Education Blog

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You need to know how many chips everyone has at the table to make good decisions in no limit holdem. Let’s list a few hands that show why stack size needs to be in your thought process. Then, I think you will agree that stack size is key.

Here is a simple hand situation showing how play varies due to stack size. You are in a NL Holdem game with $1/$2 blinds. You are in the small blind with no action yet. You have $500 and hold 4,4. The player that’s the big blind has only $25, so you can simply go all in or make a bet and push after the flop. This should make you money.

Let’s say the big blind has $500. Now, the all in play doesn’t look so good. You will win the $3 a lot, but will get crushed when you are called. You don’t make enough $3 hands to cover the $500 loss when it happens.

How about this. Would you put $100k in there for the $3. If the only hand that calls you is A,A (1/220 times), this is what happens. You win three dollars 219 times and then, bam, you go broke.

If you could convince the guy with a $25 stack to only play A,A you can push all in and make money consistently. You will show a nice profit even without ever winning when he has A,A.

Now, let’s say you have 3,3 with $500. The blinds are $1/$2 and you limp in. The BB raises to $10. Depending on his stack you could call, fold, or raise.

With a $15 stack you could do any of the three choices. It would depend on your read of this opponent. Now, when his stack is $40 this becomes an easy fold.

You only get your three of a kind 12.5% of the time and the max payout is only five times if you can even get an all in call. A $500 stack means you need to call or maybe even raise. With either play you can get enough value from the hand when it goes right.

Holding 6,7 suited is a good hand when the table is full of chips. You can make big bucks when this type of hand hits. When everyone is short stacked this hand just can’t get paid enough on the few times it actually hits.

When you have a big pocket pair, like A,A or K,K you can find yourself in some tough situations. This hits home when when everyone has a lot of chips. These hands can be tough to fold after the flop and can be very costly when your opponent hits and you don’t.

These are some simple cases that show the basic reasons why stack size is so important in no limit holdem. With everyone having a different stack size, it can get very complicated deciding what to do. You always need to do your best, as hands play out, to determine how every players chip stack will affect future play.

When everyone has radically different stack sizes this can get complex. Regardless, when you want to bet, you have to consider the stack size of each player involved.