Short Stacked

Your goal now should be finding places to stick all of your money in the pot and then hoping you don't get called. Remember that you want to try and pick a spot where you can at least damage an opponent ’s stack and not give them the odds if possible to call. Depending on the blind structure, there may be a bunch of shortstacks at which point you should try to wait longer than normal for a hand simply because everyone else will start gambling it up too. The one move that you must execute now is a simple one “ALL IN ” do not limp or minimum raise, as this is simply criminal. Just find a spot and push even you do find AA as you will probably find a caller viewing your situation as desperate.

Middle Stacked

The middle stack is probably the toughest one to play without doubt in my opinion, as you need to exercise a degree of caution. On one hand (no pun intended) you want to make sure you keep picking up enough chips so that you don't dwindle to become a shorty, but on the other hand you want to try and sit back and let the bigger stacks eat up the small ones. You need to execute a lot more of your skill whilst in this position like the occasional resteal especially if the big stack is dominating the table.

The Big Stack

This is the position that I enjoy the most although you really need to pick your opponents carefully. I see some players using this position of strength to its maximum whereby putting tough decisions on the middle stacks whereas there are others who play the stack dreadfully for instance raising a small stack in the big blind with trash? I really hate this play however see it all the time what on earth do they think the short stack is going to do fold? Therefore whilst playing the big stack remember that play should tighten up especially at the final table so use your power to bully players and make them have difficult decisions.

The Final Table

The strategy ’s already covered should apply for the final table however the one thing you need to be aware of is that the pay structure in today's multis is almost always top-heavy. The first few places get the big money and everyone else walks away a little bit disappointed because they perhaps did not get any cards, played too tight etc etc. You should take this knowledge and let it influence your strategy rather than simply tucking it away in the corner. I usually sit back for a few orbits unless I get the ammunition and let the other players take themselves on. The idea is to selectively pick spots to make a play for the blinds, and avoid all in clash unless you really have the goods.

It is imperative that you are aware of the players at the table and stay away from the aggressive maniacs unless as stated above you have the goods, you will see players who are happy to fold their way up the ladder so they are the players you need to take advantage of.The best piece of advice I can give about playing the endgame of tournaments though is to just have confidence in your ability and trust your instincts. If you end up making a steal in the wrong spot and get caught, think back to why you decided to make the play and if the situation still seemed right in the abstract then there's just nothing you can do about it. This situation occurred on Sunday night in the 50K on Betfair Poker and I was in 13 th place out of 14 players left and found J6 on the button it is folded to me and with the blinds so high I push only to be called by the BB with AJ no miracle and its GG WP UL TY. The question is would I do the same thing again? Absolutely not doubt, so as long as you focus and try to play your best game you will usually end up with good results.

On a personal note I am looking forward to the Betfair Asian Poker Tour in November and I have been asked to appear in a documentary regarding the event. This month has been average online where I am currently in the top 20 for High stakes and Middle to high stakes stt ’s and six pacs.

See you at the tables …

Scotty ((Shaa boom))