...well, 60 bb killer, but all the same, IT'S SHORT.

SHORT STACK OP THREAD...

i want to: chronicle my adventures in short-stacking

reasoning: i used to buy in for 80 bb's as a "stop loss" back in the day. but, i started buying in deeper/full because i was a "winning" player up through 100NL. and, i felt that, if there was a skill difference, you take MORE advantage of weaker players when you have MORE money on the tables at any given time. and, that is true, standard advice.

i played my way up to 100NL through some good play, a weak environment (pre-Frist), with bonuses, and paid some of my bills routinely EVERY month while going through some financial "tough times." and, it all started on a borrowed $25. so, its not like i'm exactly "new to poker." but, i aint no pro, either.

i, also, voluntarily moved back down because of a series of events. mostly wanting to play on the same tables as my brother for fun. but, i fell in love with the ease of the uber-micro stakes, and the almost total lack of variance involved. obviously, i picked up some really bad habits, and probably regressed...

i did well for awhile, 12+ months, at 10NL. i played a mixture of FR and 6max. but, within 7 months, i was predominantly a 6max player, and played exclusively 6max for about a year. but, during 2007, things started to drop off. i hit some longer stretches of variance (duh) and threw in a lot of my own bad play/tilt. the length of this stretch (3+ months) really rocked my confidence because it was unlike anything i had ever experienced before. it rocked my confidence right down to the fundamentals.

i did, however, play rather well at 10NL, and upon talking with a friend, i decided to move back up. if we do the math, a 10 ptbb/100 winrate at 10NL and a 1 ptbb/100 winrate at 100NL are the same amount of money. i figured there was more upside in a 1/100 at 100NL than a 10/100 at 10NL. so, i decided to start to climb again. i moved up to 25NL in August of 2007, and swiftly had the worst month of my life. i lost 10 BIs in the first week, and was down 12 BIs by time the month was over. my previous worst was 5 BIs...so you can see the "feeling lost." i moved right back down....confidence RE-rocked to its very core! and, to boot, this was all starting to turn me into a scared player....weak/tight.

i, then, read an article suggesting that 6max may not be what it used to be. that people are over there chasing higher winrates, but the real winrates may actually reside in FR currently. i immediately identified with that article, and switched back to my "bread and butter"...FR. i was searching for ANYthing that would pull me out of my funk, and give me my "mojo" back. i thought, for sure, the winning would start again...it didnt. all the while, i am reading as much as i can (sometimes further confusing myself by trying to solve too many problems at one time), asking questions, trying my best to work on things, but still not showing improvement. i tell myself, "i must have regressed to the point of becoming a poor poker player. was i now a fish?" deep down, though, i didnt really believe that. i just started questioning myself.

i also read an article about short-stacking. that thread initially made so much sense to me...because it was sort of what i used to do. but, i was still VERY adamant about buying in deep when you have a skill advantage...still am. i didnt ever see a reason for short-stacking at a micro or low stakes game. however, i wanted to do some "research" to get inside the heads of other short-stackers. i wanted to see what these assholes were doing and why. they are so aggravating!! they hit and run. they ruin decent tables. they make you adjust to THEM at times. i hated them with a passion. i read a couple of websites and discovered that there may be a method to the madness...a strategy, if you will. here are the most influential articles and sites that i found...

- Fnord's "Half-Stacking Approach to NLHE"
http://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/...he-t62479.html
- Ed Miller on PokerNotedAuthority.com
- DonkeyDevastation.com
- the Short-Stack Ninja
http://megapotsofgold.blogspot.com/

read those, if you want to.

i decided...3-4 months later (Feb 20, to be exact)...to give it a shot, seriously. i thought it would pull me away from weak/tight and put the unadulterated aggression back in my game. so far, it has. and, its kind of fun. but, there are a lot of good points as to WHY play this way.

i will try and post MY own take on MY strategy (i am no great thinker when it comes to poker, but i believe i possess some common sense). obviously, it is largely influenced by the links above.

i will try and chronicle MY adventure here in this "operation" and...NO WHERE ELSE. if people find it, good. if people get something out of it...better. i, in no way, will claim to be an expert in poker play or theory...or short-stacking. this is just the best way to improve MY game at the current time. here's why...

i had become a virtual nit...very weak/tight. and, i was losing that aggression that was why i was a winning player. i saw short-stacking as the best way to get that aggression back...period.

i plan to post my "insights"...lol...in the next post. i will include some examples, too.

that's the intro part to my Operation. from here, i plan to throw in a lot of HHs, updates on my bankroll/stats, and a good bit of theory/philosophy when/if i pick up on something. now, LETS GET IT ON!!!