{"id":3423,"date":"2019-05-19T11:43:06","date_gmt":"2019-05-19T11:43:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.top10pokersites.net\/?p=3423"},"modified":"2023-08-21T16:56:33","modified_gmt":"2023-08-21T16:56:33","slug":"should-you-play-aggressive-in-short-handed-no-limit-poker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.top10pokersites.net\/blog\/should-you-play-aggressive-in-short-handed-no-limit-poker","title":{"rendered":"Should You Play Aggressive in Short-Handed No-Limit Poker?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.top10pokersites.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/short-handed-limit-holdem.jpg\" alt=\"Short-Handed Limit Hold'em\" title=\"Should You Play Aggressive in Short-Handed No-Limit Poker?\" width=\"300\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-3647\">Short-handed poker is played with six or fewer players, making it obligatory to play more aggressively than you would in full-ring poker. Simply put, it forces you to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.top10pokersites.net\/blog\/top-10-poker-hands\">play more hands<\/a> in order to win.<\/p>\n<p>Most players are aware that aggression is an essential ingredient of a winning strategy in short-handed poker. But oftentimes, they don\u2019t know how to apply that principle when game time comes. <\/p>\n<p>In this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.top10pokersites.net\/top-10-poker-variants\">poker variant<\/a>, you\u2019re either a fish or a shark, and it\u2019s the proper use of aggression that makes the difference.<\/p>\n<p>Many of the great players excel in short-handed play. That\u2019s because these games are less mechanical and rely more on strategic thinking. Also, good players can exploit the less-skilled ones more than in full-ring games because there are more hands and more decision-making.<\/p>\n<p>Today, we\u2019ll show you how to play aggressive, yet winning short-handed no-limit poker. We\u2019ll talk about:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Basic short-handed poker strategy<\/li>\n<li>Power and position approach<\/li>\n<li>How to play during each poker phase (blinds, early position, late position, post-flop).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>At the same time, why not try the following strategy yourself for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.top10pokersites.net\/real-money\">real money<\/a> or if one of dedicated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.top10pokersites.net\/top-10-uk-poker-sites\">UK Poker Sites<\/a><\/em>. <\/p>\n<h2 id=\"basic-short-handed-poker-strategy\">Basic Short-Handed Poker Strategy<\/h2>\n\n<p>With a wrong approach, playing more hands is a sure way to quick losses in short-handed poker. Going all-in every single hand just isn\u2019t going to get the job done. That\u2019s because even fairly-weak players can quickly develop counter-strategies against such playstyle. In fact, they are the easiest type of players to beat in No-limit, regardless of how many people are at the table.<\/p>\n<p>The winning approach is selective aggression, similarly to full tables, just with a much more extensive range of selection. Your strategy should allow you to make one-try stabs in medium-size pots. By that we mean that you need to give up on the pot you\u2019re trying to win on the flop when called. <\/p>\n<p>This is essential in short-handed poker, and if you can\u2019t do it, then your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.top10pokersites.net\/blog\/building-a-poker-bankroll-mistakes-to-avoid\">bankroll<\/a> will undoubtedly swell, and the shark who smooth-called you on the flop will collect the prize.<\/p>\n<p>In these games, you should implement the \u201c<em>raise or fold<\/em>\u201d philosophy, especially before the flop. If no one has entered the pot yet, then you should raise with any two cards 8 or higher most of the time. If someone beats you to the pot, then don\u2019t follow with anything except the super-premium hands. You don\u2019t stand a chance in any pot where you\u2019re not the aggressor, bare a few rare exceptions.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"power-and-position\">Power and Position<\/h2>\n<p>If I decide to see the flop, I insist on both power and position. In this case, power means that I tend to be the last pre-flop raiser, while position means that I\u2019m the one calling the shots. <strong>On the flop, you should raise around 75% of the pot<\/strong>, regardless of your cards. And if you encounter any resistance, including a call on the flop, you should simply give it up, unless you have monster cards.<\/p>\n<p>If you play this way, you will:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Steal a lot of blinds.<\/li>\n<li>Almost every flop you encounter will be a three-way or heads-up.<\/li>\n<li>You will win the majority of the pots on the flop.<\/li>\n<li>The pots you win will more than compensate for the ones you don\u2019t win.<\/li>\n<li>On rare occasions where you\u2019ll be holding monster cards, you will get paid off big-time on the flop against a decent hand. You will dictate the tempo, and your flustered opponents will have no other options than to watch as their chips slowly but surely go to your stack.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2 id=\"the-blinds\">The Blinds<\/h2>\n<p>When you\u2019re in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.top10pokersites.net\/blog\/how-to-defend-your-blinds-effectively\">blinds<\/a> and someone raises the pot, you shouldn\u2019t worry about being dominated, and focus on defending the hands that you would have folded if you were playing a full-ring poker game. <\/p>\n<p>For instance, in a ten-handed game, having A-8 off-suit in the big blind when a player raises would result in an instant fold by all except the worst players. In a short-handed variant, however, this is a robust hand, worth of a frequent re-raise, and one which you rarely fold.