Anyone ever experimented with shortstacking PLO? I'm starting to experiment with it in Global Poker and have had moderate success.

I'm still working through all the math but would appreciate feedback on my initial thoughts.

First, the following conditions are kind of necessary for shortstacking to be feasible:
- a many-handed table
- opportunities to see unraised, multiway pots
- when there IS a pre-flop raise it will get called in 3 or 4 spots
- villains willing to stack off pre with hands worse than KKxx
- villains willing to stack off post flop with less than the nuts

The main adjustment I have to make when I buy in for 20 or 30bb is that I have to account for the low implied odds. When I buy in for 100bb, for example, I will call a raise on the button with mid-to-high pocket pairs, suited kings and suited aces because on a soft site like Global Poker the implied odds are through the roof. But when I have only 20 or 30, I don't have odds to setmine or try to flop a combo draw with a flush draw if I'm facing a raise.

The hands that I will either raise myself or call a raise with (hoping to see a flop for one raise) are hands that have multiple ways to nail the flop - double-suited rundowns, a mid-to-high pocket pair with connected sidecards etc. I figure if I'm playing exclusively hands like those while the villains are playing any suited ace or king or any pocket pair or any 3 connected cards I'm going to nail the flop more often than they are on average. Also, if I buy in for 30bb and get to click the pot button after 3 limpers, the BB and limpers will usually all call, so by the time I see the flop I usually have about a PSB behind, creating a two-street game which is exactly what you want when you play a short stack.

The spot where I run into trouble is with KKxx and AAxx hands. On Global Poker, if I can get my stack in with KKxx, AAxx, or any double-suited rundown where the bottom card is at least 6 (only when there's at least a 4-way stackoff) I'm usually getting my money in ahead. So I raise those hands hoping somebody 3-bets behind me, or I 3-bet them myself hoping someone will stack off behind me. Only problem is, I end up either whiffing the flop completely and having to checkfold, or I end up with about 30% of the pot on the flop in my stack, meaning I'm actually "correct" in a lot of cases to put the rest of my stack in the pot behind.

I'll post more once I've done more of the math, but will appreciate feedback and suggestions erst the while.

EDIT: The advantage to shortstacking on a soft site like Global Poker is that when you do get your stack in you're usually going to triple or quadruple your money. Even if you don't get to stack off pre, if you nail the flop having already put a significant portion of your stack in a lot of villains will call with anything since the SPR is so low.

I tried to shortstack micro after reading the 2+2 plo book, but gave it up soon, as it looked like to me both mathematically and logically that it will not be the best strategy, if it even works because of the rake.

I changed to 40 bb, that was clearly better in good games, though a full rake eats all winnings. This is about the only place in the poker world where micro stacking (20 bb) doesn't work.

Playing good loose full ring games with 40 bb, it seems I was hitting my head on the wall when I preraised more or less normally preflop (that was the case in very loose shorthanded games also at one site, but not on another that much, but I preraised less there). But if I only raised rarely preflop, I got the money in more or less good when I made a profitable hand. High loose full ring win rate but can't count the variance out, as my long run about more and less loose shorthanded says it just beats the full rake.

Raising with high cards tend to often be a bad idea, when so many seem to be in the hands of the opponents, so even if you aggro raise the pots preflop with what looks like dominating hands, they are regularly mediocre at best, and that almost without a fail lowers one's edge postflop, plus it can be impossible to fold hands when you flop marginal at best.

Even 40 bb isn't enough if there is enough preflop raising (up to any handed), as your edge postflop decreases (more so if you can control the size of the pot post flop when you have still more money left and so not putting your money in as thin).

The 40 bb stack does just what the 20 bb does but your edge will be bigger, though not as big as with a 100 bb stack. When one can control the size preflop, one can try raising a bit with a 40 bb or so stack, to make the game play bigger, but if that results in too many flips, it won't work here.

In more or less normal plo shorthanded games one preraises more or less normally with a 40 bb stack, but it much depends on how loose it is.

Well if your playing on a ' soft site' you should buyin full so there is more room for you to outplay your opponents, unless you're not really a good player yourself.
I really don't see any advantages in playing a shortstack in micro/small stakes

to add to bert11's post, any "soft site" is not going to have an abundance of tables running so what do you do once you double up? You either play deep or rathole which discourages any serious volume.

Ya ya, shortstacking sux, stick to 100bb 19/12/3

https://www.twoplustwo.com/books/poker/pot-limit-omaha/

Is that the book you're referring to? If so, are you saying it has a chapter on playing a short stack?

I still haven't taken the time to work out all the math, but when the table conditions are like those I describe in the OP, the strategy so far seems very successful. You don't get a lot of chances to get your money in as an 80%+ favorite like you do in hold'em, but you do get chances to get your money in as a 50%-55% favorite to quadruple or quintuple up, and I'll take that all day. If there's a raise and a call in front of me and I 3-bet with KKxx, I usually get at least one villain to coldcall the 3-bet and of course the raiser and caller call along too, and if someone does 4-bet and/or 4-bet shove it's USUALLY with something KKxx is way ahead of.

I think the main thing is one has to be disciplined enough to fold implied-odds hands, especially facing a raise. If I have a 30bb stack and there's a 3bb raise in front of me, a hand like A6J2 is a fold, but if I had a 100bb stack and were going to see a five-way pot with position I would call there. With a 30bb stack I probably wouldn't even limp along with nothing but a suited ace because what am I going to do if I flop a flush draw? With a 30bb stack I WOULD limp along with a hand like A678 though if there were a low chance of facing a raise (I'm folding it to a raise with a 30bb stack).

If this doesn't make complete sense it's because I typed in a hurry but I hope the general ideas at least make sense.