How to Play Against Short Stacks in Poker Tournaments

Poker strategy advice often talks about how to play with a short stack in tournaments, but what about playing against short stacks? You’ll be glad to know that both are similar, thanks to a concept known as effective stacks.

For example, if you have 100 big blinds and an opponent has 15 big blinds, you only ever stand to lose or win 15 big blinds. The effective stack size affects factors such as risk-reward, implied odds, and the ranges you can profitably play.

Playing against shorter stacked opponents often involves more preflop action, particularly when stacks are 15 big blinds or less. When the hand does go postflop, the shallow stacks can make all-in decisions more likely on the flop or turn.

Let’s break it down into three short-stack categories and look at how to play against each one.

Playing against short stacks of 5-10 big blinds

5-10 big blinds is a real danger spot for your opponent in a tournament. There’s no waiting around. They need to make a move to stay ahead of the blinds by either stealing blinds or doubling up, which will usually involve shoving or folding.

On the other hand, they won’t often want to call off their entire stack to a shove, especially if they still have the higher end of 8-10 big blinds. This can create opportunities to apply pressure, such as when they are in the blinds and you have position.

The reason this can work well is that you’ll often pick up the blinds and antes without having to risk a large portion of your stack. You can ramp up the pressure against short stacked opponents because they aren’t incentivised to call too light.

It’s not usually desirable to raise-fold against these short stacks. If you raise, you’ll often be priced in to call. Depending on your position, hand strength and the opponent’s tendencies, shoving can sometimes be preferable to raising and facing a difficult decision.

You’ll also be looking for spots to call against short stacked opponents, particularly when they shove from late position with a loose range. You’ll need to consider their likely shoving range, the pot odds and the tournament situation when deciding whether to call, particularly during the late stages of a tournament.

Short stacked opponents will differ when it comes to their shoving ranges. Some will be very tight, waiting for hands as the blinds eat their stack, while others will be ripping it in with nearly any two cards. Try to spot the difference and adjust your calling range accordingly.

Playing against short stacks of 10-15 big blinds

Opponents who have 10-15 big blinds are short stacked but still not desperate. They should be looking for decent shove spots and, at the higher end of 13-15 big blinds, finding opportunities to three-bet all in. At this stack size, it’s still unlikely the hand will make it to postflop.

The way to play against these stack sizes is quite similar to the 5-10 big blind level, but this time you’ll need slightly tighter ranges. You’ll be risking more chips to steal blinds, so your aggression needs to be more selective.

It’s still not a great idea to raise-fold light here, as you’re in a tough spot when opponents reshove. In some spots though, this will be a preferable option to shoving.

Again, you’re looking for spots to call shoves against 10-15 big blind stacks, especially if they are shoving loosely from late position. However, calling off for this amount can put a significant dent in your stack, so you’ll need to consider their likely shoving range, the pot odds and the tournament situation carefully.

You may also be able to make reshove steals against stacks sizes of this level, especially against 15 big blind stacks. This is player dependent, based on the knowledge that your opponent is capable of raise-folding this stack depth.

As always in tournament poker, stack depth isn’t the only consideration. The stage of the tournament, payout structure and ICM can all affect how wide players are willing to shove, call or reshove.

Playing against short stacks of 15-20 big blinds

In some tournaments, 15-20 big blinds may still be considered a relatively short stack, but it gives players more room to manoeuvre than they have with 10 big blinds or less. With 15-20 big blinds, opponents can afford to wait rather than shoving wide to steal blinds. They can afford to raise-fold and reshove with this stack depth.

Given that opponents with this stack depth can still raise-fold, this can create good opportunities to look for reshove spots. If successful, you can pick up a sizeable pot without seeing a flop, while the effective stack limits the amount you can lose against that opponent.

You can also raise-fold against 15-20 big blind stacks, which allows you to widen your opening range in position. Be careful, though, as switched on opponents will be looking to play back at you with a shove.

With this stack depth, the action can also go postflop. If this happens, stacks will often be shallow compared to the pot, which means the pot will usually be won or lost on the flop or turn. Keep this in mind when planning your betting strategy for the hand.