I tend to be short stacked throughout most of my tournaments... so my approach seems to be wrong somewhere so im going to ask for some tips on situations i find myself in regularly and see how you would play them.

Lets say Im short stacked in the tournament (roughly 900 chips)... but also at my table.

Blinds are 25/50

I have 9 10 off and limp in on the button.

flop comes 5 9 10 (two suited cards)

pot is now 250... Do I bet a pot sized bet to try and shut down the possible flush draw... or is it smarter to bet half the pot trying to keep a few callers in?

i tend to fear the flush draws because they seem to hurt my stack so badly
so i usually bet aggressively and shut down possible draws

and i wonder if this has something to do with why my stack is generally small at any given time

If it folds around to you on the button, you need to raise here to steal (unless one or both of the blinds always defend, then I'd fold). You have an M of 12 (25/50 blinds = 75 in the starting pot. 900/75 = 12.

I would not recommend playing this very speculative hand for it's value when you have an M of only 12 (need at least 20+ to make these plays, because they don't hit enough and you'll piss all your chips away). You either need to fold this hand or use your position on the button in an unopened pot to make a steal (it's a semi-bluff, because you can fall back on the value of the hand if it doesn't work).

But the question you asked was about how to make the flushes pay. From your example you have 4 other callers in the pot. Normally, if they all check around to you, I'd definitely put out a bet of at least 2/3 of the pot to deny them drawing odds (don't give them free cards). If I thought I could bet more and get a caller, I'd do it as well.

Of course our problem here is that you'll be nearly pot committed if they do hit, so we need to bet much more to deny them their implied odds to draw. The way to do this is to add up the pot plus your remaining stack, and divide by the odds they need (4.1:1, in this case) to get the minimum bet size. So $250 in the pot + 850 left in your stack is $1100/4.1 = $270. So bet more than $270 (probably around $300 here).

But here's another way to look at it. That 250$ out there now represents about 30% of your remaining stack. By the time you bet the turn and the river, you're going to be close to all in. I might decide I have to win this pot right now and just go all in here. If I get a caller, so be it.

i need to spend some more time on these odds... i need to find some sites that offer comprehensive lists on odds and whatnot that i can print out and memorize.


anyway...

The problem I seem to run into here is that i basically come up with the same decision you made above (though i didnt use that much math to do so) and i will throw a bet out of about pot size to deny draws...

then two scenerios generally take place.

1) someone with top pair or two overcards will call hoping to hit their card which basically allows the flush draw to now call because hes getting better odds.

or
2) they all fold and i didnt make money on my two pairs.


So applying this to my main problem (i always seem to be short stacked in these tournaments)... im just wondering if my betting style may be my biggest weakness.

Patience, I have... I can make it deep into almost every tournament i play (generally just before the payout structure) simply by playing conservatively.
But my stack is always sub par and I feel like it may be because Im not getting paid on my hands i think?

i used to play in the same manner in tournaments, playing tightly to try and make it as far as possible. I have had much more success in tournaments by being bolder, but bolder at the right times. Stealing pots is an absolute must in tournament play. Dominating short stacks and getting them all in is also very important.

The thing that helped me most was to remember that you can play a perfect game odds wise and lose. Once your short stacked your options are limited. Building up a big stack early on is cruicial and getting them short stacks on the run.

Having a larger than average amount of chips isn`t a time to sit back its the time to be more aggressive.

Good luck with your future games.

Originally Posted by cF00

i need to spend some more time on these odds... i need to find some sites that offer comprehensive lists on odds and whatnot that i can print out and memorize.

I can make it deep into almost every tournament i play (generally just before the payout structure) simply by playing conservatively.

I have 9 10 off and limp in on the button.

Odds andn tables are all over the internet - try www.wizardofodds.com

You play conservatively and 9-10o at the same time???? hmmmmmmm Your short stack may not be a betting problem as much as it may be what you consider conservative!

Jason gave a good analysis - read it twice and then print it out and read it twice again tomorrow.