It doesn’t matter how good a tournament player you are, eventually you are going to find yourself short-stacked. In fact, chances are you'll find yourself short-stacked more often than you'll find yourself with a big stack. Knowing how to play when you’re running low on chips is a key concept in tournament poker, and while there is no absolute right way to play there are ideas you should be aware of and apply to your game.
The most important concept in short-stack poker ironically has nothing to do with how to play a short stack and everything to do with avoiding one. While it’s easier said than done, you should avoid putting yourself in situations where you are so short you only have one move. If you find yourself approaching your all-in or fold threshold, consider opening your game up and taking some chances.
For example, let's say you’re all-in or fold threshold is ten big blinds and you have 12 big blinds left. It is folded to the cut-off who opens the action. You look down at A-8, a hand you would typically fold in this situation, but try to look at it another way. Your opponent is probably opening light and there's a good chance you can pick up five to six big blinds by re-stealing here, and if he does call there's only one hand that will leave you drawing virtually dead (pocket Aces).
A problem many players have and why they often find themselves bubbling or just barely making the money is that they are not willing to take chances. They wait for cards and when they don't come, find themselves blinded/anted down to something like five big blinds, at which point it’s easier for opponents to call their all-in. When you have more chips, your chips have some power.
Folding is for quitters
You won't always be able to avoid being a short stack, as there are times you will lose a big pot and find yourself with fewer chips than your all-in or fold threshold. In these instances, what you do will often depend on exactly how many chips you have and what your opponents have done. Usually, however, you will have precisely three plays. One: fold. Two: move all-in first to act. Three: call all-in. You should be looking to do one of the latter two more than folding, because simply put, folders don't win tournaments.