Tournaments - For tournaments, you typically need 4 different color chips in order to play a tournament. The ratios of the chip values will typically be about 4-to-1 or 5-to-1. Some typical chip values are: $1-$5-$25-$100 and $5-$25-$100-$500. The higher chip values might sit on the side until a color-up is done. For really big tournaments you.
The Size Of Chip Stacks Is A Vitally Important Concept Defining Your Poker Tournament Strategy – The Lowdown Here.
Awareness of poker chip stack sizes - and how these affect both hand ranges and wider poker strategy - is a skill which separates the great players from the merely good. This article introduces some of the key concepts used when adjusting your strategy due to stack size considerations, presenting these in a format that you can profit from straight away.
- Starting stack of our Nevada Jack Skulls poker chips. Total number of physical poker chips to start with: 21 X 20 = 420 poker chips At some point during the tournament the '25' chips will be useless since the blinds will be in even '100's'. At that point you can 'color up' the '25' chips.
- ICM in poker measures the value of your stack size by converting the chips to real money value at any given moment. It is the reason why many final table deals in tournament poker are based on the Independent Chip Model, or at least that is the starting point of the negotiations.
- This is a good way to make sure you remain a big stack in a poker tournament and avoid risking a ton of chips. Also, as a big stack in a poker tournament you want to be feared by other players. By using a 3 bet before the flop, a lot of the time you will accomplish this goal.
We start with looking at how to objectively define your stack size using some common methods. Next we consider various sizes and note how these affect your plays, this covers open shoving, stealing, restealing and even 4-betting – depending on the depth of your stack. Finally we look at how you might judge whether your opponents understand these concepts, allowing you to spot times when they are being used against you.
Stack Size Strategy Adjustments In Poker Tournaments – How To Measure Your Chip Stack
There are several methods of measuring your stack size for the purposes of adjusting your strategy. While we acknowledge such methods as your ‘Chip Stack Index' and ‘Cost Per Round' this article will focus on the two most widely used – ‘M' and ‘Big Blinds'.
The first was made popular by Dan Harrington and is known as your ‘M' score (see our dedicated article on Harrington's M for more). This shows a number based on the cost in blinds and antes per orbit of the table adjusted for the number of players. Your ‘M' score then puts you in one of several ‘zones' which dictate your strategy constraints.
Since you will usually be at a full (or almost full) table in the tournament setting, we prefer the simple method of working in Big Blinds. This provides us with useful ranges without requiring any calculations. Where antes are also in play you can make a small adjustment by adding half of the ante total on each hand to the big blind total.
The number of big blinds, or ‘M' score, of your own stack is only part of the picture. For example, if your stack is twice as large as those of opponents left in the hand then the maximum that can be won / lost is based on their stacks and not yours. In this case your calculation should be based on theeffective stack sizes (largest of your remaining opponent's stacks) rather than your own.
Stack Size Strategy Adjustments In Poker Tournaments – Strategy Overview
This section looks at the moves it is profitable to make with different stack sizes – we also include an estimate of the ‘M' scores which correspond to each. When reading this we would suggest that your observations of opponents adjust too. For example, if you spot an opponent who often raise / folds with 11 Big Blinds then you have information that he is less likely to be aware of stack size considerations.
Small Stacks: 10 Or Less Big Blinds / 'M' = <5.
Poker Strategy is pretty simple with this size of stack. Any raise you make will commit you to the pot (since the pot-odds to call a reraise will be too good to turn down). Your strategy is thus to push all-in with any hand you intend to play. While you do not have any fold-equity if an opponent raises, you may be able to get one or more limpers to fold, depending on your image and the player(s) involved.
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Medium-Small Stacks: 11 to 17 Big Blinds / 'M' <8
Here your stack is in the range where you should rarely be raising with the intention of folding to a re-raise, since the percentage of your chips at risk is too big in proportion to your potential reward (usually stealing the blinds). Your stack is also getting too large to open push all-in, again the risk is too large compared to the gains.
A stack of this size has the inherent advantage that it is very effective for re-stealing after another player has entered the pot for a raise. Pushing all-in for 15 big blinds after an opponent raises 3 times the blind puts pressure onto your opponent to make a big decision in the hand. Aggressive opponents who would be crippled if they lost the pot are ideal targets – since there is a wide gap between the hands they would open raise with and those hands which are strong enough to call an all-in.
How To Stack Poker Chips In A Tournament Table
Medium Stacks: 18 to 25 Big Blinds / 'M' <12
Now you are in a better position to raise and then fold to a re-raise with far less damage, whether you do this will depend on your opponents of course. Note that if you get re-raised you can not usually force a fold by 4-betting all in. For example if you have a 2000 chip stack at BB100 and raise to 300, a reraise from an opponent to 900 means that your final raise would be only 800 more – with a pot of 2250 (including the blinds) your opponent will have an easy call based on the pot-odds alone.
Restealing is still a viable option with a medium stack, though since the number of chips you risk are greater you should seek to have some insurance against being called in the form of a hand with some value.
