I've encountered this discussion in several different forums, including a long one over at 2+2, which I never made it through. There are two common reactions, the first of which is that this strategy just isn't going to work. "Chris must have been doing something else," I've seen numerous times. Well, I cannot verify that Chris did play this particular strategy, but Rose says he did. The second reaction people have is that the strategy is just unworkable as no one or not enough people will call your pushes. Those people may be surprised by how many people actually do call.
When I began the strategy, I didn't do the research, so I played it based on my vague memory. Thus, although my intention was to play the Rose/Ferguson strategy, I ended up playing a variant, though I think a more profitable variant. I started off pushing pairs down to 8-8 and A-Q and A-J. I amended that list to pairs down to 10-10 and A-Q, though there were times when I dumped 10-10 and A-Q in the face of raises from tight players. I would also look for situations in which I could steal a pot from limpers, which I might do with A-J or 9-9. Was Ferguson doing something else? I don't know, but I certainly was.
The results? Surprisingly, it was a winning strategy. I played two sites, PokerRoom and PokerStars, both at 25NL (10c/25c). At PokerRoom I played 1320 hands and clipped off a 9.68BB/100 rate. "Wow," I thought. At PokerStars I played 4000 hands, but my win rate plummeted to 4.34BB/100, only half as good but still profitable. Oh, by the way, every hand I was pushing with showed a profit. That's pairs down to 10-10 along with A-K and A-Q with an occasional 9-9 or A-J.
Why does this strategy seem to work? In short, it works for the same reason that playing good poker works; there are a lot of bad players who make very poor decisions. The worst hand I was called with? Take your pick from 2-3 or 10-6 s-o-o-o-o-o-oted. A-5 off suit and similar craptastic aces called me along with suited connectors and small pairs. This strategy works because there are bad players. Good players will just wait for A-A or K-K to call with, but there are plenty of bad players, particularly at 25NL. Perhaps some of them felt sorry for me, with my tiny little stack, and wanted to help me out.
The strategy also works, I suspect, because it prevents one from being outplayed. There is no flop play. Good players will dump their small and mid pocket pairs since you've taken away any implied odds. They know at best they have a coin-flip and at worst are big dogs. They aren't going to call with suited connectors for the same reason. In addition, the strategy is near tilt-proof. It's hard to get too upset; it's only $5. Even when the 2-3 suited beat my A-Q, I just cackled over the fact that anyone would dream of calling with that hand.
Is there a weakness? Yes, but it's the same weakness that all multi-tablers have. Anyone who is paying attention knows that he/she can steal your blinds all day for a very, very small risk. Perhaps not too surprising, the 25NL players don't pay all that much attention. I'm tempted to say that another weakness is sacrificing EV. That only applies, however, if you are good enough to outplay your opponents after the flop.
Can we learn anything from this little experiment or is it a part of the sideshow freak tent? I did learn a few things in the experiment. One, there are still plenty of people willing to gamble in horrible, awful spots. Two, bonuses can be cleared quite quickly on this strategy as multi-tabling is incredibly easy since decisions are almost all preflop (sometimes you end up playing in the BB). The short stack results also function as a tool to evaluate one's own game.
At PokerRoom, where this strategy torched the competition, I had serious reservations about my own play, since it had done better than my BB/100 at 50NL. I felt better when I got the results at PokerStars, though I haven't played any "normal" poker there just yet. I will definitely be comparing. Typically, if you think you can outplay people, then you ought to be ahead of the short stack strategy. With a deep stack, you can bluff, pick off bluffs, take advantage of good drawing odds, slow play your monsters, etc. All of that should have you above the short stack strategy. If not, then you need to look at your game, because you have leaks, my friend. Whether it be poor betting strategies, weak folds, or any of a number of other possible leaks, you are getting outplayed a significant amount of the time.
Can you turn $1 into $20K? Yes, but you can do it playing your normal game and do it a lot faster than on this strategy. Playing your normal game will also allow you to move up in levels because your game warrants it, not just your bankroll.