Joined: Oct '09
Location: India
Age: 38 (M)
Posts: 80
hey guys. we all have heard about the SSS. it is considered the power play of poker. buying in with just 20BB and playing nothing but the premium. a big part of the strategy depends on position. early, middle late, utg. it is considered the power play of poker. with stuf like playing extra aggro when you hit something like TPTK. but surprisingly it has NEVER worked out for me. even though ive followed the strategy to the T. did everything perfectly. pre and post flop. somehow i always went bust. just want to know if im the only one! or has anyone had similar shitty experiences with SSS. please do share. i tried to mix in a bit of different strategies but by that time my temporary table image was so lame that i got called with almost anything and and anyone who put me on over cards. has anyone been able to pull off SSS successfully?
Joined: May '08
Location: Germany
Age: 59 (M)
Posts: 6786
The short stack strategy is a rake maschine with only a tiny winrate. If you know what you are doing, switch to a big stack strategy. So you can exploit bigger mistakes by your opponents.
Imho SSS is only good to clear bonuses if you have a limited bankroll.
Posted by shokaku: The short stack strategy is a rake maschine with only a tiny winrate. If you know what you are doing, switch to a big stack strategy. So you can exploit bigger mistakes by your opponents. Imho SSS is only good to clear bonuses if you have a limited bankroll.
------------ Well put shokaku. I'll add a little to this because I do play sss from time to time just to clear a bonus and most of all generate rake for rakeback. I think playing sss is a good way for beginning players to learn position and starting hands. But to get the outstanding win rate that is claimed with the system, the answer is "NO." You have to have some of your own variance pre and post flop or else you will just go all in like said to do (in some situations) and lose knowing you don't have the best hand. People out there know about sss and how to play sss players. When I come across them I pretty much know what and how they are going to play since I took the time to learn sss. I could add a ton more but don't want to write a book.
Joined: May '08
Location: Germany
Age: 59 (M)
Posts: 6786
Posted by loonardog: wow! this is interesting... why do u say that shokaku? can you give some examples?
You can win a max of 20BB in a hand from your opponent if you are playing SSS. If he is realy bad, you can win much more playing bigstack. You dont have the stack to play small PP for setvalue, you can't play SC.
SSS is good if you want to play a lot of tables at a time, cause you have only a few decisions to do on every table. The play style is very showdown heavy, so the rooms will collect a lot of rake.
Joined: Jan '09
Location: New Zealand
Age: 36 (M)
Posts: 463
SSS is pretty straight foward in what you do. There isnt much depth of play you can do when you're short stack and since i play BSS, i take advantage of people with short stacks because they are easier to figure out.
When you get a decent amount of bankroll, switch to BBS. Its easier to work with and improves your game more imo.
loonardog, SSS didn't work for me either. And I agree with previous posters. I noticed that opponents call your raises loosely just because your stack is small. And while you play only premium hands they don't always stay that way after the flop. For me SSS is
Joined: Nov '08
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 47 (M)
Posts: 2194
Hmmm good one. SSS i have played a lot, When just getting a free bankroll i always use SSS to build and clear. SSS is the staple diet of low limits - mid limits and to this day i'll still show +EV playing it. the only thing is it is borring But you can get aroud this by multi tabling wich helps a lot but i feel you can loose some focus doing it. My bankroll was built using SSS and lost playing every thing else..LOL SSS should be a intergrated part of your stratergy as long as you can mix it up a little (depending on the table)
Joined: Oct '09
Location: Singapore
Age: 40 (M)
Posts: 225
Posted by ih8usukouts: .Posted by shokaku: The short stack strategy is a rake maschine with only a tiny winrate. If you know what you are .doing, switch to a big stack strategy. So you can exploit bigger mistakes by your opponents. Imho SSS is only good to clear bonuses if you have a limited bankroll. [/QUOTE] ------------ Well put shokaku. I'll add a little to this because I do play sss from time to time just to clear a .bonus and most of all generate rake for rakeback. I think playing sss is a good way for beginning players to learn position and starting hands. But to get the outstanding win rate that is claimed .with the system, the answer is "NO." You have to have some of your own variance pre and post flop or else you will just go all in like said to do (in some situations) and lose knowing you don't .have the best hand. People out there know about sss and how to play sss players. When I come across them I pretty much know what and how they are going to play since I took the time to .learn sss. I could add a ton more but don't want to write a book.
Nice info, who knows maybe you can be a poker player+author
Joined: Aug '09
Location: Chile
Age: 37 (M)
Posts: 1353
I think basic Short Stack Strategy is not profitable anymore. Almost every poker player know the range of this strategy, so they become very predictable. With some modificatiosn it can be easier to get profit from this strategy, but this add difficuty and does not make so easy to start.
Joined: Nov '07
Location: Denmark
Age: 47 (M)
Posts: 42
There is no point in being a shortstack and wait for premium hands.. If so you will much to often be outdrawn by two or more callers.. Max buyinn at every table or go down in limit.. Cant even shove someone out of a pot with a missed ak flop.. Max buy inn or sit out.. I even reload every time I lose a hand so Im sure to benefit MAX when I make a set or complete a flush..
The basic SSS strategy is good at a couple of things. 1. clearing bonuses 2. practicing effective BRM 3.staying in the game to watch and learn different playing styles and strategies. Once u get your feet wet, it inevitable that u are going to want to change your strategy. The quick way is to switch to BSS. I personally think that that is a mistake early on. That would be like going from mailroom clerk to CEO of a major corporation overnight. What I did was to adjust the SSS to make it less predictable. Sitting down with a larger stack, playing a wider range of hands occassionally (Ax's, suited connectors and such) and varied my betting to disguise hand strength. Doing this but still staying to the principle SSS has kept my game tight, but allows some freedom to take advantage of favorable situations as they arise.
But you can get aroud this by multi tabling wich helps a lot but i feel you can loose some focus doing it.
