Secret Strategies For Playing Short Handed Poker Games
Plus, the poker terms, Limping, Inside Straight, and Overcards are explained...
GET SHORTY!
I don’t know if it’s a throw-back to social poker at home in my student days but I like short-handed games. Not many of us play socially with more than five or six pals around the table so there’s a nostalgic over-hang when it comes to playing online. I’ll often seek out a short-handed game, largely because you get more hands and time’s money. The big kick for me is that eight times out of ten you’ll find yourself playing heads up by the time the flop arrives and this means the poker becomes less about the cards and more about the mental make-up of the two duellists. Don’t get me wrong, power cards are cream on the cake in five or six player games and you certainly would tend to fold middle of the range connector cards which you might be tempted to hold in a full ring game.The downside to the short game is you are in the blinds one game out of three so you have to be an aggressive gambler to cope with that inescapable drain on your chip stack.
POKER TIP OF THE DAY
In short-handed games when you’re not in the blinds always try to punish players who attempt to play for a single bet and don’t let the blinds play on the cheap. Raise or fold. Force the action if there’s a raise in front of you and re-raise to try and bully your way into a heads up. Either that or fold if the cards just wouldn’t take the strain. If you limp in short-handed games you’re likely going to get mown down. When you’re in the blinds and maybe under siege you can afford to just call if you have a reasonable hand and re-raise if you have a mid to high pair. You can definitely afford to bluff more often in short-handed games as you can’t really wait for the good cards to arrive. You have to force the issue all the time. The short game is certainly more nerve racking than a full table but for thrill-seekers it pays you back many times over with the adrenalin rush.
FREQUENTLY ASKED POKER QUESTIONS
Q: As a newcomer to online poker could you define the following terms for me. 1) Limping 2) Inside Straight 3) Overcards?
A: Limping defines a player who “calls” (matches the bet by the previous player) the big blind (largest of the two compulsory bets) in the pre-flop betting.
An inside straight describes a set of cards which has a gap that needs another card to fill it before a straight is complete. An example would be a player holding 7-8 as hole cards and the flop delivers 10-Jack-2. The player concerned requires an “inside” 9 to arrive on the turn or the river to make his straight.
Overcard or overcards describe a pair of hole cards which are of a higher value than the community cards on the board.
posted by PokerRules at 8:46 AM
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