Best Poker Online Free Games Guide To Why Stack Size Matters So Much

Many poker players, typically newer ones playing online poker games free but also, and they should know better, some cash players play hands with scant regard for the specific situation they are in. This leads to mistakes that can cost them a lot of chips and money despite the fact that they're often playing with strong hands.

One common mistake that I see players make is neglecting to account for how the size of their chip stack may dictate the best way to play their hand. When I started playing poker over five years ago, I made the same error.

The optimum play with a particular hand depends on many factors including your chip stack. What would be a good move for a player with a big stack could be a very bad for a small chip stack player.

To put it plainly: size matters. That is not to say that bigger is indeed better. Being "deep-stacked" has its advantageous, but small stacks can be equally effective at the poker table.

A Deep Stack Expands Options

With regard to this article, I'm going to define deep stacks as stacks that are roughly 125 big blinds or over. Others may define a deep stack as a bit less or even more than that range of big blinds, but almost no one would consider a stack of 35 big blinds or less as a deep stack.

I generally adhere to the idea that deep-stack play is better than small-stack play. Most professional pokers would agree.

It is because deep stacks give you more room for taking advantage of implied odds. Quite simply, you're allowed more freedom with regards to starting hand requirements. It is possible to play small pocket pairs hoping to flop your set or small suited connectors hoping to flop a flush or straight.

If you miss the flop, you can fold and wait for a better situation. You can be more patient because the blinds aren't much of a concern; they won't eat up your chip stack that much.

Another benefit of being deep-stacked is maximizing your profits. If you are the biggest stack is it a lot easier to extract maximum chips from your opponents. This is not true for short stacks.

Let's look at an example of this: If you're the biggest stack with $900 chips and one player calls your all-in bet with his $600 in chips and you win, then you take all his money.

Now let's consider another example: If you're a small stack with $five hundred chips and the biggest stack with $800 in chips calls your all-in bet and you win, you cannot take all his money. He'll be left with $300 chips as you didn't have enough money to play for all his chips.

That's one of the pitfalls of the short stack, but there are some benefits.

A Shorts Stack Boosts Tight, Hyper-Aggressive Play

If you are short stacked it forces you to play for all your chips in every hand you play. You are forced to play premium hands such as big face cards and pocket pairs.

You often won't be getting the right price to play small pocket pairs and suited connectors. Those hands need to see the flop cheaply, and every hand played is expensive for a short stack.

The best move is to get all your chips in the middle with big pairs before the flop or to shove if you hit top pair on the flop. You don't have the chance to wait since the blinds will eat you alive.

One obvious benefit of this essentially all-in or fold strategy is the fact that it forces you to play tighter. An additional advantage of this type of play is that it's harder to get outplayed by more skilled post-flop players.

Your decisions are pretty straight forward: push or fold. There's no need to concern yourself with the subtleties of the game like betting the right amount or knowing when you should fold the second best hand.

There is also the strange psychological advantage you'll possess. For some reason, many deep stack players don't treat short stack players with much respect. They assume that you're buying in for a small amount as you have a small bankroll or aren't very proficient.

It is not unusual for the big stack to pay off a short stack player by calling with weaker than usual hands.

I still feel that deep stack play is preferable, but I've faced some challenging short stack players and would not underestimate their expertise.

If you would like play poker online for free or after reading this realise that your stack play could do with focus then the best way to improve fast is to play free poker games online. When you play risk free you can test things out but without the pressure of possible money loss and that makes a significant difference! And if you want learn to play poker for beginners courses then the free poker sites have great intro lessons too.