Stack sizes – What They Can Tell You?

If you have been playing online poker for a while, then you would probably be familiar with short stacked and deep stacked poker strategies. There are pros and cons to both, but when you first sit down at the table, you should be aware that there are certain generalizations you can make just based on stack sizes, and you want to use this information to your advantage.

It’s an important concept to understand because if you the players at the table are unknown to you, which happens a lot in online poker because there is a huge player pool especially at low limit games.

So what can stack sizes tell you about a poker player?

Well, first of all you need to understand that the good players tend to play with deep stacks because they are winning players and their bankroll can support it. If a player is playing with a full buy-in, it would be safe to assume they are a decent player, until proven otherwise. In other words, they are not playing with scared money, which forces some players to make mistakes.

When it comes to short stacked players, generally there are two different playing styles for players with small stacks. The first type of short stacker plays too many hands and generally is a bad player. Quite often they will be limping in pots and playing their hands without extracting max value The other type of short stacker plays a very tight game since he is playing with scared money. These players are more then likely taking a shot at a new level and don’t want to risk losing a full buy-in because their bankroll doesn’t support it. Basically, they will wait until they have a good starting hand and will be looking to get all the chips in the middle on the flop or turn.

It doesn’t matter what type of player you play again, you can use this information on stack sizes to your advantage. Try and isolate the bad short stackers who are playing too many hands. If they limp in, throw in a big raise if you have a premium hand and extract max value from your hands. These players are calling down with rubbish, so keep betting when you make a hand. Play tight aggressive poker and don’t try and bluff the loose short stacker.

Regarding your own stack, you should try and avoid playing with a short stack. Even though some players prefer playing short stacked poker, I have never liked this strategy because it is very limiting with the number of hands you can play. When you are playing with a deep stack, there are so many more hands you can speculate with, especially hands like suited connectors and suited aces which can make big hands. If you are playing with a small stack it’s not possible to play hands which make big hand because you are not getting the correct odds.

Instead of trying to limit your losses by playing with a smaller stack, think about how much value you are missing out on by not being able to play as many hands.

Click here to visit Bodog Poker – Still accepting US Players!

Click here for more Poker Strategy articles