When you find yourself short stacked in a tournament – and you will – there are two things you immediately need to do: decided that you’re not giving up, then find a way to double up.

Accomplish this and you are back in the game. However, too many players decide that their tournament is over after they’ve lost a big pot or suffered a bad beat. Others go about trying to double up in a completely flawed way.

By definition, you are short stacked if you have fewer than 10 big blinds in your stack and severely so if you have fewer than five. The most important factors to consider are your table position, your position with relation to the blinds, the value of your hand and the chip stacks of the opponents behind you when you choose to move in.

Rule 1: don’t go broke with a weak ace. Better stated, don’t call of your stack with a weak ace. Moving in with one is better if you must, but at least try to make sure it is suited or with a kicker 10 or better. If you call off your stack in the face of an early raise with a weak ace, you are asking to go broke. Some people advocate moving in with first ace you see when you become short stacked, but that is far too general and shallow of a strategy … position is far more important.

Rule 2: be the mover and not the caller. This recalls David Sklansky’s “gap” concept in which it should take a much better hand to call a large bet than it does to make one. However, I’ve found that online players in particular have no grasp of this concept. Often I’ve moved in with hands like A-9 suited from late position only to have another player, say the big blind, insta-call and I think I’m toast. Then he turns over K-J and I’m a 3-2 favorite. Now in this instance I’d rather not get called but if I’m going to, I might as well be the favorite. Do yourself a favor and don’t be the caller with a hand as weak as K-J.

Rule 3: move in before you get blinded out, but not so fast that you move with garbage. Always pay attention to your table position. If the blinds are 100-200 and you have 800 left, you’re going to want to move in before 25 percent of your stack is committed to the big blind. However, don’t move in with garbage. Always keep in mind how many “free” hands you have left before moving in.

Rule 4: set your own standards for moving in. In a full 9- or 10-handed game, I will move in from the first three positions with any hand that adds up to 21 in blackjack and any pair 7s or bigger. From middle position to the button, I will move in with any pair, any suited ace, any two face cards, and suited connectors 7-8 or higher. From the button or small blind, move in with all of the above plus any hand that might have showdown value, or a reasonable chance of winning against a hand that might call. A lot of players don’t understand that 4-5 suited is the best hand you can have against pocket aces. A hand like 9-10 suited is a virtual coin flip against A-K suited. However, if you call off your stack with a weak ace in the face of an early raise and your opponent has a big ace or any pair, you are a 3-1 underdog.

Rule 5: be patient. If you are short stacked at a final table and the money increases for each spot you move up, you might be surprised at how much extra cash you can make by sitting back a little. Sometimes, medium and even large stacks will collide, or the other short stacks will go broke first. But do not play to wait them out. I’ve seen many instances in which the short stacks were waiting each other out and, inevitably, the one who played to win and doubled through was rewarded.