Keeping A Big Stack on the Table to Look Like a Winner

[TomBrooks]

In a limit game where stack size does not directly affect your playing stategy, if you run bad and your stack dwindles down, do you rebuy more chips so that you look like a winner to any new players that come to the table? (Of course the people currently at the table know your stuck.)

Discuss.

[deacsoft]

"Something I've never thought about" should be replaced by "all of the above".

However I don't believe it matters. The good players will look past the size of your stack and judge you on your play. The poor players either won't care or may even tighten up against you (and that is bad).

[Cry Me A River]

Why do you want to look like a winner?

[TomBrooks]

Ed Miller, author and NPA, made it sound like a good idea in this article.

Bad players often associate stack size with skill. If they see you arent winning, they will tend to take more shots at you and play back at you more.

You want to keep a large stack so this doesnt happen.

[tek]

You can chip up and impress people with one rack of whatever and a stack of black...

I like to have room to peek at my cards and too many small chips get in the way [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[deacsoft]

I think much of the argument here would depend on how a "bad player" is defined. In my definition of a bad palyer they wouldn't be wise enough to play back at anyone.

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

It's always a good idea to buy more chips when you get to about 5 BB. Not so much for psychological reasons, but because you'd hate to have a monster and be all-in on the turn for one bet with the rest of the table jamming hands you beat.

[TomBrooks]

[ QUOTE ]
It's always a good idea to buy more chips when you get to about 5 BB. Not so much for psychological reasons, but because you'd hate to have a monster and be all-in on the turn for one bet with the rest of the table jamming hands you beat.

[/ QUOTE ]
No doubt about that. I don't generally let myself get below 12 BB for that reason. I want to be able to cap every street for the rare but occassional opportunities that comes along.

When I see someone with a smaller stack than that it makes me think they are playing suboptimally and it will tend to make me assume at least initially they are not a very good player. I'm don't know that it affects my strategy about how I play them though until they get to around 5BB or less. I know some players become inclined to take more shots than normal at that point.

I think Ed Miller was talking about a more subtle effect that perhaps takes place if someone has only 10-15 BB on the table. I hadn't considered it much of an issue before, so I thought it was interesting he commented on it.

I have noticed tons of players coming in on-line for only 5 to 10 BBs. In general, these players are looking to score quick and I don't see how the size of your stack will effect their play. Essentially, they are looking for an all-in in a limit situation.

i agree with the advice of having enough chips so you can jam the pot.