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Medium-Large Stacks: 26 to 35 Big Blinds / 'M' <16
Here the flexibility of your stack is allowing you to make some moves (based on your opponent' ranges and stack sizes) that shorter stacks can not make. For example, with 32 big blinds you can re-raise an initial raiser with the intention of folding if your opponent moves all-in with a 4th raise. You might also be able to force a fold by 4-betting all-in yourself (be careful that your opponent is capable of laying down their hand here – some are not!). Open raising with a wide range of hands in late position becomes possible, since opponents with those medium-small stacks who might have re-raised can see that you can call without risking too big a proportion of your chips if you judge yourself ahead of their range.
Large Stacks: 36+ Big Blinds / 'M' >20
Here we have the maximum flexibility, it is this very flexibility which makes it worthwhile keeping your focus on accumulating chips – after all, it would be a shame to lose the ability to 4-bet bluff or 5-bet all-in.
Stack Size Strategy Adjustments In Poker Tournaments – Adjusting To Your Opponents
We already mentioned the obvious example of an opponent raise-folding with <10 blinds. However this is far from being the only method of using information on stack sizes to help you make the right decisions against various opponent types.
While there are no ‘hard and fast' rules when it comes to stack sizes, we expect competent players to be aware of the constraints that stack sizes place you under. If you see a regular winner make certain moves then the number of chips they hold can greatly help you assess their range of holdings.
For example, a player who has shown stack size awareness with a stack of 12 times the blind raises 2.75 times from early middle position – do not expect this player to fold to a reraise, this is likely a strong holding. However, if this same player pushes all-in from late position after a raiser then we can assign a wider range, he will be aware of the pressure he is putting on the initial raiser.
Players who are not aware of stack sizes are another matter, however making the correct adjustments against them will show a profit over time. Unaware players will often telegraph holding a monster hand by making small raises (or re-raises) with these hands and overly large raises with vulnerable holdings and draws.
Noting the tendencies of specific opponents though the tournament will give you an idea of how they are adjusting to the stacks in play. Once you know this the remaining challenge is to adjust your own strategy to beat them.
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More Tip-Top Tournament Strategy Articles:
A skill that is commonly overlooked by novice tournament poker players is that of chip stack management. Managing your chip stack refers to an awareness of the number of chips you have and how your stack size compares to those of your opponents. The changing blind levels and how this relates to your stack and those of your opponents also need to be considered.
The first step is to equate the size of your stack to how many big blinds you have available. This is calculated by dividing the current big blind by the number of chips you possess and dropping any fraction. Thus, a player with 2250 chips at a 50/100 blind level would consider himself to have a 22 big-blind (or 22BB) stack.
Many players typically buy-in to a cash game for around 100BBs, but poker tournaments can vary greatly from that number. For example, most SNGs will start with anywhere from 75 to 150BB stacks while large online tournaments can offer as much as 200BB stacks to begin with. Live deep-stacked tournaments often start with as many as 300BBs – so there's quite a difference. The depth of stacks will have a significant impact on the strategies you employ at the poker table.
Effective Stack Size
How To Stack Poker Chips In A Tournament Board
Before we mention how stack sizes influence our play in certain situations, it's important you understand the concept of effective stack size. As a poker tournament progresses the stack sizes will vary considerably. You may have more chips or fewer chips than an opponent at any given time. The shortest of these stacks is what is considered the effective stack size of the hand since this is the most chips that either player can win from each other. You might have a 50BB stack, but if your opponent only has 10BBs available then your strategy needs to reflect that fact.
It's now time to examine how the size of your stack size will affect your play. Let's start by assessing the strategies you can employ when you're sitting there with a deep stack.
Large (45BBs+)
You have room to play your normal poker game. The early stages of tournaments can often reflect what you might see in a ring game, particularly if the players are really deep-stacked. With this many big blinds in everyone's stacks your full bag of tricks is in play. You can re-steal and still fold to aggression, 4-bet bluff, call in position and speculate with suited connectors and small pairs. You have room to manoeuvre with semi-bluffs, traps and speculative hands without much fear of severely crippling yourself with a mistake or bad read. You have leverage but once the ratio of your stack compared to the blinds starts to get smaller many of these plays can become inefficient. If you are in the 45-60BB range then you also need to be acutely aware of any potential blind level increase.
Medium-Large (35-45BBs)
How To Stack Poker Chips In A Tournament Rules
With this sort of stack size you still have most of your plays available. However, you should generally avoid re-raising in a spot where you would not be willing to call a 4-bet/shove. You will most likely be committed to the hand at this point when comparing the pot odds to the range of hands most opponents would play back at you with. An exception to this would be when you're playing against someone who will fold a very large portion of his opening range. This player is probably raising light with his weaker hands (in an effort to steal the blinds) and will only commit all of his chips with the very best of holdings. Against random opponents you will usually not have that read so avoiding the situation is usually best.
