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Playing a Short Table

Most cash game tables will not run at full capacity for very long. There will be inevitable periods where you are forced to play against just a few opponents. Playing at a short table will change the dynamics of the game greatly and will call for adjustments to your strategy. Many poker players disregard the fact that the game they were playing 5 minutes ago is now much different.

A 6-Max table that essentially turns into a 4-Max table will play much more aggressively. One of the keys to success in poker is the ability to make constant adjustments. Not just any adjustments, however, you must make sure that whatever aspect of your game you are altering is in accordance with the changes that were made. It wouldn’t make any sense to tighten up when a player or two left your table.

Perhaps it would be optimal to tighten your range if a player or two joined a short table, but it would be ineffective to revert to tight play as your opponents begin to play more aggressively. Exploiting other player’s weaknesses is the easiest way to generate steady profits as a poker player. There are many different ways that this can be done but one of the easiest is through adjusting to how a short table plays.

Adjusting

So how exactly should a player adjust to a table that has lost a few players? There are a handful of different areas that will need to be considered. If you were playing at a very loose table, but now a few of the loosest players have left, would it be wise to maintain your same style of play? It is likely that you had widened your range to adjust to the loose style of play at the table, but you will need to abandon this widened range when they leave.

Everything you do in poker should have a cause or a reason. The reason that you had widened your range was because of the loose players at the table, the reason that you will tighten it back up is because they have left. Now, this was a bit of an odd example because more often than not you will actually want to loosen up as the table begins to play shorter. When there are less players at a table it is only natural for the relative aggression to pick up.

If you play tight while everyone else has adopted a more aggressive style you will slowly bleed to death as the other players take one small pot from you at a time. You might be wondering how it can possibly be beneficial to play more aggressively if everyone else has done the same. The simple fact is that most players won’t adjust to the short play and you will be one of the few (or maybe the only) players who actually adjusts. This will allow you the opportunity to take advantage of the players who remain tight at your table.