Tips for Winning Online Poker - Your Chips
Poker Stack Sizes - 5 Ways Chip Stacks Affect Your Play
By Mark R. Holland
Players wanting to profit from poker games - both live and online - could greatly benefit from an understanding of how stack sizes affect your strategy, yet many people completely ignore this important factor. This article gives you 5 tips for profitable adjustments due to your chip stack and that of your opponents.
There are many ways of measuring stack sizes in both cash game and tournament poker including 'M', 'Q' and even more complex formulas. Here we will simplify the discussion by using a simple number of big blinds indicator.
Poker Stack Size Strategy Tip #1 - Implied Odds
When you enter a pot with a small pair or suited connector you will usually end up folding before the showdown. These folds are made up for by those times you hit a hidden straight or trips and win a huge pot - for example from an opponent with a high pair. Stack sizes are critical here, you can not call the initial bet if either your stack, or that of your opponent is too small. Trips need 12 times the big blind and suited connectors 20 times to consider playing, this includes a 'buffer' for those times you make your hand but do not get paid off by your opponent.
Poker Stack Size Strategy Tip #2 - Pot Commitment
Any time a bet early in a hand makes the pot much larger than the stack of one of the players, they can be thought of as being 'pot committed'. This is to say that it is likely that the rest of their chips will have to go in at some point in the hand, due to the huge pot-odds on offer. You need to spot this before raising and decide if your own hand is strong enough to play for the full amount of an opponent's chips.
Poker Stack Size Strategy Tip #3 - The River Bluff
You set up a hand against an opponent you suspect to have a weak holding. He chases against the odds and apparently fails to improve by the river. You bluff, hoping to induce a fold - and then realize your chips are too few to get a fold. By not adapting your bet sizes through the hand to ensure you have enough chips for a credible river bluff you have ensured that the weaker hand calls you. Plan in advance to avoid this error.
Poker Stack Size Strategy Tip #4 - Re-Stealing
At 12 to 17 times the big blind you have a 'difficult' stack in any poker tournament. Raising and then folding to a re-raise is marginal due to the high odds on offer, yet you have too many chips to open shove. However, this is the ideal stack to come over the top of an opponent's raise with. You gain is significant and your current stack is big enough to get a wide range of raising hands to fold.
Poker Stack Size Strategy Tip #5 - Tournament Bubble Play
At the bubble of a poker tournament many of your opponents will be looking to fold into the money before taking any big chances with their chips. This is particularly the case with the medium-sized stacks, who are comfortable enough to avoid taking any chances. Avoid the big (and very small) stacks at the bubble and steal blinds from the medium stacks. If an otherwise quiet medium stack enters the pot for a raise then beware - they may well have a strong holding.
For 100's of quality poker strategy articles and guides to how you can improve your poker profits fast - check out the world's number #1 resource for Poker Tournaments, SNGs and Poker Satellites Now!
By Mark R. Holland
Players wanting to profit from poker games - both live and online - could greatly benefit from an understanding of how stack sizes affect your strategy, yet many people completely ignore this important factor. This article gives you 5 tips for profitable adjustments due to your chip stack and that of your opponents.
There are many ways of measuring stack sizes in both cash game and tournament poker including 'M', 'Q' and even more complex formulas. Here we will simplify the discussion by using a simple number of big blinds indicator.
Poker Stack Size Strategy Tip #1 - Implied Odds
When you enter a pot with a small pair or suited connector you will usually end up folding before the showdown. These folds are made up for by those times you hit a hidden straight or trips and win a huge pot - for example from an opponent with a high pair. Stack sizes are critical here, you can not call the initial bet if either your stack, or that of your opponent is too small. Trips need 12 times the big blind and suited connectors 20 times to consider playing, this includes a 'buffer' for those times you make your hand but do not get paid off by your opponent.
Poker Stack Size Strategy Tip #2 - Pot Commitment
Any time a bet early in a hand makes the pot much larger than the stack of one of the players, they can be thought of as being 'pot committed'. This is to say that it is likely that the rest of their chips will have to go in at some point in the hand, due to the huge pot-odds on offer. You need to spot this before raising and decide if your own hand is strong enough to play for the full amount of an opponent's chips.
Poker Stack Size Strategy Tip #3 - The River Bluff
You set up a hand against an opponent you suspect to have a weak holding. He chases against the odds and apparently fails to improve by the river. You bluff, hoping to induce a fold - and then realize your chips are too few to get a fold. By not adapting your bet sizes through the hand to ensure you have enough chips for a credible river bluff you have ensured that the weaker hand calls you. Plan in advance to avoid this error.
Poker Stack Size Strategy Tip #4 - Re-Stealing
At 12 to 17 times the big blind you have a 'difficult' stack in any poker tournament. Raising and then folding to a re-raise is marginal due to the high odds on offer, yet you have too many chips to open shove. However, this is the ideal stack to come over the top of an opponent's raise with. You gain is significant and your current stack is big enough to get a wide range of raising hands to fold.
Poker Stack Size Strategy Tip #5 - Tournament Bubble Play
At the bubble of a poker tournament many of your opponents will be looking to fold into the money before taking any big chances with their chips. This is particularly the case with the medium-sized stacks, who are comfortable enough to avoid taking any chances. Avoid the big (and very small) stacks at the bubble and steal blinds from the medium stacks. If an otherwise quiet medium stack enters the pot for a raise then beware - they may well have a strong holding.
For 100's of quality poker strategy articles and guides to how you can improve your poker profits fast - check out the world's number #1 resource for Poker Tournaments, SNGs and Poker Satellites Now!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mark_R._Holland
http://EzineArticles.com/?Poker-Stack-Sizes---5-Ways-Chip-Stacks-Affect-Your-Play&id=2024053
Tips for Winning Online Poker
Labels: chips, poker, stack, stack size strategy
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