Playing with a short stack

Grinder's last two posts have been about short stack play. He is playing short stacks for the same reason I am, we are both just getting our feet wet in No Limit after being Limit Holdem players. His reasons for playing short stacks are the exact same as mine but he has done some good homework about short stack play vs. deep stack play and it is very interesting.

Short stack play for me has been profitable but not overly much. I am mostly treading water until I reach that point where I feel I can move up in stakes and start playing with a deep stack. Today I was able to double up my buy-in on PokerStars. It also saved me losing too much when a bad beat was put on me by a lag when his J/8 offsuit beat my pocket queens when he got his two outer 8 on the river for trips. Then he left the table. The good ol' Hit and Run play.

Grinder also refers to an article by the Surley Poker Gnome and short stacks. Even Ed Miller, Noted Poker Authority has a series of articles on short stack play. He says, Stack sizes change everything, from what hands are worth playing before the flop, to how you should play them after the flop, to how to read hands and bluff, to who ultimately ends up with the money. Understand how different stack sizes affect strategy better than your opponent does, and you have a big advantage.

I'm going to keep playing short stack until I feel I am ready to move up and play with a deep stack. That may be in a week, a month or even a year from now.