Many times when players are sitting with a short stack in Texas Holdem tournament, panic sets in and they make a bad move that takes them out of the tournament. When you are on a short stack, just sit back and relax. Take a deep breath and think only positive thoughts. Being on the short stack doesn't mean that you are about to be eliminated from the tournament. It just means that you need to play smart and find a way to get more chips and get yourself back into contention. The one thing too many players on the short stack do is allow their chips to be whittled smaller and smaller and smaller. They may have started out by losing a tough hand or two to get down in chips. But, after this happens, they change their playing style and play too loose in an effort to win their chips back. Most of the time, this will not work and, before they know it, they find themselves without enough chips to scare anyone out of the pot. And, even if they double up, they still do not have enough chips to be a real factor.

When you are sitting on a short stack, try playing a little tighter instead of looser and only play the best hands. Also, don't let your chip stack drop to a point where you leave yourself with no play. For example, let's say you are playing in a 10-player no-limit Texas Holdem Tournament where every player starts with 10,000 in chips. The blinds are 400/800. You may be having a rough day and lost a few good hands. You see your chip stack diminishing and, before you know it, you only have 1,600 in chips remaining. Now, you realize that you played yourself in a predicament that will be extremely hard to overcome. At this point, an all-in play is merely equivalent to a minimum raise. At best, you can hope to eliminate everyone from the hand other than the big blind who will most likely call because he sees your desperation and he's getting more than 3 to 1 on his money. So, this will leave you in a heads-up race against the big blind where anything can happen.

Instead, try using your short stack when it still has some power. In this example, let's assume the same tournament structure and blinds. However, this time you have 4,500 in chips and the chip leaders have approximately 20,000 in chips. Now, an all-in play is a far more powerful move. If one of the chip leaders calls your all-in and loses, they are losing nearly 25% of their chip stack. Plus, if you are a good player, no one wants you to double up and again be a factor in the tournament. If everyone folds, you'll win the blinds without a fight. Any good hand can lose in a community card race, so be happy with the blinds and wait for another good hand. Hopefully, with patience, you will be able to double up or continue winning blinds until your stack reaches the point where all-in is no longer your only play.

Also, it is important to never lose sight of the fact discussed in the article entitled "The Short Stack." In tournament play, only the top players finish in the money. Playing your short stack wisely, is critical if you want to be one of them.