Hand Selection

Normally in short handed holdem, you’ll have a raise pre-flop and the big blind will call. Usually the raiser will bet on the flop and on the turn regardless of the hand they have. This is how a usual short handed game progresses. Due to the constant attempts of stealing the blinds, the theory of having a good hand has to be re-looked.

It’s important to keep in mind that a pre-flop raiser has the opportunity to win by stealing the blinds or he can flop the best or even beat the player who called. In short handed holdem, calling is a weaker play as it forces you to either ht a flop or you could try bluffing but the risks are high.

Also, if you do call down and win, the pots will not be worth the celebrations. One thing to not here is that the good cards of the ring game are excellent cards in short handed holdem. It’s simply because the odds of getting a good card is low and if you get it then you stand a good chance of winning the game. How aggressively you bet with strong hand depends on your opponent and the flop.

In short handed holdem the goal is to take the initiative and bet and force the other players to make a hand to beat you. If you are able to do that then you will have a great time in the long run. Be ready to tighten your game in case you sense any tricks from your opponents. There are hands you can play profitably out of the blinds or against weak players. These include connected cards or the suited cards.

Playing The Player

In short handed holdem, the hands you play against your opponent is more than that of in the ring games. This gives you an opportunity to understand your opponents game and then you can adjust your play accordingly. Make sure you read you opponent well and analyze his strengths and weaknesses.

Make sure to exploit each of these. Break down the analyzing into general category first and from there on get into the details. As the game progresses, if you opponent changes the play style, you could re-evaluate and then adjust your game. However, normally most of the players do not tend to change their game unless they are aware of the strategies or are professional players.

Most likely you will not run into many players who are passive or are very tight players and then they switch up their play and start raising with weak hands and bluffing. However, if it does happen, you need to be up for it and adjust you game accordingly. Most of the player who are tricky will remain tricky throughout the game.

It’s better to pink on the weak players first and then tackle the difficult ones later. Keep your strategy simple and do not try any fancy stuff just to gain some attraction. Your end goal should be to earn money rather than anything else.