• Poker Deepstack Strategy Guide
• Poker Deepstack Strategy Calculator
• Poker Deepstack Strategy Chart
• Deep Stack Poker Strategy Tournament

Deep Stacked Poker Example Hands Let's look at some examples of how deep stack strategy can be put to use. Remember, the main concern is your opponent, so it is their actions and their meta-game. Deepstack Tournaments are somewhat of a mix of cash and tournament poker, allowing for more ways to play. To view Deep Stacks Tournaments via 888poker software, click on 'All Games' 'Tournaments' 'All' for complete list. Deep Stack Strategy Deep stack play calls for an entirely different set of skills than what you would normally implement in a 100 bb or even 150 bb game. The dynamics of every deep stack game will allow players to get involved in more pots, make trickier plays post-flop, and will generally leave more room for maneuverability.

Stay loose in SnG games in order to run deeper

During Texas Hold’em Sit & Go tournaments, being deep-stacked when getting close to the bubble is quite an ideal condition. It actually takes away most of the stress and it is harder to get busted before the bubble or finish in a bad position. However, that doesn’t mean there are no risks and that things can’t change. It is important to implement an effective strategy when you have plenty of chips so your game doesn’t tighten up as it frequently happens.

Poker Deepstack Strategy Guide

The main problem with being deep-stacked is that players are somehow afraid of screw up in one hand or even become someone other people take advantage of. It shouldn’t be anything like that. If you have a lot of chips there is nothing to fear. One thing to consider is that the bubble doesn’t really end quickly; it can actually last a little bit because most players are trying to hold on to their chips. If you get on this ride, in a matter of 3-4 hands eating your blinds, you won’t be playing with a deep stack anymore, which brings again the concerns about the bubble situation.

The best approach will be to play aggressively, and there are several ways to do it, though some ways are better than others. It depends on how deep your stack is or your position in front of opponents. One way to do it is to show any two cards whenever you are the first one to take action because other players can’t call you light. This is a good option to try when the shortest stack is not in the hand because no one wants to be the first to fold and get busted before the shortest stack. Another great idea is to try three-bet, which can also bring a lot of benefits if you shove against someone who opened first.

You never want to be timid if you’re deep stack on the bubble. Exploit every opportunity you can and take control of the game in order to move into the cash.

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Deep Stack Tournament Strategy

In Deep Stack tournaments the number of chips you start with is greater in comparison to regular freezeout MTTs. The blind levels are also twice as long, which makes them preferred by tight/conservative and skilled players who adopt a small ball game. It also reduces the risks and variance of MTTs by allowing you to play under less pressure.

In a typical deep stack tournament you will receive 5,000 starting chips with 10/20 blinds. Compare this to turbo MTTs structures at PokerStars (which give you 500 or 1,000 chips at 10/20 blinds) and you can see the difference immediately.

Poker Deepstack Strategy Calculator

Best Site for Deep Stack Tournaments: Titan Poker – $500 Bonus!

The best site for non-US players to play Deep Stack tournaments is Titan Poker. They now run the exciting European Deep-stack Championship III, and have a number of regular deepstack tournaments along with deepstack satellites from $3 – $10 entry fees.

For US players PokerStars is the site we recommend for deep stack tournaments. Each day PokerStars runs deepstack tournaments with buy-ins of $10 -$30. The biggest deepstack event at PokerStars takes place on Saturdays with a buy-in of $100.

Poker Deepstack Strategy Chart

Deep Stack Tournament Strategy

Deep Stack Poker Strategy Tournament

Because deep stack tournaments run differently to regular online tournaments you need to slow down your game

The first thing noticeable in deep stack tournaments (e.g. WSOP) is that aggressive players who are not used to the format will make too many re-raises and all-in moves pre-flop. This won’t be as effective in deep stack tournaments because fewer players will call you. Most of the time any player who calls you will have you beat.

Re-raises are less effective because the stack sizes are much deeper. In the beginning of a regular online tournament a re-raise to 300 chips may represent 30% of your chips (starting on 1,000). However, in deepstack tournament starting on 5,000 chips this will represent only 6% of your chips. Thus making it less likely to call. Players who do this too often tend to become frustrated.

There are 3 basic approaches to accumulating chips in deepstack events:

The first is playing passively. This means limping into many flops and seeing as many as possible. Your aim is to exploit your opponents weaknesses in post-flop play, and this in itself requires excellent post-flop reading ability on your part. Rather than setting a trap, you’re really just waiting to corner a bad player. You’ll make big wins in these pots which compensate for the flops you missed.

The second type of strategy is the small ball approach (utilized by Negreanu and Hansen). In deepstack tournaments small ball poker means seeing as many flops as possible while attempting to limit the size of pots and cost to see the next card. This is to reduce the risks and cost of play. You’re effectively trying to “slow” the play down and continually put pressure on your opponents by making moves first.

The third approach for deepstack tournaments is TAG play (tight aggressive). Under this strategy you’re only playing premium hands or others when in position. The goal is to make as much money in the pot pre-flop as possible, so your post-flop play doesn’t matter as much. This is an easier strategy to adopt for weaker tournament players.

Conclusion on playing Deep Stack Tournaments

Overall, deep stack tournaments are designed for “better” tournament players. Reading opponents and taking advantage of position is more important than blind stealing or being uber aggressive. Deepstack tournaments in many ways are more resembling of cash games than turbo MTTs/SNGs. Patience plays a bigger role than other tournaments.

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1. Odd but true… this strategy may work early on in the tournament… but when blinds and antes start getting larger and larger after a couple of hours you must bet more aggressively and play a much wider range of hands. Although ‘small ball’ poker style may help conserve chips and help win smaller pots with not much competition against tight players that fold a lot; adopting a liberal raise and 3 to 4 betting style of play especially post flops are great ways to dramatically increase your chipstacks! That’s the way to play later on in tournaments… but you may find some loose cannon players early on that love donking off many chips around 25%-50% preflop and all of it on the river. Catching them and winning all their chips would be supremely awesome if you knew they are deliberately doing that to combat against ‘small ball betting strategies’… just got to put them on a their polarized hands and call or reraise them all in if you are 100% you have them loose cannons beat.

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