How do you play big stack?

[razshahan]

i also try to steal pots when i'm the big stack, but i don't want to get in with other big stacks. sitting out is probably the worst decision when u've a large stack. u might get into the money, but u will loose handsome portion of ur stack

 

[Propane Goat]

If you're the big stack it's perfectly fine to widen your opening range, however you do not want to start making loose calls when others raise.

This is one of the biggest diseases that I see big stacks become infected with; applying pressure by raising is one thing but don't start gambling and calling pre-flop raises with weak hands (3-betting light is different, but you must know when and when not to), you won't be the big stack for long.

 

[davem86]

I normally play a wider range of hands when I have a big stack at the table. It depends on the stack sizes of other players with me but I def play more hands. I try to not blow my stack up because i have more to gamble with. keep that in mind

 

[Eclipsenz]

If you're the big stack it's perfectly fine to widen your opening range, however you do not want to start making loose calls when others raise.

This is one of the biggest diseases that I see big stacks become infected with; applying pressure by raising is one thing but don't start gambling and calling pre-flop raises with weak hands (3-betting light is different, but you must know when and when not to), you won't be the big stack for long.

This is true but how about raising and if getting shoved by SS with intention to call ?

9 man SNG

I.E its short handed 3 get paid 4-5 ppl left.. u raise ep or button 2.5 or 3bb depending on stack sizes in blinds. You have say.. 3.7k blinds 75,150 or 1/200, so you raise 2.5 with say qj or k10, SS shoves for 1 k total giving you 600 to call, you're priced in really. Are you saying you'd fold?

 

[Propane Goat]

This is true but how about raising and if getting shoved by SS with intention to call ?

9 man SNG

I.E its short handed 3 get paid 4-5 ppl left.. u raise ep or button 2.5 or 3bb depending on stack sizes in blinds. You have say.. 3.7k blinds 75,150 or 1/200, so you raise 2.5 with say qj or k10, SS shoves for 1 k total giving you 600 to call, you're priced in really. Are you saying you'd fold?

Not in this spot. I'm generally referring to calling other people's raises with marginal hands, seeing and missing a flop, then folding to pressure. For example, somebody raises 5x in EP, big stack calls in MP with 74s just for the hell of it, they see a flop, original raiser c-bets, big stack folds.

I just watched somebody triple up in a 10-man DoN during the first couple of levels, which virtually guaranteed him a cash, then he wound up being the bubble boy because he wouldn't stop calling other people's pre-flop raises and wound up spewing off all of his chips. I don't know what he was calling with but it must have been just about ATC, people were raising 10x because he was calling almost every raise, and he would still call, then fold to nearly every c-bet.

 

[Himanshu]

If i have big stack i will put pressure on someone with average number of chips i will be tight against short stack and will not try to play pots with other big stack out of position.

 

[suby_rafael]

I do like to bully shorter stacks if i am well off as i attempt to steal here and there as much i think i can. Especially when i am near the bubble that is really when i ramp it up a bit as they don't want to be risking all their life.

For instance i will give you a few spots from where it is best to steal :

1. Cutoff / hijack - if you have all short stacks to your left and the action folds around to you this is a good spot to open a bit wider than usual.

2. Button - two short stack in the blinds ?? good spot to put pressure here.

3. Small blind - Good spot to steal and resteal. By this i mean if it folds around to you then you can obviously shove on the short stack big blind and steal the blinds. But if the button attempts a steal by making a raise then you can 3bet fairly wide here and attempt a resteal (not recommended if the button is big stack).:shot:

 

[thatgreekdude]

Having a big stack allows you to put additional pressure on your opponents as every time they're always faced with the threat of elimination, if used correctly you should be able to continue building your stack, play smart though. If people play back at you don't feel like you have to call people off with marginals.

 

[hffjd2000]

If you have a big stack, you are now assign to be the table bully.

 

[thefwa]

Often in an MTT, I get in the top 3 positions at one point or another. And give it a couple of rounds I'm down to 10-15th place because I do not play aggressively enough, or when I do play a hand, I don't get enough action.
In turn, I generally bust just short of the bubble or somewhere a little above the mark (15th, 6th, 22nd etc...), and was wondering how I could improve my chances of getting that top spot.
I've seen a lot of other big stacks bully the table, but I rarely have the guts to do so, even when I've got at least double everyone else's stack.
In cash games I generally have the principal, win one big pot every 20-30 mins and I'm making good profit. But I cannot afford to do this in a tournament setting.

So, I'm wondering, whats the best way to play it? What positions/what hands do you play with. How often should you attempt to steal preflop? Whats your VPIP/PFR when your big stacked? And any other criteria that follows suit, do mention!

 

[BubbleGumTurbo]

You need to play a bit more aggressive, but also responsible. Watch the table for several minutes and try to understand every player and when you think they are weak, ( for example just calling in middle/late position ) raise them! Also you need to keep your story on the flop at least by betting again! Late position is the best to do this from, but don't be afraid to do it in middle or early if you have a semi-decent hand! But first don't forget to look at them and get hints about what they might have like how fast they call/raise compared to how fast they called when they had a strong/weak hand previously when you were analyzing the table etc. Good luck!

 

[hffjd2000]

When you are the big stack, your assign job now is to bully the table.

Just remember, being a big stack is temporary. Others will double up and be the new big stack.

 

[joe777]

Get involved more even with some mediocre hand in attempt to see the flop more often and exploit any weakness on the table with some 2 or 3bb raise.

