building a stack part two

how to build a big stack

the number one reason a poker player is successful at building a stack early in a tournament is that they embrace confrontation. as we have aleady discussed, however, this does not mean mindlessly seeking to play for stacks with everyone at your table. instead you should be looking for the weak or poor players that are a feature of virtually any online tournament. so what confrontations are you looking for ? ideally, you want to take on there specific types of players

folders

these are the easiest people to play against. they only play hands when they have it, and fold when they don't . for example, they raise with A-K and check-fold the flop when they miss pocket tens and check-fold the flop when it comes to overcards. essentially, these players are playing with their cards face up. and what better way is there to build a sweet stack then by taking candy from a baby?

callers

these players call when they shouldn't. while these is some risk playing against calling stations, there is high implied value as well. you can win bigger pots then you can against a conventional player because these type of players hate doing one thing when they get a peice of the flop - folding. and that represents you with a fantastic opportunity to value bet them out of the tournament. bet more and watch your stack grow right before your eyes.

raisers

early in a tournament players that raise and over commit themselves post-flop are ideal opponents to play against to build a stack. how many players do you know that can't fold big pairs or over pairs post-flop? not many. you want to see cheep flops. this doesn't mean playing limped pots. you can call a three times the big blind raise looking to hit a set. if you hit it, you can win 50-75 big blinds. if you miss, you lost three big blinds. that seems like a good risk to take to me.


key point

concentrate on playing pots against players who make fundamental mistakes rather then looking to push every edge. this will allow you to chip up safely.


building a stack is about taking advantage of opportunities. while there is a risk involved in embracing confrontation, if you are able to take calculated risks where you havea significant edge when you put your chips in the middle, you'll find that more often then not your stack size is larger then when you where sitting back and waiting for the cards and oppourtunites to come to you. early in a tournament is when the bad players give away their chips. dont let someone else get them. get them yourself.




the importance of a big stack

a big stack will help you seriously compete for tournament prize funds while helping you survive errors of judgement or lack of fourtune.

from reading what i've just typed, you might think that i don't think it's important to have a big stack. nothing could be further from the truth. make no mistakes, building a stack is very worthwhile.

The main reason is simple. tournaments are top heavey in prize money. it's not enough to just cash. in order to be a successful and profitable, tournament poker player you will need to find yourself at the final table and finishing in the top three. having a big stack will help you do this.

being able to induce your opponents to fold a better hand for fear of busting out is a powerful device to have at your disposal and having a big stack will place this tool in your hands. but perhaps the best reason of all to have a big stack is to avoid getting unlucky. how many times have you played a perfect tournament without making any mistakes?

you are an average stack of say 25 big blinds with the blinds at 500/1,000 and get into a raising war with a player that had 30big blinds. you have pocket aces and are looking to be in great shape to double up. your opponent had queens but hits a set to elimnate you. you played perfect poker but what did it get you nothing.

however, if you had 80,000 in chips you could lose this hand and still be in great position. yes, it would suck to lose the hand but at least you'd still be alive. building a stack puts you in position to afford to be able to get unlucky.

having a big stack also affords you the luxury of being patient and watching people fall by the wayside. with blinds increasing. you can sit back and pick the situations you want to attack. players with 10-15 big blinds can't afford to do this. they have to make a move and do it quickly or their stack will be gone. this put's you at a great advantage because you are playing in situations that you want to play in, rather then having to force it.