How To Play A Big Stack

The start of your tournament has been good to you. You've quadrupled your starting chip stack and easily outdistanced the other players at your table. Too often, when players run into this situation they don't know what to do. They will play recklessly, feeling as if they are unbeatable, and before they know it they find themselves back to where they began, or even worse out of the tournament all together.

Knowing how to play a big stack in the early to middle stages can do two things. First, it can prevent the well known big stack melt down that we've all heard of and experienced. Second, it can increase your chips in a controlled manner and put you in a position to not only make it deep in a tournament, but to find yourself in the high money positions, which is what tournament poker is all about. This article is going to discuss some strategies and concepts for playing a big stack in the early to middle stages of a tournament.

The problem most players have with playing a big stack is that they try and let their chips do their talking for them. Granted, chips are a powerful weapon in a poker tournament. Outside of holding a big hand, having more chips than your opponent is a huge advantage. Blindly thinking, however, that your chips are a license to win any hand you play is a mistake. There are several different ways to play a big stack in the early to middle stages, but each of these are dependent upon the players at your table and how they are playing. More than anything, this is the most important factor to consider when playing a big stack. When you read the following concepts, please understand that no concept can be applied without an understanding of how the players at your table are playing.

Open raise more

One thing you should certainly do if you are a big stack is open raise more often. This doesn't mean that you open raise every hand (although doing so on the money bubble might not be a bad play), but it's something you should be doing at least two to three times per orbit. Ideally, you want to attack blinds that are survival minded and are more likely to fold. Another consideration is the size of the stacks left to act. If there is another large stack left to act, you should still open raise but if the other large stack is the type of player who will call or re-raise a lot, then you will need to tighten up.

Re-steal more often

One of the huge advantages a big stack has comes through their ability to re-steal without jeopardizing their entire stack. Other players at the table will often attack the blinds of weak, tight players regardless of the fact that you and your big stack is sitting in between them. If you are able to identify those players who are doing this, a well timed re-steal can be a huge source of chips and can increase your stack even more. Ideally what you are looking for is a person who open raises first to act often and who does so on player's blinds that you have identified as weak/tight. Pop them with a good re-raise and they will fold all but the best of hands more often than not.

Use position

A great way to use a big stack is by using position. What this means is that you should see flops and/or make pre-flop re-raises. The re-raise can work in two different ways. Your opponent's will fold or they will call and defer to you on the flop giving you a chance to pick up the pot. Limping in and/or calling raises in position pre-flop will often lead to your opponent's checking to you and giving you the opportunity to pick up a pot.

Slow playing

One advantage of having a big stack is that you are able to take more chances. It is usually not a good idea to slow play big hands but when you are being active and aggressive and have a big stack, occasionally slow playing could be a good source of additional chips. The key thing for setting up these slow plays is to play the hand the same way you have been playing all your other hands. For example, if you have been open raising frequently with three times the big blind raises and pick up pocket aces, then do the same thing. If you've been flat calling raises on the button and then betting when it's checked to you on the flop, then do the same thing.