Deep Stack - Inside Track

Don’t you just love the feeling of getting value for your money?

Well for the poker player, there are few nicer feelings than sitting down at a Deep Stack tournament table. You’ve spent your hard earned money on another buy-in but this time you begin with what looks like a gigantic stack. This should be fun, right?

So what’s your plan? Have you thought about any strategy? Well, with such a huge stack to begin with you would think that if you play your normal tight, aggressive game you should do ok, shouldn’t you? Why not just play premier holdings to start off with and let those loose, laggy player’s donk out in the early stages?

Well, let me answer those questions with this single word and that word is NO!

I’ll make a bold recommendation here that if you are ever going to play a laggy style of poker then the Deep Stack table is the place to do it. And if you don’t do it your opponents will, to your detriment. Here’s why.

There are two types of Loose Aggressive Players or LAG’s as they are often referred to. The good lag has a solid grasp of stack to pot ratios and implied odds and knows how to play a hand well post-flop. He understands the opportunity that a Deep Stack tournament presents where he can add hands such as gapped and suited connectors to his opening range.

Then there’s the bad lag that doesn’t. The bad lag will play bad hands, even in a regular multi-table tournament where the ‘tight is right’ mantra is best, and before he knows it he busts out after getting pot-committed with a hand he shouldn’t have played to begin with.

I want to keep this blog post simple without too much jargon so keeping in mind what I have said above I’m going to leave you with 6 tips for deep stack play that you can work on in your own time.


1. Learn everything you can about Stack to Pot Ratios

2. Learn everything you can about understanding Implied Odds

3. Freeroll practice playing gapped and suited connectors and small pairs in position till' your confident at it.

4. Always evaluate your hand post flop. ‘Is this hand worth continuing with?’

5. When you get to the live table study your opponents well. If they are playing ‘Nit’ tight then punish them with what you have learned. If they are playing a good loose game then be wary, those guys most likely have Deep stack experience.

6. Always be aware of potential Good LAG's both to the right and left of you as you may be there target as well.

As always feel free to comment, especially if you play a lot of Deepstack. I'd love to hear of your experiences.

Raiser