I'm hardly a pro, but to my mind you have to both bounce Russia in Galicia and push for both Serbia and Greece . You'll probably lose trieste, but if Italy commits to something else maybe not, and either way you'll have at least 1 build, and a fleet in Greece where it can do something.

Take chances and hope that Italy plays nice for a little while. If not you are screwed anyways so just suicide into him and don't let him benifit from attacking you.

You have to get big fast as Austria, otherwise you don't really stand a chance unless turkey and Russia are fighting and leave you alone.

My golden rule is to play aggresivly in defence, move your units, play different, if they can predict your moves your dead.
If jumped by all 3 at once make sure one of them only gain.
À good Italy will know that most armees on balkan when austria dead wins, and if it looks like turkey will get that should back off.
Choose where to defend depending on strategic points. England heading to stp? Defend against I.
2 german fleet builds in 01? Bur open?

Just things i think about when on the defence

1) Play games with better competition, where you can count on Italy not being an idiot
2) There's no 2)

What Fairfax said.

@Fairfax, so your idea is that Austria is doomed in <50 bet size games?

Not doomed, but certainly in a rough starting position without being able to rely on Italy making rational plays, which as Fairfax indicated usually means staying allied with Austria at least for the first 2 years. Italy can maybe encroach in Spring 1902 solidly depending on the rest of the map, but usually that's not the best play.

You could get lucky, if Italy happens to be someone reasonable, but chances are slim in a game like that. If Italy opens against you, you are pretty much doomed. You can still get out of that mess if Turkey and Russia leave you alone and fight eachother, but again that's not very likely.

I know the feeling, in my only game as Austria in a Gunboat, I must have dropped the soap in the pregame. It wasn't pretty, the Italian was very eager.
Assign each possible territory you can attack a number to a die. And let the roll do it's wonders. Best chance you've got playing Austria low stakes gunboat.

+1 Fairfax.

Damn, gotta play Austria second time in a row.

In press, I just tell Italy over and over again that if he stabs me, Turkey will take all my centers and then run him over. Then, I trust him and focus on getting gre and ser while mucking things up between Russia and Turkey. It usually works. In gunboat, I guess you would have to do the same, except without the ability to talk to anybody. Of course, I've lost every gunboat I've ever played -- it's almost like I lose all my tactics and strategy too when I can't talk.