Short Stack Play
Once your M drops below 7, you lose the ability to play poker after the flop. As a short stack, you have two choices, push or fold. You are no longer thinking about pot odds or position. You simply want a hand that is better than an “average” hand. Once again, use the EV of the starting hand as your guide. If your EV is positive, push. If it is negative, fold. Obviously if you are in the big blind and the small blind limps, you can check with a negative EV hand. However, on the flop, either push if you hit or fold if you miss and your opponent bets into you.
Summary
I have provided some general guidelines for heads-up play. These strategies will work well against the average player. However, the key to excelling at heads-up play is adjusting the basic strategy based on the playing patterns of your opponent and individual situations. I will cover these in detail in the advanced lessons. For now, use the strategies outlined and don’t forget to mix up your play a little to keep your opponent guessing.