 

[teepack]

Your ultimate goal is to have the biggest stack at the end of the tourney, so you always have to keep that in the back of your mind. Finding yourself in first early in an MTT is always a great feeling, but you are not going to get into first place and then stay there the rest of the tourney. Poker is not like a golf tournament where you can have a great first round and then just stay in first place the rest of the time. You are going to have wild swings in both your chip stack and your position. You just have to remain calm and not panic when your position starts to drop. The things you should always focus on is your position relative to the field (i.e. are you still ahead of most of the field?), your chip stack in comparison to the tourney average (I like to try to keep as close to the tourney average as possible, but in the latter stages of a tourney - after the bubble has burst - my goal is to keep it within 50 percent of the average because that way, I'm just one double-up away from getting back to the average) and your chip stack in comparison to the BB. As long as you have at least 10-12 BBs, there is no reason to panic. Stay calm and play your game. The worst thing you can do is get into first place and then, after you have dropped back into 20th or so, feel like you have to get back into first place and start trying to force the issue. Just stay calm and don't panic.

 

[taban13]

Your ultimate goal is to have the biggest stack at the end of the tourney, so you always have to keep that in the back of your mind. Finding yourself in first early in an MTT is always a great feeling, but you are not going to get into first place and then stay there the rest of the tourney. Poker is not like a golf tournament where you can have a great first round and then just stay in first place the rest of the time. You are going to have wild swings in both your chip stack and your position. You just have to remain calm and not panic when your position starts to drop. The things you should always focus on is your position relative to the field (i.e. are you still ahead of most of the field?), your chip stack in comparison to the tourney average (I like to try to keep as close to the tourney average as possible, but in the latter stages of a tourney - after the bubble has burst - my goal is to keep it within 50 percent of the average because that way, I'm just one double-up away from getting back to the average) and your chip stack in comparison to the BB. As long as you have at least 10-12 BBs, there is no reason to panic. Stay calm and play your game. The worst thing you can do is get into first place and then, after you have dropped back into 20th or so, feel like you have to get back into first place and start trying to force the issue. Just stay calm and don't panic.

GOLDEN WORDS.

 

[TeUnit]

try to be opportunistic...no need to call with bad hands, but against medium stacks you can play small ball and abuse them

even min raises against tight opponents will often work

just be careful with effective stacks around 20bbs because they can resteal and get you pot committed

 

[fumata]

It is very difficult to know exactly when to play aggressively to steal hand. I think it will always depend on the characteristics of the players at the table. In my case I learned to steal to steal no sense. It only becomes a good move when your cards accompany the movement and the value of the bet. I'm not a very experienced player, but rooms less value I won some tournaments. And PS I find it difficult to make foot. This probably has to do with the quality of players, so right now I think it should be played with caution and always betting line with your cards.

 

[fumata]

Sorry for my English.

 

[Farseer]

With big stack and bullying it is usually really +EV to attack weak players or players who want to climb one more step up in prize structure virtually with any 2 cards. Just keep in mind that you can't frighten some players.

If playing with shallow stacks overall I really suggest you take some time to learn correct push- and call-ranges. Most players are totally unaware that they should push from SB usually roughly with any2 against players even little more tighter than they should be. Go and read Kill Everyone, for example.

 

[teepack]

GOLDEN WORDS.

Thank you. Now if I could just practice what I preach!

 

[Mordecoke]

When you play big stack in deep stack MTT marginal hands like 78 suited 98 suited pocket 44's 77's a10off should go up in value.
Try playing these hands in position etc. also be aware that people will be aiming to get in pots with you because you are big stack, they usually just want to get lucky. Don't let them get lucky one you ;D

 

[thefwa]

I hope i don't get too off topic with this, but I had to mention this.
I tried the bullying approach last night in a 1k gtd MTT when I was big stack. For a while it was working, my stack was 4x bigger than anybody elses a little before the bubble hit and the late reg was about to end.

Then all of a sudden I get this calling station come into the game, he had just registered. my stack was around 35k, you start with 3k. I get KK, raise 3bb on the button, he goes all in. I happily welcome it. He hits a boat with 10's and 9's (hole cards 910o). I stay out of a few pots, he's shoved 3 hands in a row, getting callers each one, shoving and winning with marginal hands like QJ etc. At this point he gets his stack to around 29k... in 3-6 rounds!

Long story short, he beat my my ace high flush (had AKs, flopped the flush), with four of a kind 8's. The funny thing, is neither 8 showed up until after the turn, and I let him take the lead in betting on the flop because I was sure I had him beat one way or another. He went all in on the flop,I was sure I had him beat by far. I hit "lol" and called, I see his hand and am extremely relieved that he was basically drawing dead , then all of a sudden two 8's show up... But that's variance i guess right? I made the right play didn't I? And why would he go all in with an obvious flush on the board?
But yeah that was my experience of having my big stack reduced to 3-4 BB...
That guy ended up winning the tournament, I have no idea what kind of poker he plays, but man did I tilt when I was out of the tourney.
Any tips why these kind of guys in a tourney, or was that guy just a luck box?

 

[V6mitg6rewh6re]

Aggressively like most people but not overly aggressive if I'm
Running good I'm gonna play the big stack differently then if I'm running bad, also it depends on the stakes I'm playing, and the type of poker we are playing so it honestly just depends on the situation I'm in but Typical big stack more loose

 

[Alex93CL]

i dont know why but when i do have a bigstack its like i dont know to play poker ) thats how i feel i dont know why and in most parts i loose it verry quickly...

 

[Jull30]

play aggressively with good hands as a rule on a raising the card comes to a hand....