Given the current situation with the COVID-19 epidemic, and the anticipated re-opening of cardrooms with tables limited to the number of players, an opportunity may have presented itself.

My experience over the years has been that many games break because the tables get shorthanded, as many players are uncomfortable playing shorthanded (or are afraid of the variance). This results in those players lacking experience in those games. Now, shorthanded live games may be the only option available to them, and if they wish to participate, they must play shorthanded. And if history is any indication of the future, it will take a long time for the poker community to adapt to shorthanded play, providing an opportunity for the smarter, more knowledgeable and more experienced players in the community. This opportunity could last months, or even years if shorthanded play becomes the norm and before the rest of the poker community fully adjusts to it.

For those of us with limited experience with shorthanded play, now would be a good time to brush up on shorthanded strategies, read some books on shorthanded play, or invest in a course on it. Also, for those of us who can play online, playing in 6-max and other shorthanded games could gain us valuable experience for anticipated shorthanded live brick-and-mortar games.

Of course, shorthanded play may be a bust or short lived once the dust settles on the epidemic. But an opportunity may present itself and be quite lucrative for those ready for it. Not at the levels of the poker boom, the transition to no-limit or the early days of online play, but the best we've seen for a while.

Given the above, an opportunity also exists for those who currently publish material for shorthanded play, and for those who can turn out material on 4-handed play before others. I suspect Mason has a number of titles he'd be happy to sell you. And his next project might be something on shorthanded play.

If you do prepare for shorthanded play and it doesn't last, at least you'll be better prepared for those times full games go shorthanded, and for the last few tables in a tournament.

Time to play more hands.