Final Table Series (#2)
Two facts are nearly always true at a final table. First the blinds are high and second someone is short stacked. This leads to one of the biggest mistakes that beginning players make at a final table. You simply cannot allow yourself to be blinded off. Your short stack can reach a low point where you will have no course of action other than moving all in and your opponents will have no fear of calling you.
Take this example: blinds are 1,000/2,000 with a 200 ante. If your stack is 10,000 and you move all in, your opponents will definitely think before making the call. If you stack is less than 4,000 they will not. The value in the prize pool to eliminate a player is too high not to call a very short stack. When you make your short stack move is up to you, but the point is that this decision should be based more on the stack and less on the cards. An all in move of 10,000 with 72o is a better move than going all in with AJ and only 3,200. The huge added value of your opponents folding has to be considered.
Getting super short stacked can happen because you lose a pot or because you let yourself get blinded down by being too conservative. At a final table the odds are immensely higher that moving in early with a reasonable stack will succeed over waiting for a monster hand and folding away the blinds while waiting. Short stack play at a final table often determines who wins and who loses but more often who places higher in the money list. Don’t get blinded off is nearly a cardinal rule of final table play. Pick your spot and make your move!
-this is Beginner’s Poker Blog Post #202
