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Tournament Concepts Part II
Playing the Big Stack Early

Last week we looked at playing a big stack early in a Texas hold em tournament, and how that stack impacts (or, more specifically, doesn't impact) optimal play. This week we'll expand on that concept, and look more closely at how chips actually change in dollar value depending on how many you have.

First, understand that chips only change value in percentage payoff tourneys. If you're playing in a ‘winner take all' format, then this doesn't apply. But, since most of you are playing in percentage payout Texas hold em tournaments, either online or with friends, this is a crucial concept with which you should acquaint yourself.

Let's tackle this by exploring a key question that all new tournament players eventually ask: Why do big stacks start playing the role of the bully? It has to do with the fact that as your stack grows the actual dollar value of each of your chips decreases, while as your stack diminishes the actual dollar value of each chip increases. Take last years Texas hold em main event at the WSOP. Greg Raymer finished the tournament with all the chips—something like 20,000,000 or so. But his prize money was only five million. By the time the Texas hold em tournament had ended each of his chips was only ‘worth' around $.25. Yet he paid $1 for each of them when he bought into the tournament.

Why does this phenomenon exist? Because part of the money which your chips represent is either going to be paid out to players who didn't finish first, or to players who won't finish first. In the case of Greg Raymer, for instance, his chips were only ‘worth' .20 each at the end of the tournament because money had been paid out to other finishers.

Thus, when you have a huge stack, and go up against a small stack, you're frequently getting much better odds on your hand than it might initially appear. For instance, let's say you have AK in the big blind. The small blind goes all in and accidentally flips his cards face-up. He has pocket 8's. The blinds are $1000-$2000, he has $100,000 in front of him, and you have $700,000 in front of you.

You're about a 46/54 dog to win the hand, so it doesn't look like you can call. But, understand that it's not costing you as much to play the hand as it's costing the small blind, by virtue of the fact that each of your chips is worth less than each of his chips. This singular dynamic means that you can profitably play—and push—more hands than a small stack, since it doesn't cost you as much to do so. Now before you go pushing your stack when you're a dog to win the hand realize that there is more than the relative value of your chips that go into the play of the hand. If you were up against Daniel Negreanu in this spot you'd probably beat him to the pot, since it's unlikely that you'll get a better chance than this to bust him. If, on the other hand, you're against an opponent who you feel you can routinely outplay, then there may be a better spot for your money down the road. That said, your stack size DOES play a factor. You can take more chances with the larger stack since losing a hand won't eliminate your equity in the larger prizes (by virtue of the fact that you'll still be in the hunt even if you lose the hand), and because, as we said, it doesn't cost you as much to play the hand as it does your opponent.

In this above example we used a hand where you were forced to call- not bet or raise. The concept of shifting chip value should inform your play when you're faced with a decision to either call or fold, but it really becomes a powerful concept when you're looking at either betting or raising. When you call you only have one way of winning—i.e., ending up with the best hand on the river. When you bet or raise, by contrast, you have two ways; either by taking down the pot now, or by improving later. As a result aggression really pays off when you have the big stack, since it's not costing you nearly as much to ‘make a move' as it is for your opponents to keep you honest. If you get caught with your hand in the doughnut box it isn't a disaster, since the overall value of the chips your opponent has taken from you is less then the value of the chips your opponent had to use to call you. It's as if you're playing with $1 chips, and your opponents are playing with $2 chips, yet you each only have to put the same amount of chips in the pot to play the hand. Imagine if you could play in a $10-$20 game and only bet $5 and $10 while your opponents had to call you with $10 and $20 bets! Your advantage would be tremendous. This is an exaggeration, to be sure, but the basic idea holds true. When you have the big stack it's your moral obligation to put your opponents to tough decisions.

Note that the fact that the size of the blinds plays no role in this phenomenon—instead, the only consideration is how many of the total chips in play you currently possess. Also note that this dynamic takes on increased importance if a greater percentage of the prize pool is distributed to non-first place finishers. As a result you should get even more aggressive if a bulk of the prize money goes to lesser finishers, and ease up a bit on the gas pedal if the prize distribution is top heavy. If you've ever watched a Texas hold em tournament on TV (I'm betting you have), and thought to yourself ‘man, I play as well as those clowns', well, you're probably right. But ‘playing your stack' is the game within the game, and all the top players have that down to a science.

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Other Poker Strategy Articles:
Texas Holdem Tournament Concepts Part I
Why Multiple Poker Accounts are +EV
Why Good Players Lose