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A short-handed game is one that has either three, four, or five players. If you're watching a short-handed game in progress for the first time, it will look like a wild and crazy mess, with the calling, betting and raising not making any apparent sense at all.
If you see the players in a short-handed game raising all the time with questionable cards, calling with even worse cards, betting with nothing, giving their opponents no respect, and being extremely proud of their ace-high or pair of 4s at the end of the hand, you know you're watching a game that is full of players who are experts at short-handed play.
The ability to play in a short-handed game and maintain a positive hourly rate, especially over a long period of time, is one of the most difficult achievements in hold 'em.
Short-handed play is a very advanced skill that requires an extensive knowledge of game theory, backed up with countless hours of real-life playing experience. Short-handed games are not made for beginners. If you're contemplating taking a seat in a short-handed game, the very most important thing you need to know is exactly what the skill levels are of the players already in the game.
I've already mentioned the saying: "Poker is not a game of cards played with people; rather, it is a game of people played with cards." It's very true. You're not playing against cards, you're playing against people. So take a minute to look at the people that you're considering playing against.
When you play in a poker game, you're really pitting your decision-making abilities against those of all of your opponents combined. When you play in a short-handed game, you'll be playing a lot more hands than you would in a full game. You might even be playing almost every hand. With all those opportunities to make a decision (and therefore possibly a bad decision), you might lose your bankroll in short order.
There's one time when you might find yourself in a good short-handed situation: if you've been playing in your usual game and the other players start to drop out, one by one, without more players taking their seats. Perhaps it's getting later at night, and there are no names on the list.
Often what will happen is that the game will become seven- or eight-handed, one of the players will say, "I don't want to play if it's only seven-handed," and he'll leave. His departure will trigger the same reflex in another player and the game will suddenly be five-handed. After a few hands, the game will often break up, because three other players will each say, "I don't want to play five-handed."
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The next time you play in your usual game, pay attention to those times that a player bets and is called on the river. It doesn't matter if you're in the hand or not. If you've been following the action from the beginning, and you've been trying to read that player's hand, I want you to come up with an educated guess of what his hand might be.
It will help you if you decide at the beginning of the hand to use that hand as part of this assignment. I want you to tell yourself exactly which two cards the player might be holding. For example, if the board is Q4J4J¥6^24, and you think he has a full house, don't just say, "I think he has a full house." Instead, say, "I think he has pocket 6s," or, "I think he has Q^J*."
When the player in question is called on the river and he reveals his hand, you'll see that your guess will, of course, fall into one of three categories:
1. You'll have guessed that his hand is worse than it is.
2. You'll have guessed that his hand is better than it is.
3. You'll have been right on the mark.
Be prepared by having these three categories already written in your notes, and make a mark in the appropriate category. If you have time and space, also try to jot down why you think your guess was too high or too low. Review your notes later, when you have time to reflect on what you wrote. Hopefully, you can learn a bit more about reading hands from these notes. Your goal, of course, is to have more and more of your guesses be right with each passing playing session.
Don't be too hard on yourself. If the board is 9*8V7*2*2¥, and you think the player has 8s full of 2s, I would count it as a correct guess if he in fact held pocket 9s or 7s instead of the 8s. However, if you think he holds 9*2£ to make the full house, and he actually has pocket 8s, I'd count that as guessing too low. Remember, it's his pocket cards you're trying to guess, not just his final poker hand.
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