Can this be played other ways? should I be fearing higher flushes or flush redraws here or is that just hogwash?
HJ is 75/14/57 over 28 hands
CO is 34/4/50 over 51 hands

Revolution Gaming Network - $0.04 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

MP: $0.41
CO: $2.61
BTN: $1.96
SB: $2.73
BB: $0.84
Hero (UTG): $2.00


SB posts SB $0.02, BB posts BB $0.04

Pre Flop: ($0.06) Hero has 8 T

Hero raises to $0.12, HJ calls $0.12, CO calls $0.12, fold, fold, fold

Flop: ($0.42, 3 players) 3 2 K
Hero bets $0.28, MP raises to $0.29 and is all-in, CO raises to $0.56, Hero raises to $1.88 and is all-in, CO calls $1.32

Never when you are all playing shortstacked.

The real question is why are you opening T8s UTG with 50bb behind?

fold pre. Buy in full if you want to learn poker. Why would you be worried about flush draws? you should be wishing that they have a flush draw. Always get it in here especially for 50bb.

Can you suggest a reference for how dynamics change with stack sizes? I only have $40 of disposable income and so not want to play full stack tables because I only would have 10 buyins. Would you do that?

To balance my range. What changes with 100bb behind?

Well, you have much more room for manouvering and playing proper poker. Shortstacking is basically just shoving pre with premiums, or on the flop,when you flop at least TPTK. And if you have 40$, play NL2, where you have 20 100bb buyins. Go to NL4 with ~80$.

Then play at 2nl and buy in full. In general you have more room to play postflop as your stacksizes increase and you learn how to play different spots vs different opponents( eg. when you face a 3b preflop with 50bb and you call you generally will be all-in on the flop or turn, and any bet you make or call has different odds pre).With a 50bb stack hands that flop TPTK,TPGK increase in value while when you have 100bb+ hands like 109s that can make flushes, str8s go up in value. You need 20 buy-ins at least in a certain limit to play there.

You don't need to open 108s to balance your ranges utg. Lol balance at 4nl.

Great info thanks, unfortunately in the US that is the smallest limit available to me, sux.

I agree, not neccesary To balance ranges at 4nl, however that is how I would like to play in the future at higher limits. (assuming I ever make it)
Do u think there is merit in it for practice?

What about other strategies like playing lag at micros not because you need to to win but rather in order to learn it for future opponents and limits, do u think there's merit in that?

I'm currently running a challenge in the PG&C thread starting with $30 (was the last of my VIPpoint cash). Being US, I also only have the option of playing $4nl, but no way in hell I'm playing short stacked. Sure there's a pretty big chance that I'll go busto (already down 3 buy-ins even though I'm also running 7 buy-ins under EV in 3K hands), but I just can't imagine playing any other way than full stacked.

People are just so bad at $4nl that you can get away with risky BRM. Start to worry more about it once you move up, or play micro SNG's.

To play lag you need to buy-in full for starters plus you need to be skillful enough cause you will be dealing with many decisions postflop. To win at 4nl and build your bankroll to 100(after 4nl it's 5nl?) and move up isn't that difficult, play tag style ABC value based poker and exploit fishes to full extent. You can open for example only QQ+ AK from utg vs fishes and they will still be calling your raises after 1mil hands cause they don't pay attention. It's against the good guys that you need to balance.After you learn how to play tag ABC and you start moving up you can start playing a bit more loose and experiment.

I think flop is played fine. You've got a flush but you are still vulnerable, there's also a lot of value to be had here and now, go with it.

You still have such a long long long journey to the higher limits, and I don't even know if you have to balance there by raising wider UTG. Stick to things that are +EV, that's how you'll learn. Raising this UTG is -EV.

Besides, balancing by raising wider from earlier positions isn't really balancing. You have to tighten up UTG whatever the limit you play since the chance that people have you crushed goes higher, chances that someone raises you goes higher, and you'll play out of position the whole way. Playing "balanced" by raising UTG the same range of hands as you would from the BTN is not being balanced, it's being positionally unaware, and that's a huge leak

And some pointers concerning how playing changes from 50bb stacks to 100bb:

- You will have less chance to manouver, as you'll often be all-in by the turn
- You have less fold equity when you make a bet
- you have less chance of making big laydowns and big bluffs
- you have less implied odds for draws, also things like setmining may become unprofitable

T8s is not a good hand to open UTG in "higher limits" either, I can assure you.

Playing w/ 50bb makes it even worse.

Thanks for the advice guys!