Want to throw $11 away?

[suzanne]

Short stack shoving is usually about getting the other players to fold rather than them calling and you having a better hand.

This means that 55 is actually an excellent shoving hand as people will usually fold and you have a flip against a large number of hands that may actually call.

With a tight image you won't be getting called light at all. Use this image to your advantage and get a few shoves through. Don't push it though or you'll soon lose that image.

If I've got a big stack and a tight player shoves 10 bigs in to my big blind my calling range is very tight. I'm folding A10, 66, 77. I'm looking for 99+ and AQ+ to be happily calling. I might sigh call slightly worse but not always. So think to yourslef how often I'm going to get one of these calling hands? Chances are I haven't got a hand that I can call you with. I don't know you've got 55. If I did I'd call you with any 2 over cards and take a flip but the fact is I don't know.

The problem with flatting is that I get to see a free flop. You aren't often going to hit a set and usually you'll be up against 2 or 3 over cards. Now if I see any kind of weakness in you I'm going to be betting and making your life difficult. If I've got you down as tight then I'm usually seeing weakness so I'm always betting to win the pot even if I haven't hit.

Obviously you have to be cautious of the limper but if this person has limped a few times before don't worry about them. They are prime targets for shoving in to and increasing your stack with minimal hassle. Any pair, suited connectors and most broadway combos are great for stealing against the serial limpers. Make them pay.

I had only managed to survive as long as i did by shoving and stealing blinds in spots I thought I could get it through. Totally card dead the whole night and this was the only genuine hand I had had in 6 hours LOL...thats what makes it so feckin infuriating.

Intersting read and thanks for that Matt x

[MC]

I get moved to a new table, blinds are 1600/800 plus antes and I am on the sb with about 17k, average is 23/24k iirc. Folded round to cutoff who has a HUGE stack and he minraises, I have 55 and think about shoving but decide to flat call and bb also calls.

What do you do here?

Preflop, you can only shove or fold, calling isn't an option.

With ~6.5k dead money in the middle, yet only giving the raiser ~1.65 to 1 on a call I'm gonna be shoving here a lot...

[suzanne]

I get moved to a new table, blinds are 1600/800 plus antes and I am on the sb with about 17k, average is 23/24k iirc. Folded round to cutoff who has a HUGE stack and he minraises, I have 55 and think about shoving but decide to flat call and bb also calls.

What do you do here?

Preflop, you can only shove or fold, calling isn't an option.

With ~6.5k dead money in the middle, yet only giving the raiser ~1.65 to 1 on a call I'm gonna be shoving here a lot...

Why is calling not an option? Calling appears strong as it was suppose to. I want the min raiser/big stack to think twice about putting more chips in as I was short stacked. I had a tight image and had planned on shoving the flop whatever it was. That part of the plan worked. It just backfired when I hit trips and the board was so poor I was unlikely to get a caller.

[MC]

I get moved to a new table, blinds are 1600/800 plus antes and I am on the sb with about 17k, average is 23/24k iirc. Folded round to cutoff who has a HUGE stack and he minraises, I have 55 and think about shoving but decide to flat call and bb also calls.

What do you do here?

Preflop, you can only shove or fold, calling isn't an option.

With ~6.5k dead money in the middle, yet only giving the raiser ~1.65 to 1 on a call I'm gonna be shoving here a lot...

Why is calling not an option? Calling appears strong as it was suppose to. I want the min raiser/big stack to think twice about putting more chips in as I was short stacked. I had a tight image and had planned on shoving the flop whatever it was. That part of the plan worked. It just backfired when I hit trips and the board was so poor I was unlikely to get a caller.

We don't have enough chips to set-mine, and if we're going to stop-and-go why not just shove preflop? We have a legitimate hand and a tight image against a big-stack's cut-off raise.

And calling definitely doesn't look strong imo.

[Claw75]

We don't have enough chips to set-mine, and if we're going to stop-and-go why not just shove preflop?

Definitely this.  There aren't many flops that are kind to 55, so shoving a flop where someone has probably hit an overpair doesn't really make a lot of sense as you've only got two outs if you get looked up.  If I'm prepared to get them in here I shove preflop, happy to add what's in the pot to my stack or take a probable flip if I get called. 

[suzanne]

After thinking about it I agree that I should have shoved.

I had shoved previously with 22 and 33 and they had both held up but after playing for 6 hours I was just desperate for a break. I had got to the stage where I was tired of crappy hands and 55 looked good but not good enough to go allin. I felt I could represent/get lucky and/or still get away from the hand with an orbit left to shove the rest in.

I know I shouldnt over analyse it BUT I think the original raiser possibly picked up on a tell. He was sitting opposite me and bb was to my direct left so couldnt see my face. It would explain why he didnt cbet to 2 checks. It was after all the first decent hand I had seen all night and maybe it showed :-/