Short Stack is Better

When I first started out, I firmly believed that when you played NL, you should always buy-in for the max. Well after doing some experimenting over the last few days, I find that buying in "short" (half the max, or 100 BB in a no max game) is better. Here is why:

1) Easier decisions. When you have Ak and $100 left with the pot being the same on the turn with an Ace, it is easier to play it hard. With $300 left, you could be put to a tough decision.

2) People play looser. When you have a short stack, you are going to get called a lot more often and looser because it is "not that much"

3) You lose less in tough games. You can always buy-in for more, but you can't take money off of the table.

4) People will read you as a weak player. They will try and bully you and when you fight back, they will walk away with a bloody nose.

5) Less at risk. You can play in the bigger games with the same number of buy-ins that you would at the smaller games and have a greater chance to double up.

This is not to say that you should never buy-in for the max. If there is an especially bad player and you are in great position to take advantage of him/her, then go for the max. Short stacked is especially good for online play because you are able to get less reads just because of the nature of the game and playing short will just make your decisions that much easier in an environment where you have less information than what would be normally available to you.