Well, I don't really consider a stack that's only 2x average stack as a "big stack". You're doing well in the tourney, but I think people tend to overplay stacks that are larger than average, but not "big stacks" (I'd consider 5x average or more big for the tourney, or 4 times as big as any opponent on your table to be big stack at your table if you're under 5x average).

Remember, you can piss those chips away just as easy as anyone else - all you have to do is start pushing some marginal hands for their value too hard and presto! - in the space of a couple of pots you've come crashing back down to earth.

When I do have the big stack, I do use it to push people around. In these situations when I've decided to make a play, do the cards matter? A little. But what matters the most is the situation: Am I in position, will my opponents lay down medium strength hands if I push them to the brink, do the blinds defend or can I steal, can I make a squeeze play after an known loose player makes an early raise, what is my table image, how is the table playing, etc. And of course, how far off is the money. The closer it gets, the tighter people tend to play, the more aggressive I become with a big stack in favorable situations.

Of course, don't take it too far. 1) don't overuse the power, or people will start to push back with anything. 2) If your opponents don't bend to your will and you're holding 72o trying to steal, don't get into a war (don't bring a knife to a gunfight). Learning when and how to back down are very important.

yea so how do i recognize these opportunities?

can u suggest some good reading on this?

something that explains nice situations for pushes, when to back down, how hard to push and how to read their response should they have one other than a fold.

those kinds of things


What I find happens to myself is much like you said above jason... i will spend an hour working my stack up to a pretty strong stack, and watch it crumble in 3 or 4 disasterous hands...

generally they hit their flush or i dont successfully bluff... i guess...

ive read some of the chapter in super system 2 on no limite holdem and doyle explains his power poker and how he pushes on peoples chip stack...

As much as I am tempted to try his techniques... it just seems as though i would bust out in no time flat...

its like the majority of the time, when i push on someone, they have a made hand and im simply playing right into them

Ok, here's an example:

middle stages of a tourney, 300 players started now there's 100 left. Average stack size is about 3000. 40 places pay, but the real $ starts at 20th. You've gotten a couple of great situations, busting two players on a nut flush with A3h early, then taking out another sizable stack with AA against AK, then making some great hands that have been shown down to the table and now you're sitting with about 15K in chips, 4th overall.

There's one other good sized stack (8K) at the opposite side of your table, middling stacks between 3-5K, and one short stack (to your immediate right) at about 2K. Blinds just went up to 75/150. Table has been playing fairly tight, but we often see one limper start a chain reaction of limpers.

The other large stack limps in 2nd position, pick up 4 callers, comes around to you in the button. Is this an opportunity to steal?

Well, there's $825 in the pot, and lets say we know the rest of the players who have called in are fairly straightforward, some of them tight and some of them loose. The only stack that threatens us is the big one who we've seen fold a couple of limps to good sized raises. We've shown some big hands down at the table, and have played pretty tight. So I think I'm going to make a move with any semblence of a hand. I look down, and have JTo - not great objectively, but in this situation strong enough to make a play for the pot.

So we raise to 8xbb (1200) - basically making the smaller stacks play for their tournament life if they want to see the flop.

So there's now three situations we face: 1) everyone folds to us, and we take down the pot. 2) We pick up one or more callers, then have to consider what our options are on the flop. 3) We get a reraise from one of the limpers, indicating a very strong hand or very courageous bluff (which I fold to every time).

In this situation, if we've made good reads, we're going to pick up the pot most of the time. When we're called, if we hit the flop then we can play, if we don't we're in position to pick up the pot with a continuation bet. If we're reraised, we let it go.

We've leveraged our position, our reads on our opponents, our chipstack, a mediocre but not terrible hand, our table image (tight and powerful), and our understanding of the table play (tight & timid).

Here's another example:

Same table, right after we steal that last pot. Table is now really tight, folds around to us in the CO. We pick up 55. We raise to 4-5x BB to take the pot down. We DO NOT LIMP TO HIT OUR SET. EVER (unless we lose the big stack).

We're always making the other players make decisions for their tournament life. We're way out in front, we don't need to play speculative hands for a limp and hope we hit - frankly we don't want to play that many hands (don't want to seem loose). But when we do play a hand, we wade in heavy against the shorter stacks. Always putting the pressure on them, always threatening them with elimination.

Basically, we want to pick up pots in waves, then fall back and let the table play for a while. Then jump back in and win a couple, then fall back again. So each time it appears as though we're on a mini-rush.

We've got to set up these plays by folding a lot. We don't want to play too many hands - this is a huge mistake that players make on the big stack - the table will think we're loose and we won't have the credibility we need to take down pots uncontested. We want to nurture that tight-powerful image we've created early on. In fact, in a live game, I maybe even give up one hand where I'm reraised with something legitimate - say AQ and show it before I fold just to reinforce that image that when I'm coming in, I'm coming in strong. And I definitely show down strong hands when I win uncontested - made flushes & straights, 2 pair, TPTK, overpairs, etc.

Ok, last one for the day (I'm killing time right now even though I'm incredibly busy).

So when do we not push? Here's a hand I still have nightmares about, and it's why I call A5s my nemesis hand.

Late into a MTT. I've got about 6x avg chipstack, something like 3rd overall. The rest of the stacks are just middling, table starting to tighten up. Then UTG raises, everyone folds, I fold in the SB, and a middle stack immediately to my left goes all in in the BB and gets called by UTG. BB's AK holds up against UTG's AQ, and he doubles up to nearly 2/3 of my stack.

Very next hand, folds around to me on the button. I pick up A5s, blinds are 75/150. I raise to 450 to steal the blinds. The SB (was BB last hand and just doubled up) reraises all in, BB folds. Usually in this situation after someone doubles up, they'll just fold anything, so you can take advantage. So this screams strength or an incredibly crafty bluff.

So of course I should fold, right? Somehow I didn't (hence the nightmares), and ended up paying the price. He flips over AK - again!!! And it holds up. Through some artful short stack play I was able to get back into the tourney and finish in the $, but have never forgotten these lessons: 1) Remember that other big stacks are not afraid of you, 2) when you are playing to pick up a pot uncontested and it starts becoming contested, you're no longer playing your reads or stack, you're now back to playing the value of your hand. And A5s ain't very valuable.