How to Survive Deep Stacks in Poker

Playing for a large stack in any game is quite frustrating. It is time to shed some light on how to survive deep stacks in a poker game. We will highlight the strategies, tricks, and what you need to do to win.

Poker games are fast-paced and often come with high stakes. Even the most experienced poker players get a little bit anxious when facing a worthy opponent. Knowing how to act in the toughest of situations will put you at an advantage. And no position in poker exceeds playing with deep stacks in terms of complexity. The sections below outline strategies that are known to work when players find themselves in a deep stack.

What Makes Up A Deep Stack in Poker?

Deep Stacks in poker happens when you have highly stacked chips compared to the blinds. Additionally, a deep stack poker game could refer to a game where the initial stack stands high compared to blinds. A series of deeply staked games, therefore, make up a deep stack tournament.

Bet sizing at Pre-Flop

Starting with a good strategy right from Pre-Flop puts you at an advantage. The reason being, it helps you lay down a long-term plan to beat your opponent. Here is an outline of bet-sizing strategies that you can use in pre-flop:

• Open-Raising in Pre-Flop: Open raising in simple terms means keeping your sizing at par as when you play 100 big blinds deep. For instance, if you raise to 2.5 or 4 big blinds at regular times, should keep the same trend on 100 big blinds
• Maintaining 3-bet sizes when in position: Making the most out of being in position allows you to control the game. Since you are required to act last, you should maintain the size of your bets. As a result, your opponent will reach the flop with a wide range in the stack-to-pot ratio
• Increase bet sizes when out of position

Ranges for 3-Betting

• Just like in the pre-flop, keep your bet size the same when in position. Similarly, inflating the bet when playing out of position works in your favor too.
• Where possible, use suited connectors to widen the range of board coverage. Suited connectors help you to avoid calling off big blinds on the river
• Cherish Suited As because they can help you win when you encounter a flush versus flush condition

Ranges for 4-Betting

• Counter your opponent’s hand by calling more often when facing a 3-bet in position. By so doing, you push the other player into playing with a widened high stack-to-pot ratio
• Protect your range by flat-calling premium hands
• When playing against aggressive players, make a case by flat AA and KK pairs

Post-Flop Strategies

Following a series of aggressive plays in the 3-bet pre-flop in-position and out-of-position plays, it is time to implement a defensive strategy in post-flop. That means more calling and checking. In contrast, you need less check-raising and betting.

Conclusion

Most deep stack poker games are tipped in favor of the winner during pre-flop. Once you put the proper groundwork, everything else falls into place as the game progresses. That being said, it is only through continuous practice that players perfect the act of playing poker. With the adjustments discussed in the sections above in mind, you can approach any poker table with confidence and play to win.