Poker Articles

Stack Size Matters

by Tommy Angelo

I have a book coming out in the fall called "Elements of Poker." The plot is thin, the characters are underdeveloped, and the setting is a table. But there sure is a bunch of stuff about stacks! Three of the 145 "elements" have the same name: "Stack Size Matters." One is in the "Tournament" section, one is in the "No-Limit" section, and one is in the "Limit" section. Below are excerpts from all three.

 

104. Stack Size Matters (Tournaments)

At every moment of every hand, there is either someone still in the pot who has a bigger stack than you do, or there isn't. This is data of life and death. To stay alive, you need to be vigilant - you need to know which foes could kill you. During the pre-flop betting, pay extra attention to the players who have you covered. Not for any reason in particular. Just as a habit. The same way a pilot looks at the altimeter.

After the pre-flop betting is over, when you are waiting for the flop, that's the time to stop.

And eliminate surprises. If there is anything you might need to know about the stack sizes during this hand, the time to know it is now.

Only if you know the stack sizes can you make good guesses time and again as to whether or not an opponent is approaching or has passed his commitment threshold.

Only if you know the stack sizes can you decipher the betting actions of your opponents that are based on stack size. And because so many betting decisions are influenced by stack size, stack size information is a valuable hand-reading tool.

Only if you know the stack sizes can you anticipate inevitable betting that is caused by the stack sizes. For example, it's halfway through a tournament and you have a par stack. Everyone folds to you on the button. You look at your cards. They tell you to fold. You listen to your gut. It tells you to raise. The timing is perfect to steal. You know it. You feel it. But wait. Look here. The guy in the big blind hardly has any chips left. If you raise, he will call for sure. With no hope of winning the pot without a showdown, it becomes correct to fold, and that's what you do. Good thing you looked!

127. Stack Size Matters (No-Limit)

Stack size at no-limit is a meta sphere variable. Consciously or subconsciously, matters of stack size are where I look both first and last for answers. When I am buying in, adding on, changing seats, quitting, or playing a hand, it's as if before each decision I ask myself, "How much do the stack sizes matter to me in making this decision?"

Here are three situations - one where stack sizes are all that matters, one where they don't matter, and one in between.

I'm at the final table of a tournament with a huge stack. A very short stack goes all-in under the gun before the flop. Everyone folds around to me in the big blind. It will cost a small fraction of my stack to call. So I call. I don't need to look at my cards, I don't need to know anything about my opponent, and position is made irrelevant by the all-in. I call based on stack sizes only.

Playing $10/20 blinds cash game, Joe and I both have $2,000. It's folded to Joe in the small blind. Joe calls and I check in the big blind. The betting on the flop is check, check. The betting on the turn is check, check. On the river, Joe checks. The pot is $40. It's my turn. This is a case where my betting decision would not be influenced by the stack sizes.

$10/20 blinds. The game is full and wild. Joe and Moe are both gambling it up big. They both have $8,000. Joe opens the pot under the gun for $200. Moe calls as usual right behind him. Everyone folds to me on the button. I look left and I can see that both blinds are folding. What should I do?

What's that? You want to know what my cards are before you give your answer? Okay. I have pocket aces. So then, what should I do?

What's that? You still can't give an answer? Now you say you need to know my stack size?

I used to think like that, cards first, and then stack size. Now it's the other way around. Let's return to the third example above, and let's say I have $2,000. No matter what my cards are - whether I get a pocket pair or A-K or suited connectors - I'm going to be playing a $2,000 stack this hand. That's the foundation. That's what determines my all-in thresholds, which then influence my bet sizes.

Know generally which stacks are bigger than yours and which stacks are smaller than yours. Know specifically the sizes of the stacks smaller than yours.

120. Stack Size Matters (Limit)

Constantly survey your opponents' stacks for two reasons. The first reason is to stay informed of all the swings in the game. You'll know who has been winning, and losing, and how much and how long. The second reason is that you will never be surprised by a player going all-in. If you have ever had this thought - "If only I had noticed that Joe was nearly all-in, I would have played this hand differently." - then you know the frustration that comes from throwing away theoretical money in this way, and from missing out on an opportunity to do something neat. Here's an example:

The pot is three-handed. Joe is first to act, then me, then Moe. We're at the flop, and Joe has exactly two big bets. (Which equals four small bets.) On the flop, Joe checks, I bet, Moe calls, and Joe check-raises. It's my turn, and it's one small bet to me. Joe has exactly two small bets left. I know Joe well enough to know that if I re-raise to three bets, Joe will make it four bets, all-in. It can be correct for me to just call here on the flop (rather than re-raise) for the specific purpose of leaving Joe with one full big bet, so that when Joe bets the turn, I can raise and put two-bet pressure on Moe.

I hate to miss out on stuff like that. I feel like I've lost money when I do. So I scan the stacks.

For optimization, it is imperative to maintain a sizable stack at limit hold'em at all times. Begin every session with at least two racks. A rack is 100 chips. N e v e r begin a hand with less than a rack. To insure that you do not begin a hand with less than a rack, you must start every hand with enough chips so that if you lose a big pot, you will still have more than a rack in front of you when two new hole cards come your way right away. This means you need to have a rack and a half on the table at the start of every hand, at the very least. A two rack minimum is best. When you add on to your stack, do it shamelessly by the rack.

The above paragraph applies to games that do not allow cash on the table. For games that do allow cash on the table, well, see the above paragraph. It still applies. It just takes more work. The logistics of a cash-and-chips game can make it so that you might even have to go to the cage yourself, maybe every couple hours, to keep your chip stack thick and high. Do it. Have chips.

If you do these things, here is what you can expect:

Every time you hit a hot streak, you'll have at least three or four racks of chips on the table, maybe more. You will grow accustomed to having a beautiful stack of chips in front of you. And so will your opponents.

When you are stuck, you won't look like it. New players who join the game will not know that you are stuck, and existing players will forget.

Every time you leave the game, no matter how much you lose, no matter how bad you feel, you will always have a decently-sized stack of chips to rack up, which means you will never look like a pathetic loser who goes bust and walks away in disgust, which means maybe, just maybe, you won't feel like one either.

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About the Author:

Tommy Angelo has written a book called "Elements of Poker" in which he shares hundreds of his very best ideas in a manner intended to amuse, inform, inspire, and enlighten. You can read many excerpts from EOP at Tommy's website: www.tommyangelo.com. And you can order personally inscribed copies there. Elements of Poker is also available at amazon.com.