How to Survive with a Short Stack (20bb or Less)

It is normal as a poker player to find yourself as the smallest stack at the table. However, even the biggest stack at the beginning of a tournament rarely wins.

Most tournament winners spend most of their tournament life as a medium or short stack. Does having a short stack mean your tournament life is over? That is not always the case.

It does not matter if you have 20 big blinds or just a few chips left; understanding a short-stack strategy can boost your chances of surviving longer, moving up the payout ladder, and even pulling off an epic comeback.

Our guide below will take you through all the essentials of playing short-stacked poker. 

What Does Short Stacking Mean in Poker?

In poker, a player with 10 to 20 big blinds is typically called a “short stack.” 

Short Stack Meaning:

In simple terms, a short stack is any stack size below the 25 significant blinds threshold. 

A short stack in a cash game would generally have less than 40 big blinds, whereas, in a tournament, it would be less than twenty or thirty big blinds, depending on the tournament’s pace and the rate at which the blinds increase.

The critical thresholds are 20bb, 15bb, and 10bb, each requiring a different strategy. Let’s look at the various levels of short-stack:

10-20 Big Blinds: You have some flexibility to take calculated risks and only raise with strong hands.

5-10 Big Blinds: There is no room for fancy plays; your only options are to push or fold.

Fewer than 5 Big Blinds: Your tournament life is on the line, and you are in survival mode and aim to double up as soon as possible.

What is the difference between short stack and full stack poker?

Short Stack Strategy: 5 Tips to Survive as a Short Stack

1. Playing 15 Big Blinds Deep: A GTO Approach

Every decision you make when you only have 15bb should count. You can lose your tournament life if you make one mistake. From a GTO point of view, here’s how to deal with this stack size. 

Starting with Optimal Ranges

When short-stacked, it is essential to use strong preflop ranges. You should be very tight in an 8-handed game with a 15bb stack. Let’s look at how to play from different spots.

Under the Gun (UTG) Strategy

When you are in (UTG), you should play cautiously. At 15bb, you should only raise 13.9% of the hands:

Premium hands: AA, KK, QQ, AK

Suited broadways: AQs, AJs

Offsuit broadways: AQo, AJo

Middle pocket pairs: 77+

Suited aces: A5s, A6s

Suited connectors: 87s, 76

Hands to Fold:

• Pocket pairs like 2s, 3s, 4s, and 5s.
• Marginal suited connectors like 6♦5♦ and 7♠6♠.

Hands to Raise (Min-Raise):

• You should be raising premium hands like A♠K♠, A♣Q♣, and pocket pairs from 6s and better. You should play cautiously with strong-suited Broadway hands 
• Shove: Few, if any, from this position. Instead, focus on min-raising.

A hand like K♥8♥ should be folded. To make things easier, raise it every time. This slight deviation from GTO can be helpful because most opponents don’t “3-bet” enough at this stack depth.

The hands chart is shown in the image below.

Why No Open Shoving?

Open shoving is rarely the best move at 15bb from early positions. Shoving small pairs like 5s or 4s is not a good idea since they don’t perform well against normal calling ranges. Instead, focus on raising and folding weaker hands when needed.

2.  Use Minimum Raises 

Picture this: you have 15 big blinds and choose to raise them to 4.5 big blinds preflop. If your opponent shoves, you must decide whether to call an extra 10.5 big blinds into a pot of around 31 big blinds. 

In other words, there are better optimal moves than this. You need 33% equity to make a profitable call. It may seem feasible; however, sometimes you will be forced to call with hands like Queen-Four suited. 

Stick to minimum raises (2 big blinds) to prevent this. When you raise smaller, you can fold weaker hands if your opponent shoves, and you can still put pressure with stronger hands. 

When to Use the Minimum Raise Strategy

• Position: Button or cutoff.
• Stack Depth: 15 big blinds.
• Hand Examples: Hands like Queen-Four suited or King-Ten offsuit benefit from min-raising as you can fold to a shove without risking your tournament life.

3. Limping from the Small Blind

One of the most challenging positions to play is the small blind. Many players either fold or raise too much, which can be detrimental if you have a small stack. 

A GTO strategy recommends using a balanced limping range to maximize your equity realization. 

Why Limping is Effective

If you limp from the small blind, you have to bet half of the big blind to win a pot that usually has the small blind, the big blind, and maybe even the antes, based on the type of game.

This pot can be around 2.5 to 3 big blinds preflop, or a little bigger if there are antes.

You need about 33% equity against your opponent for a limp to break even.

It’s because you’re risking 0.5 big blinds to win a pot of 1.5 big blinds, which is a risk-to-reward ratio of 1:3 . It’s surprising how many hands can meet or beat this equity requirement, especially when playing against a big blind approach that isn’t balanced or is passive.

