Big Stack Lesson (poker warning) [Lester]
Most people who play forms of no-limit poker know that there are advantages built into having a large stack at the table.
1.) You have more resources to fire at your opponents. Typically it is you putting them all-in, rather than being all-in.
2.) It is imposing to play against big stacks, you wonder how they accumulated their chips and whether you should tangle with them or not.
3.) When playing in a tournament, if you have 3x the number of chips as your opponent, a raise that is a mere 8% of your stack represents almost 1/4 of your opponents stack. In real life, $1 means less to a wealthy person than it does to a poor person--same concept applies to a tournament game.
4.) Again, in tournaments, a big stack allows you to take more shots at your opponents and endure a greater number of bad beats. It's armor.
5.) A bigger stack, if you are all-in, nets you more chips if you win.
and finally, 6, which is a corollary to 5. This is a lesser known concept but is very important when playing in cash games.
6.) A bigger stack, when playing against another big stack allows you to prospect with a wider range of hands, profitably.
If you are sitting a $1/2 No-limit Hold 'Em game with a maximum $200 buy-in, and have been able to accumulate to $800, and are now faced by a raise to $8 from a guy with $600 in chips, the implied odds pre-flop of playing a greater number of hands greatly increases. It may now be more profitable to call that raise with 6s7s or even 5s7s. In the event that you do catch your hand, you may be able to hit the nuts and squeeze every drop of your opponents $600, all for calling a measly raise of $8. A lot, of course depends on your table image and being able to represent a wider range of hands so that you have semi-bluffing/full-bluffing opportunities for those times when you don't flop the nuts and enough looseness to get the all-in action when you want it. But in general, having a big stack at a NL table (which usually have maximum buy ins) allows you greater freedom to spend on cards unlikely to perform but have the potential to net you a relative fortune. If you only had $200, and had to call a raise of $8, the maximum you could win in a heads-up pot with a bigger stack would be about $200, whereas your bigger stack would allow you to win $600 or if covered, $800 under the same conditions. You do, however run the risk of losing more hands and your stack in one hand, but it's up to you to show enough discipline and skill not to.
A real-life example might be similar to lottery. It's why more people buy $1 tickets when the jackpot is $100 million, versus $20 million. The same amount of money is invested in the beginning, the rules of the game and odds don't change, but the potential top end payout is much greater.
Hope you enjoyed the technical jargon. Back soon with tips on evaluating opponents, relative strength and proper adjustments.
1.) You have more resources to fire at your opponents. Typically it is you putting them all-in, rather than being all-in.
2.) It is imposing to play against big stacks, you wonder how they accumulated their chips and whether you should tangle with them or not.
3.) When playing in a tournament, if you have 3x the number of chips as your opponent, a raise that is a mere 8% of your stack represents almost 1/4 of your opponents stack. In real life, $1 means less to a wealthy person than it does to a poor person--same concept applies to a tournament game.
4.) Again, in tournaments, a big stack allows you to take more shots at your opponents and endure a greater number of bad beats. It's armor.
5.) A bigger stack, if you are all-in, nets you more chips if you win.
and finally, 6, which is a corollary to 5. This is a lesser known concept but is very important when playing in cash games.
6.) A bigger stack, when playing against another big stack allows you to prospect with a wider range of hands, profitably.
If you are sitting a $1/2 No-limit Hold 'Em game with a maximum $200 buy-in, and have been able to accumulate to $800, and are now faced by a raise to $8 from a guy with $600 in chips, the implied odds pre-flop of playing a greater number of hands greatly increases. It may now be more profitable to call that raise with 6s7s or even 5s7s. In the event that you do catch your hand, you may be able to hit the nuts and squeeze every drop of your opponents $600, all for calling a measly raise of $8. A lot, of course depends on your table image and being able to represent a wider range of hands so that you have semi-bluffing/full-bluffing opportunities for those times when you don't flop the nuts and enough looseness to get the all-in action when you want it. But in general, having a big stack at a NL table (which usually have maximum buy ins) allows you greater freedom to spend on cards unlikely to perform but have the potential to net you a relative fortune. If you only had $200, and had to call a raise of $8, the maximum you could win in a heads-up pot with a bigger stack would be about $200, whereas your bigger stack would allow you to win $600 or if covered, $800 under the same conditions. You do, however run the risk of losing more hands and your stack in one hand, but it's up to you to show enough discipline and skill not to.
A real-life example might be similar to lottery. It's why more people buy $1 tickets when the jackpot is $100 million, versus $20 million. The same amount of money is invested in the beginning, the rules of the game and odds don't change, but the potential top end payout is much greater.
Hope you enjoyed the technical jargon. Back soon with tips on evaluating opponents, relative strength and proper adjustments.
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