Players who want to sit at a ring table always want an edge. Even just a small edge will increase your profit margin, theoretically playing break even poker will actually decrease your roll due to rake. If you want to effectively increase your bankroll while minimizing your risk, this might be something you want to try.

There are a number of rules to consider for the type of shortstacking I will be writing about. One, it’s boring because there’s not a whole lot to do. Two, you only play at full ring tables that have the biggest average pots and largest percentage of players to the flop. Three, you only buy-in for the minimum and as soon as you double your initial buy-in you have to leave. Four, play between two to four poker tables at a time.

Now that you know the rules, this is what you do. Only play premium hands; play nothing below A-Q suited and nothing below a pair of jacks. When you get any of those types of hands you bet pot from whatever position you are in. If it folds around and you take the pot, so be it. If you get called, no matter what on the flop you bet pot once again. If you get called, that’s ok because you are going to bet pot on the turn no matter what. This likely will put you all-in for your initial buy-in of $2 if you play on a 0.5/0.10 table.

This is not the most fun style of play; it is a very rigid set of rules. But by playing only premium hands and limiting how much money you can lose at any table and leaving once you double up, your bankroll should increase. Given variance and over a few thousand hands, I tried this method with roughly $20 in my account. According to my stat program I have played 3,324 hands and my bankroll using this strategy is over $55 now for a profit of $35. Unfortunately I do not get rakeback or I would get back even more every month from not only playing but from the rake. The amount of rake you can earn utilizing this method is fantastic.

This style of play is pretty much a simplified version of a hit-and-run. It takes a very long time for profit to be realized using this method. While your ability to make quick money is limited, your risk of loss is also minimized. While it is not an ideal way to play poker, it is a way for someone with a small bankroll to play safe poker and build up their bankroll.