If you limp, you can see a cheap flop with many different hands that might not perform well in a “3-bet” or fold situation. It can work if you balance it with aggressive raises, making it hard to exploit.

Hands to Limp in the Small Blind

According to a GTO strategy:

• Limping Hands: Strong suited connectors like Ace-Five suited, small pairs like Pocket Sevens, and suited aces like Ace-Six suited.
• Shoving Hands: Offsuit aces like Ace-Ten offsuit or King-Jack offsuit that don’t do well postflop.

Adjusting Based on Opponent Tendencies

Consider these factors if your opponent often raises over your limp with weak hands like Ten-Three offsuit or Nine-Two offsuit: 

• Limping more frequently while using stronger hands to trap them.
• Shove less often since they probably won’t fold in the face of aggression.

4. How to Adjust Against Limpers

Dealing with limpers can be challenging when you have a small stack. 

Nevertheless, limpers often make a strategic mistake when they don’t raise. How do you punish limpers without putting tournament life at unnecessary risk?

Adjustments:

Shove Over Limpers: Widening your shove range to include cards like K♠9♠ and 10♦9♦ can help since limpers often fold to aggression.

Raise Premium Hands: You should only be raising with hands like A♠K♠, A♣Q♣, and pocket pairs like 10s and better since limpers rarely fold to small raises.

When facing limpers, players should avoid making small “3-bet”s. You should either fold or shove.

5. Shoving Ranges by Position

Once the action folds to you, your shoving range shoving ranges should change based on your position. Let’s take a look:

Under the Gun (UTG)

From the UTG position, you must have a very tight range. Since you are facing the entire table, you should only jam premium hands.

Optimal Shoving Range (15bb):

• Pairs: 8♠8♣ and higher
• Aces: A♦K♠, A♣Q♠, A♥J♥
• Suited Connectors: K♠Q♠, Q♣J♣ (rare)

Example:

At 15bb, shoving A♣K♦ from UTG is a standard move. However, jamming a hand like A♥9♠ becomes risky due to the high chance of being dominated.

Under the Gun +1 (UTG+1)

As the threat of a call decreases, you can start to loosen your range slightly.

Optimal Shoving Range:

• Pairs: 7♠7♣ and higher
• Aces: A♠J♣, A♥10♦
• King-X Suited: K♥Q♥, K♣J♠

Key Insight

When playing against passive opponents, you can profitably shove more A-X offsuit hands as fold equity increases.

LoJack and HiJack Positions

In middle positions, your range widens further.

• Shoving Range:

Pairs: 6♠6♣ and higher

Aces: A♥9♣, A♦8♠

King-X Suited: K♠10♠, K♦9♠

Why the Difference?

It’s better to shove wider because players behind you have fewer opportunities to call with good hands. 

Cutoff and Button Positions

In late positions, especially on the button, you will widen your shoving range considerably.

Optimal Shoving Range:

Pairs: 5♠5♣ and higher

Aces: A♣7♠ and up

King-X Suited: K♦7♦, K♥5♥

Off-Suit Combos: Q♣10♠, J♠10♣

Example:

Most of the time, folding K♦5♦ on the button at 15bb is often a mistake. Shoving is a good idea because it allows you to gain fold equity and steal blinds simultaneously.

Common Mistakes to Avoid with a Short Stack

1. Calling Too Often

When you’re short-stacked, calling is rarely an optimal move. It gives up some of your chips but doesn’t give you control of the hand. Instead, you should:

• Fold if you do not have a strong enough hand to shove.
• You should shove if you have a hand that can win without reaching a showdown.

 2. Over-Playing Speculative Hands

Hands like small-suited connectors or low pocket pairs might be tempting, but they need to find a place in short-stack poker. 

These hands rely on implied odds and the potential to win a big pot if you hit. With a short stack, implied odds are irrelevant because:

Small-suited connectors and low pairs may look enticing to play, but they could improve in short-stack poker. 

These hands over-rely on implied odds, while you can win a big pot if you hit. Implied odds don’t matter when you have a small stack because:

• The potential to win a massive pot needs to be more to warrant taking the risk.
• You’ll have even fewer chips and limited options if you don’t hit the flop.

3. Waiting Too Long to Act

While patience is essential, waiting too long could cause desperation. You risk losing a lot of money in fold equity if your stack becomes so short that your shove becomes effective.  

• You should act when at least you have 10 big blinds left
• Don’t wait until your chip stack is a few big blinds

Wrapping Up

Staying alive with a small stack requires more than luck. You need to make smart, well-thought-out moves. 

You can handle the most challenging situations if you learn using the Poker Academy resources concepts such as proper shoving ranges, effective limping from the small blind, and much more.

Keep an eye on your fold equity, be aggressive when called for, and adjust your strategy according to your opponent’s tendencies. If you implement the methods above, even with a short stack, you can still win big with the correct approach. Happy grinding!