How to Play Short Handed Poker

When it comes to Texas Holdem, you have to choose the most suitable variation for your personality and playing style. You can play limit or no limit Texas Holdem, heads up or full ring, but also you can play short handed poker. Read this article and you will learn more about the specific characteristics of the short handed poker variation. And remember that the best way to become a real champion is to concentrate your efforts only on one game, because the different Texas Holdem variations require different skills and method of approach.

For those of you, who are not familiar with the meaning of the short handed poker or short hand Texas Holdem I will start will a brief explanation. Normally, the game of Texas Holdem is played at a full ring table with 9-10 players. We say that we are playing a shorthanded holdem if the players are maximum six, but not two, as this is referred to as heads-up play.

It is common knowledge that when the number of the players is reduced, the game changes its dynamics. The game changes and becomes more interesting because each player wants to take advantage over the other participants. In fact, when it comes to online poker, a lot of the Holdem games are shorthanded, they have very popular nowadays.

Here are some basic strategy and tips for short handed poker games.

Before the flop, it is recommended to raise if you have AT or higher, KQ, QJ or JT. But the situation is different if someone has already raised before you. Your calling range when there has been a raise should be tighter and you should call if you have any pair, AQ, AK, AJ, but it depends on the situation. Hands like KJ, AT or JQ can be tricky to play and usually is best to fold, unless you are dealt them in late position.

In short handed poker games, when you have a medium strength hand, the best that you can do in this situation is to try to read your opponent’s strength. Maybe he/she is trying to just steal the blinds and you can r-reraise with a premium hand. My suggestion is to follow the behavior of your opponents and to try to read them. In such a confusing situation you will know what to do, because you will be aware of their poker habits.

When the community cards are on the table in a short handed poker game, you should have a proper continuation betting strategy, which will permit you to consider the board texture and the strength of your own and your opponent’s hand ranges. Look at your cards and make up your mind! If your cards form a top pair with a good kicker or some better combination you should make a cbet. The situation is quite different if you have a pair but with a low kicker. Here you should consider checking back the flop and trying to get to showdown cheap, in case your opponent has a better kicker. If the flop is solid, think about the possibility for other players to form a better hand, so you want to make then pay worse odds.

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