Short stack
A stack is short when it is small relative to the blinds, usually under about 30 big blinds, which removes most of the room for play after the flop.
The consequence is that decisions move earlier. With little behind, the choice of whether to commit is made before the flop rather than on the river, and the postflop skills that matter in a deep game barely come into play.
That makes short stacks simpler rather than weaker. A well played short stack has clear all in ranges and a real threat behind it, and the players who struggle with one are usually those trying to play it as though it were deep.
an example
your cards
You hold ace ten with 11 big blinds. A raise to 2.5 leaves you unable to fold to a reraise, so the hand is really a choice between all in and nothing, and the middle option is the one that costs money.
This example is made up. The real one is in your own hand history: find short stack in your own hands and see how often it came up and what it cost you.
related terms
Push or fold
Push or fold is the way a very short stack is played, where the only two actions worth taking before the flop are moving ...
Effective stack
The effective stack is the smaller of the two stacks in a pot, because that is the most either player can actually win o ...
Deep stack
A stack is deep when it is large relative to the blinds, usually taken as more than about 150 big blinds, so there is ro ...
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Knowing the word is not the same as seeing it.
The full order of play, from the blinds to the showdown.