Short Handed Poker Tournament Play

In a poker tournament if you find yourself at the final table, or are playing in a sit-n-go, it will work down to a short-handed game eventually. A short-handed game is a game with five or less players.Play in a short-handed game is quite a bit different than play at a full table.

The first thing to remember is that the blinds come around much faster so that your game has to loosen up.

High cards go up in value and drawing hands go down in value. In addition, pairs go up in value. The reason for this is that there are fewer players to draw out on you.
Remember that you will never be getting the proper pot odds to draw to straights and flushes.
It is best to raise when you have high cards or any pair (even deuces). Because the chances are that you have the best hand going in and you should make the other players pay to draw against you.

As the number of players decreases the faster the blinds will come around and the more aggressively you will have to play. This means when there are five players you should play higher cards and medium pairs. If there are four or less players you should play all pairs and high cards. You should also be willing to raise more with these holdings.

Remember you probably have the best hand so play it!




Good Luck

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