Playing Short Stacked In Tournaments

If you are running really well in a tournament then you will never be very low on chips. But if you run into a few bad beats in some big pots it doesn’t take long before you are playing short stacked and only one costly mistake will see you bust out of a tournament.
At some point throughout a tournament if you find yourself short stacked then you will need to adopt a short stacked strategy to stay alive in the tournament. This poses some challenges. Larger stacks will have the ability to bully you around a little. You have to either fold or come back over the top. Being patient and waiting for the right opportunity is key. If you’re short stacked at your table, but not in the larger tournament, you should really tighten up and only play the best of hands. Eventually the tables will be rearranged or people will get knocked out.
If you’re in the lower 10% of the field you need to double up. It is likely that the blinds and antes are large enough that you won’t have more than a few hands/rounds if you keep folding, so pick your moment and go all-in. The best time to go all in is when you’re the first in on the pot. Going all-in against large stacks, or behind betters, is not likely to scare anyone out. They are going to call you no matter what, so you will need the cards. If you have position on another short stacked opponent you need to take advantage by forcing them to make a decision.
Sometimes when you are in the blinds the pots odds justify an all in regardless of what cards you have. If you only have 400 chips (average is 7000) and there are 5 opponents already in you stand the chance of making 5x your money, if you have KT, 78 suited, or something with a decent chance of winning you need to take your chances and go for it. You can move from 400 to 2400 in one hand so you have to take that chance to realistically have a good shot of making the final table.
Don’t take this concept too far though. If you’re not in immediate danger of getting blinded out you’re better off waiting for good cards than going all in with a terrible hand. My rule of thumb for average hand is J8 suited. Anything less I have to be desperate to go all-in, anything better I seriously consider the situation.
Make the most of approaching the money when short stacked. When you near the bubble for being in the money players will tighten up. Take advantage of this. You’re goal is the final table, not 27th place; so don’t play for 27th place. Someone with a medium sized stack will not want to risk going broke just before reaching the money so they are less likely to call your raise. Pay attention and read your opponents. Figure out which ones are waiting it out and take advantage. Stay away from the ones that can’t afford to wait it out unless you have a great hand.