Poker Strategy - Advanced Shorthand

This section will provide tips to help you in certain trouble situations in a shorthand-limit game:

1. When you're dealt a small pocket pair (7s or less)

Preflop:

Small pocket pairs work best in a large, multiway pot (you're hoping to hit another card of your pair and make trips) or heads up. Therefore, your preflop strategy should reflect this. If you're on the button, one guy has raised and another has folded, your best strategy would be to shut out the blinds and make it heads up. So in this case, reraise. However, if you're the big blind and three other people have already called the big blind, it's best to just check and hope to hit a set on the flop.

Note: Don't use the reraise to make it heads up against a very tight player. There's a good chance he has a higher pocket pair, in which case, you're owned. The reraise to make it heads up is useful under the assumption that your opponent just has two high cards.

On the flop:

If you're in a multiway pot, the answer is simple, fold if you don't hit a set, jam the pot if you do. The only exception is if you hit a weird flop - like 552 or 666 (and you hold like 77), in which case, you probably hold the best hand and should jam the pot.

If you're heads up, it gets a little trickier. If the flop is mainly low cards, bet at it, he probably has nothing. However, if the flop is AJQ, you're probably toast. You can go ahead and bet at it (in case he has a low pocket pair too), but if you encounter any resistance, you must fold.

2. Flop bluffs

Flop bluffs work best against one or maybe two opponents. The method is fairly simple. Suppose you raise it up preflop with KQs, and the flop comes A95, well you have nothing, not even a flush draw, but they may have nothing too. Go ahead and bet at it, you might steal the pot right there.

If they just call you. You have a decision. They may have Ace and a low kicker or they may have like K9. Either case, you're losing. You should generally check and fold. Do this about 80% of the time. However, you don't want them to be able to crack your bluffing strategy by just calling you on the flop and then seeing what you do on the turn. Because of this, I recommend sometimes slow playing. For example, suppose you have A9 at this flop, I'd bet at flop, then check-raise at turn. In other words, you must punish them for just calling. People should never be allowed to just call with a second best hand if they hope you're bluffing, they should be forced to raise to see where they are. If you suspect that they just call you with the second best hand. You should bet til the river when you have the goods, but now always just bet/check-fold when you don't. You sometimes (most of the time don't) should bluff on the turn too. And hey, who knows, you may hit and win it anyway.

3. Slow playing

I'm not a huge slow player because I like to run flop bluffs and flop bluffs are only successful if you actually bet with the goods at the flop. However, sometimes it's best to just wait and jam the pot. I like to slow play in multiway situations when I really have the goods. For example, If I have AQ and the flop is AQ3, turn is A, I have the stone nuts. I'll generally wait for a bet if I think one will happen and then raise it. In other words, slow playing and jamming the pot on the turn will often be very profitable in mulitway pots, but I don't recommend it in heads up situations. Often, in heads up, you'll give them a deadly free card and it's not worth losing the pot for one bigger bet.

One thing to always remember about slow playing is that it is successful when you have a super boss hand and you want to let them develop a hand that is good but not good enough to beat yours. Slow playing a set when a flush draw is on board is dumb, because you are allowing the to develop a hand that can beat yours. You have to think 'what can they develop that won't beat me but will still make them bet so I can raise them.' Don't slow play if you just have a good hand, slow play if you have the boss hand but it won't be paid of unless something develops on the board that won't beat you but will cause people to think they can beat you.

4. Paired board when you have the third card

This is a trouble situation. Say the board is QQA and you have AJ. You may have the best hand or you may be toast. However, the situation is pretty simple. If it's checked around to you, check. After all, what will people call you with? The only thing people will call you with that can't beat you is A7 or maybe a pocket pair (few would call though).

So, when you're in this trouble situation, you have to consider two factors: What will people call you with that won't beat you and what are the chances they have the trip. The higher the two cards, the much higher the chance they have the trip. AAJ is far scarier for someone with KJ than 44J. I would treat the first flop with caution and probably give it up pretty easily while the second one I'd bet at it.

Which brings up the question: What do you mean play it carefully? Well, if someone bet at me with the board AAJ and I had KJ, he may have QJ, so I'd go ahead and raise, he'd probably fold if he had QJ, but he probably wouldn't if he held an ace.

Of course, this brings up the counterpoint: Don't they know you don't have an ace if you raise? Well, that's why you can't always slow play in these situations. If you have AQ on that board, go ahead and raise too. This way they can't predict what you have.

5. Play against a CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAZY maniac

Maniacs can be a real pain in shorthand. However, they are generally dealt best with by just calling (although raise them if you hold a very strong hand). They will increase the variance of the game, but you will win in the long run. For example, one game at the 100-200 at Intercasino, I was dealt QQ, a nice hand. Anyway, someone calls, maniac raises, I reraise, maniac caps and there's one other standard player in the pot. Flop comes AK4. I mean, this is the worst possible flop for me. Anyway, I bet at it, the standard player folds (thankfully) and the maniac raises me. Normally, I would fold but this guy is nuts so I just check call to the river. Anyways, I win. The maniac had 35.

6. Don't pay them off

Sometimes, when people are on a flush draw and you have top pair or top two pair, they will wait for you to bet so they can raise. If you think they were on a flush draw and then the flush card hits on the river, don't pay them off. Just check it on the river. Think about the math. If you are in position and just check the river, you save yourself 2 big bets (4 total bets). If it's a standard hand, there was probably a raise preflop and bet-calls on flop-turn. So you put in a total of 5 bets. You literally save yourself about half the money you would have lost using this technique.

Some Quick Don’ts of Shorthand

Don't go in with any ace if someone else has already gone in. Chances are, they have a decent pocket pair, A and a higher kicker, or something like KQ. Any of these hands dominate you. Fold.

Don't play above your bankroll. I've made this mistake several times myself. Shorthand has a high level of variance. Make sure you can bank many hours of play before sitting in. You don't want to go in, have your aces cracked, and be broke!

Don't just play your hand. Always remember what the other player is thinking. While this isn't quite as important as it is in no limit, you have to think about what the other player went in with and what he is calling/raising with. Don't always bank on that he's bluffing because most of the time he's not.