If you’re a winning cash game player, then, in my humble opinion, every time you play, you should always be sitting with the maximum amount possible. If it’s a $0.25/0.50 table, sit with $50, if it’s a $5/10 table, sit with a $1,000 and so on.It sounds tiresome, but this also means refilling each and every time your stack goes below that max – even if it’s only 5% of that maximum sit-down. Of course, if you’re multi-tabling and constant visits to the cashier distract you from your game, apply a policy in which you refill whenever you lose 15% (or a figure that suits you) of your stack.
Whatever you do, make sure you do whatever you deem feasibly possible in order to ensure that when you stumble across that timely double-up, you get the maximum value possible. If you’re seated with $350 when the max is $400, then that’s $50 you’ve lost out on (assuming it’s a 2-way only pot), and those fifties begin to accumulate over the long-run.
Even if you’re a losing player, I’d still advise sitting with the max. One may assume that the more you play with the more you lose, but don’t underestimate the advantage the bigger stacks possess. Too often I see players sitting down with just a $100 on a $2/4 game and, within a matter of minutes, they are chewed up and spat out by the bigger boys.
Having such a monetary disadvantage results in less room to manoeuvre and often sees players moving their shorter stacks all-in with marginal hands (often due to frustration), only to be eaten up by the made hands of the big stacks.
As well as becoming overly-predictable due to this lack of freedom, the smaller stacks instil very little fear in the table. If you are a chipped up, then players are very wary of losing their entire stack and, if they are indeed brave enough to cross swords with you, tend to play hands a lot more passively. As a big stack, this is something you can take advantage of.
If you are either not confident playing with the max or can’t truly afford the figure in question, then you’re playing at the wrong table. Don’t play out of your comfort zone, if losing the max sit-down in one hand scares the life out of you then drop down a level. If you play a nervous passive game, then you will ultimately come out a loser.
If you do lose the lot in one hand and end up with a pile of shrapnel in front of you, don’t just throw it in unnecessarily on the next hand. Leave the table with those pennies or refill, there’s no reason to give money away, however big or small the sum is.
If you play for pure fun rather than financial gain, then feel free to sit down with what you like, but if you’re here to make money, loosen your pockets and stick some spondoolies on the table. Keep refilling until you double-up, and then use your new stack and table image to command the game. Alternatively, you could sit with small figures and watch those dollars disappear. I know which option I would prefer…