Medium (23-35BBs)
How To Stack Poker Chips In A Tournament Game
With this stack size you have some breathing room but will need to be cautious in what hands you decide to open raise with. Limping small pairs and speculative hands is no longer an option as your implied odds are just not available with this stack size. However, this isn't to say that you can't raise with them in the right situation. Just be very selective when you're in early position. In late position you can be very aggressive, especially if the players in the blinds are not liable to re-steal or re-raise very much. Also, if you're considering a re-raise from the blinds with the high end of this size stack (30-35BBs), a good tactic may be what is known as a 'go-and-go'. This is when you make a re-raise to roughly 30% of your stack and, if your opponent just calls, you can shove on any flop – unless you happen to flop a very strong hand. A hand like A-Q or A-J is ideal for this tactic.
Medium-Short (14-22BBs)
Almost any hand that you decide to raise with should be one that you are willing to go with all the way, should you be re-raised pre-flop. In fact, this is very often the ideal stack size to re-raise all-in with. If you are going to re-raise then it will be for at least half of your chips. By doing this you are committing yourself to the hand so you might as well go ahead and get it all in. This also means you can take advantage of any fold equity you might have, which is your ability to make your opponent fold and take down the pot uncontested.
Short (8-13BBs)
You're now a short-stack and don't have much room to play with. Your aim should be to double up and get back in the game. Any move you make pre-flop that isn't a fold should be an all-in shove. While you should be somewhat selective with your hand ranges, you don't have time to wait for Aces of Kings. Other factors may determine just how wide your range of shoving hands will be (like the bubble of a SNG) but you should not be afraid of playing for your stack. If antes are in play then shoving when you have as many as 15BBs in usually correct – since the size of the pot is that much larger and worth fighting for.
Very Short (4-7BBs)
When you're this close to the felt you will need to act fast. The blinds (and antes if in play) are going to take a significant chunk of your chips so you need to build your stack back up and out of the danger zone. If you play a hand then it must be for all your chips. You have no room for traps and tricks. In fact, things like limping and min-raises will draw more suspicion from your opponents than an all-in move would.
Critically Short (under 4BBs)
If it folds to you then you're probably going to have to shove with any two cards, no matter what your position at the table. Unless there is a very good reason (the bubble of a satellite for one) the best thing to do is to push-and-pray, especially if it is still early in the tournament. Clearly, you have no fold equity and won't threatenanybody with your stack. The odds are that you will be called by just about anything and will have to win at a showdown.
Conclusion
Realize that many poker players at the lowest levels will not know about the concept of chip stack management. They will instinctively know that it's correct to shove a short stack or call a bit wider in some spots, but you will find many of your opponents to be generally unaware of how their chip stack should be used.
Your chips can be used as weapons and are often more important than your actual cards. The more weapons you possess, the more options you have available to you during the course of a poker tournament. A large stack gives you the most flexibility while a short stack will constrain you greatly, often limiting you to a push-or-fold strategy.
You're now a short-stack and don't have much room to play with. Your aim should be to double up and get back in the game. Any move you make pre-flop that isn't a fold should be an all-in shove. While you should be somewhat selective with your hand ranges, you don't have time to wait for Aces of Kings. Other factors may determine just how wide your range of shoving hands will be (like the bubble of a SNG) but you should not be afraid of playing for your stack. If antes are in play then shoving when you have as many as 15BBs in usually correct – since the size of the pot is that much larger and worth fighting for.
Very Short (4-7BBs)
When you're this close to the felt you will need to act fast. The blinds (and antes if in play) are going to take a significant chunk of your chips so you need to build your stack back up and out of the danger zone. If you play a hand then it must be for all your chips. You have no room for traps and tricks. In fact, things like limping and min-raises will draw more suspicion from your opponents than an all-in move would.
Critically Short (under 4BBs)
If it folds to you then you're probably going to have to shove with any two cards, no matter what your position at the table. Unless there is a very good reason (the bubble of a satellite for one) the best thing to do is to push-and-pray, especially if it is still early in the tournament. Clearly, you have no fold equity and won't threatenanybody with your stack. The odds are that you will be called by just about anything and will have to win at a showdown.
Conclusion
Realize that many poker players at the lowest levels will not know about the concept of chip stack management. They will instinctively know that it's correct to shove a short stack or call a bit wider in some spots, but you will find many of your opponents to be generally unaware of how their chip stack should be used.
Your chips can be used as weapons and are often more important than your actual cards. The more weapons you possess, the more options you have available to you during the course of a poker tournament. A large stack gives you the most flexibility while a short stack will constrain you greatly, often limiting you to a push-or-fold strategy.
Keeping track of your chip stack and be able to effectively adjust your playing strategy is perhaps the most important skill a tournament player can possess, especially with regards to the endgame or final table play. With practice you'll be able to master this skill and have a considerable edge over the vast majority of your opponents. Take the time to recognize these situations and good luck at the tables.
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By Rick 'RyckyRych' Perlini
Rick has been playing poker since 2007 and is a low-stakes online SNG specialist. He has been a highly active and well-respected member of the Pokerology community for several years.
