Don’t blow your stack

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/12/2010 (5432 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Just like anything in life, the game of poker is always evolving and to be successful we must put in the hours both on and off the tables.

Many players have come and gone over the years, but there are also those who have stuck around for a long time. Many factors will contribute to players’ long-term success, such as how they manage their bankroll, how badly they tilt, game selection, how much time they put in away from the tables, and too many more for me to list here.

The fact is, every time we sit down we should be trying to learn. If you aren’t, there is a good chance the game will pass you by. If this happens, not only will you stop enjoying the game, you will probably lose a lot of money in the process.

Seeing as how I mainly play cash games with the occasional tournament mixed in, I know there is a ton I can learn, not only regarding cash games but especially for tournaments. Lucky for me, I have a couple of very close friends who are extremely good tournament players.

A few weeks ago, one of my tournament pro friends and I began talking about different strategy regarding tournaments as we played some of the major Sunday tournaments at my place. I’ve always thought his style was very aggressive, almost to the point of being reckless, but that was when he told me how wrong I was.

He said he plays similar to the way I play cash games, where he opens a lot of pots but picks his spots and when he gets the right opportunity he pounces on it. Then he talked about how valuable tournament chips are, as you aren’t allowed the chance to buy back in if you are knocked out (unless it’s a rebuy event), so he does everything in his power to hang on to those chips. This is where it got interesting.

Obviously the goal is to keep your chips as long as possible, as the last man with chips is the winner of the tournament. But seeing as how we are going to find ourselves with a short stack many times, I learned something from my buddy that I think will help me out a great deal in the long run, when it comes to tournament play.

The blinds were 300-600 and I was short stacked with only 6,200 chips. I was under the gun plus two and looked down at A 10. I was about to move all in when my buddy said to me, “Why don’t you raise to 1,200 and if someone goes all in, you can still fold?” I was a bit shocked, seeing as how I was so short and in my eyes I would either go all in or fold pre-flop. I mean, why would I want to raise and then fold to a re-raise, making me even more short stacked? Well, his logic made sense in more ways than one.

First, and I already knew this, he said if I get three bet, at best I would be in a race. But he then said my hand would look so much stronger considering my chip stack, that small pairs and even AJ might be inclined to fold as it looks as if I am begging for action. Lastly, he said if I get raised and fold with the chips I have left I could double up once and have a bit of breathing room.

Whenever I would get to around 10 big blinds in a tournament I would always shove or fold, but after talking to someone whom I respect a lot, I learned there is another way I can play hands when I get short. Incorporating this into my tournament play, I’m sure, will allow me to take my game to another level. Hopefully, a deep tournament run is in my near future.