On Stack Sizes and

[sillyarms]

I'm a little confused about how to play nl hold'em when the stacks are big. I've been hearing people talk about the nuances of play that come into factor when the money gets deep. I was wondering how I should adjust my play in the following situations.

1) I have a large stack and Everyone else has a small one. Say I have a $200 stack in a .5-1 game at party and the rest of the table has stacks averaging around $50.

2) I have a small stack at $50 and several People have stacks of $200 or more.

3) 4-5 opponets have a large stack of about $200 and the rest have $50-$100 I have about $200.

The main thing I want to get out of this is how to play when I have a bigger stack than everyone else. I am finding myself in alot of situations where I accumulate alot of money and get it all taken by some guy with suited connectors and implied odds.

Thanks


silly

[crockpot]

unless you are in a tournament, situations 1 and 2 are exactly the same, unless you suspect that your opponents built their stacks through devastatingly skillful play and thus you should fear them for it.

in heads-up pots, consider both stacks to be the same size as the smaller one. multiway it gets more interesting.

[sillyarms]

[ QUOTE ]
multiway it gets more interesting.

[/ QUOTE ]

what does this mean? How do I adjust my play in this situation multiway?

[crockpot]

you sort of have to make an educated guess as to how the pot will develop based on what move you make. i'd love to tell you more, but only experience can really teach you.

it depends a lot on who you're facing, too. try to learn as much about how your opponents play as you can.

[Greg (FossilMan)]

If you've got a much bigger or much smaller stack than everybody else, the only adjustment you need to make is for the psychology of the situation. As you have been told already, in a heads-up pot, both players effectively have the same size stack (as the smaller stack), since the betting will stop as soon as this player is all-in.

However, the psychology of how each opponent will play the hand will, IME, vary depending upon whether they are the big stack or the small stack. You have to learn how different opponents react to being on each side of this situation, and figure out what adjustments to make for this opponent accordingly. Takes time and experience (experience in general, and experience with this specific opponent).

The real adjustments come when EVERYBODY is big stacked. When the money is 500 or 1000 times the big blind, rather than 50 or 100 times. This is when you really have to be able to put people on hands, and when bluffing and bluff-catching become more and more part of the game. Experience is the best teacher. The Ciaffone and Reuben book is helpful also.

Later, Greg Raymer (FossilMan)