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"early-position\">Early Position<\/h2>\n<p>In early position, you should mix it up a bit by varying raising and limping with several hands. You should establish boundaries, though, and not play hands like K-9 suited, A-2 off-suit, or worse. If you get something like a KQ off-suit, suited A-x, QJ off-suit, A-9 off-suit or higher, or any big suited connectors, you should raise.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"late-position\">Late Position<\/h2>\n<p>In late position, it\u2019s all about raising and re-raising. Even hands such as QJ can be a raising hand because of the potential extra value you can gain from taking the lead and establishing position. That said, you can raise with any big suited connector or an A-x suited pair.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"post-flop\">Post-Flop<\/h2>\n<p>On the flop, you must keep playing aggressively, especially if it\u2019s a heads-up pot and you were the aggressor. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.top10pokersites.net\/blog\/how-to-play-short-handed-poker\">Short-handed poker<\/a> is mostly about winning the pots with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.top10pokersites.net\/blog\/the-top-10-bluffs-caught-on-camera-during-live-poker-games\">bluffs<\/a> and semi-bluffs.<\/p>\n<p>Most players would go all-in with any flash or a straight draw as if it was the strongest hand possible in poker, and it\u2019s correct to do so in many cases. It takes a lot of skill and experience to know when and how to take advantage of an unimproved AK for value on the river, and this is something you should try to learn.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"other-useful-tips-on-how-to-play-and-win-short-hand-no-limit-poker\">Other Useful Tips on How to Play and Win Short-Hand No Limit Poker<\/h2>\n<p>Aside from playing aggressively, several other tips can help you maintain a good winning rate.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Know your opponents<\/strong> \u2014 When there are fewer players at the table, you play more hands against each. Thus, it\u2019s essential to profile their traits and playing style. You can track if your opponents fold or call a lot and identify those who haven\u2019t used the aggressive approach required for this type of poker game. Understand and exploit your table position. For instance, if you are the first to enter the pot, make sure you raise with the other players. <\/li>\n<li><strong>Develop a bankroll management strategy<\/strong> \u2014 Shorthanded play differs from full ring poker tables in many ways, and it also requires you to tighten your bankroll management strategy. Since there will be massive swings during shorthanded play, ensure your bankroll is strong enough to withstand them. Determine how many buy-ins you\u2019ll need to reach the next limit. Additionally, you must be firm about decreasing your limit if you lose several consecutive rounds.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Be careful on the river<\/strong> \u2014 While I encourage aggressive play, you must be strategic when you reach the river stage. You should refrain from making big calls here. It may be more advantageous to fold a little more at the river against value bets. This is because experienced players tend to go more aggressively on the river with high-value hands. So, by identifying your opponents\u2019 tendencies ahead of time, you can save funds at the river.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Avoid mixing shorthanded with full-ring poker<\/strong> \u2014 Even experienced players find it challenging to shift from one poker variant to another quickly, strategy-wise. Therefore, avoid indulging in shorthanded play until you sort your strategy out, especially if you\u2019ve played full table for a long time. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 id=\"final-thoughts\">Final Thoughts<\/h2>\n<p>As you can see, you shouldn\u2019t be recklessly aggressive every single hand and call all flop bets. Try our approach instead, play it like that for a while, and you\u2019ll start to realize the difference quickly. The worst possible scenario is to find yourself on the flop when you\u2019re not the aggressor because you won\u2019t be able to call that flop. Knowing exactly what\u2019s coming won\u2019t matter, because you can\u2019t stop it no matter what you do. That\u2019s why you should play aggressive, yet thoughtful, and we\u2019ve shown you the most effective way to do it.<\/p>\n<p>If some of your questions remained unanswered after reading this article, please don\u2019t hesitate to drop a comment below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Short-handed poker is played with six or fewer players, making it obligatory to play more aggressively than you would in full-ring poker. Simply put, it forces you to play more hands in order to win. Most players are aware that aggression is an essential ingredient of a winning strategy in short-handed poker. But oftentimes, they&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Should You Play Aggressive in Short-Handed No-Limit Poker?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In this blog we\u2019ll show you how to play aggressive, yet winning short-handed no-limit poker...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.top10pokersites.net\/blog\/should-you-play-aggressive-in-short-handed-no-limit-poker\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" 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