LEARNING SHORTHAND! One of my favourite games is limit shorthand Texas Hold’em. Usually you’re looking at a table of six or less players. These are actually the most common games available at the big online sites. For now we’ll stay focused on shorthand strategies but you’ll find some of the tips are helpful for certain parts of your full table games. Probably the most important reason for working on your limit shorthand play is the fact that the higher stake games available on the web tend to be played in shorthanded groupings rather than full table and you’re going to want to move up the food chain sooner or later as your experience kicks in.
POKER TIP ONE If you start noting a pattern of play developing at your table where lots of big bets are flying in you need to play tight. Let’s say there’s lots of raising and re-raising and generally macho play going on until the table limit gets hit then you need to keep to: Ace-Ace, King-King, Queen-Queen and Jack-Jack and fold everything else.
POKER TIP TWO Beyond the ultra aggressive situation described above, and in more normal play, I would tend to raise if I’d paired on a non-raised flop with pocket hands like Ace-Ten, King-Queen, King-Jack, Queen-Jack and Jack-Ten. In other words I would view these lesser “tip two” hole cards as now playable in these calmer waters along with the more obviously valuable high pairs mentioned in tip one. Clearly this tip implies I would also play Ace-King, Ace-Queen, Ace-Jack, King-Queen, King-Jack and Ace-Ten and with these particular hole cards I would tend to call any raise if I’d paired at the flop.
POKER TIP THREE Remember above all that suited connectors don’t tend to work unless there are multi-way pots. Shorthanded games can very quickly be down to four players in which case there won’t be any multi-way pots so my guiding rule in shorthanded games is not to play suited connectors unless the entire table is populated by limpers on crutches. Similarly small pairs are dangerous hands in shorthanded games and I would almost always fold them. You might raise a small pair on the button if everyone else had folded to you. That’s the only exception that springs immediately to mind.
