A weekend or two ago I received a text message from a blondeite friend. It was after the first day of a two day festival event and it said, “I am in the final, massive chip leader. I have 140,000. Average is 50,000.” I sent a good luck message back and took the kids to the park and awaited the inevitable victory message in the evening. Imagine my surprise when at about 4.30pm the mobile phone beeped… ”Out 7th. Write an article on keeping a big stack!”Well that has taken quite a while to be frank as my experience in this sphere is rather limited… I’m a steady grinder used to dealing with a big stack not being one! Anyway, I got to thinking and thought I would challenge conventional wisdom. Conventional wisdom on big stacks to my mind being 'bully the table, be the table captain, pressure the medium stacks' etc etc.
However what if this is not your natural game? Of course getting a big stack and then playing it beautifully is second nature to some… I’ve seen JP Kelly (left) do it and I’ve seen Julian Thew (below-right) do it and both have been nigh on unplayable, especially around the bubble. If it isn't naturally you though, there are pitfalls I see amongst the recreational players I regularly play against. So here’s a big stack guide for the passive or rock tight player!
How many times have you been in a tournament and seen someone win a few huge pots early on, only to see them eliminated shortly afterward? A few people I play with regularly even consider it bad luck to have the big stack early in a tournament. So why is this? The answer is simple. The passive player with the huge chip lead starts to relax, play looser, and take more risks, opening himself up to more losses. As these losses pile up, he can't get out of that mode, and soon finds himself with no chips.The first mistake a generally passive player will make when he finds himself in the chip lead is playing too many hands because that is the 'thing to do'. I’ve been there, and I moved myself out of my comfort zone. The player will spend a few chips to see a flop when he normally would have folded, just because he can afford it now. The thought is that if he makes his hand he'll be able to further increase his lead, and if he doesn't it won't make a big dent in his chip count. The problem with doing this is that he is playing more hands that are less likely to be winners, so his chip count will slowly deteriorate as he goes for long shot after long shot.
The other big pitfall is the tendency to call players with shorter stacks when they go all in. The rationale is that even if they lose, they still have a considerable chip count, and strong overall position, and if they win, then they can eliminate an opponent and get that much closer to winning the tournament. The problem with this is that if you call in this manner with marginal hands, you are setting yourself up to have large chunks of your chips taken from you, while at the same time doubling up your opponent and giving him new life. If you don't have a good enough hand where you think you are likely to win, why call the all in? Overwhelming pot odds or automatic calls of those in the 'dead zone' apart, why do it? If the short stack is low enough, then the blinds will force him all in again soon, and maybe that time you will have a better hand.
When you have the larger stack, time is on your side. You can afford to pay the blinds when they come around, while others are trying to figure out if this hand is their 'last best chance' to stay alive.
You need to have patience to be a good poker player. Why shouldn’t that be true when you command most of the chips at table? If you sit back and wait while the rest of the players battle, it isn’t necessarily a bad thing for the passive player by disposition. Don't take unnecessary risks that will help bail out your opponents. Time is on your side.
This advice doesn't mean that you shouldn't use the size of your stack to your advantage. If you detect weakness in your opponent, force him to go all in or get out of the way. Make sure he knows that every pot he enters could very well be his last. If you act first you can probably get away with betting when you might not have the best hand. If you show strength before you opponents act they might be less apt to go all in against you. Don't let your opponents see cards for cheap, force them to make a decision before they make their hand. Just make sure that you pick your spots so that it is best for you, and not your opponents.Having the big stack in a tournament gives you a huge advantage, as long as you are patient, and don't try to force anything. Play tight aggressive, and you should be able to carry your stack throughout the tournament.
Now having re-read this I have to fully accept that this advice is not best suited to a high quality field, but in my experience it works in your smaller regular casino games and may have worked better for my friend than the gung ho approach of "have big stack must bully" that seemed to result in an early exit.
I speak from current experience, 24 out of 31 final tables (and more than half of those top three finishes ) in a row in my regular live game where the majority of my opponents have one major failing: lack of patience and a need to 'force it', particularly on final tables.
For me, Steady wins the race and all that!