Dangerous Dave, The Short Stack Advantage, and Deciding What Makes a Good Hand

Dangerous Dave, The Short Stack Advantage,
and Deciding What Makes a Good Hand

...Playing the poker game to the limit!

SLIP OUT OF SHORTS
There are some mathematical models which show that poker players who play with a short stack have a slight advantage over higher rollers. There’s an edge when you have fewer chips than are needed to call all bets because you can’t be bullied out of a hand when you’re all-in. Clever short-stackers protect their bankrolls by taking long-shot draws and other street-wise strategies. The best of them can make an art-form out of lean and mean. There used to be a legendary short-stacker called Dangerous Dave who went up against Amarillo Slim on many occasions and caused the great man considerable irritation with his vice-like caution. They used to say that if Dave actually ever offered a raise pre-flop the opposition would part like the Red Sea did for Moses and fold to a man. Apparently, “Dangerous” only ever raised pre-flop if he had pocket aces, hence the wry nickname. Personally I take the simplistic view you should enter every game with the biggest mountain of chips you can afford. Texas Hold’em was invented for and by cowboys and should be played with big guns and large calibre bullets and in a spirit of death by lethal aggression and that’s only on Sundays to show respect. Weekdays, you should be really mean.

GET INTO DRAWS!
New players generally understand that they should bet on a good starting hand. The problem for inexperienced players is deciding what makes a good hand. It’s not always obvious, which is why you need to understand how to “get into draws”! The best hand is the hand most likely to win the game by the river. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the strongest hole cards are the best hand. It’s also the case that the player with the best constructed hand on the flop doesn’t have to be the player who is going to win at the river.I’ll illustrate this with an example:Let’s say your opponent has Ace of spades and ten of hearts and you have Queen-Jack of clubs. The flop is ten of clubs-nine of clubs and three of spades. You are a two to one favourite to win this game with your Queen-Jack of clubs. If the chance that you will win is higher than the percentage of bets you are paying to the pot, you should usually choose the scam that will get the most bets into the pot. Let’s look at another example to make this point even clearer: The flop is Ace-Jack of spades and six of hearts. Your hole cards are King and nine of spades. You have a great potential draw ( two to one against) for a premium flush at the river. On the flop four of your opponents have called and the action falls to you. With this big a draw potential you have to at least call and probably raise. Here’s why: You’re investing just twenty per cent of the bets going into the pot with a thirty three percent chance of winning by the river. It’s value betting at its most obvious.