flipside, some smaller hands can have a bigger value than in larger games, since fewer cards are dealt. Because of this, you have to increase your bluff frequency and also lower the standard for when to bet for value.
3) Starting Hand Value
The value of starting hands also changes when there are fewer players at a table. As we all know, suited connectors and small pairs are preferably played in multi-way pots, and there won’t be that many pots of that type in short-handed games. Consequently, those types of hands are not as valuable as they are in full-ring games.
High cards on the other hand, which are best against fewer opponents, increase in value. In full-ring games, it’s a standard play to muck, say, A-T off suit from under the gun. That is way too tight in short handed and you should raise with it first in from any position.
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