Introduction to the Big Stack Strategy
Introduction
In this article we will cover...
- The importance of bankroll management.
- Winning means avoiding mistakes.
- Winning means exploiting your opponents' mistakes.
No-Limit Hold’em puts your poker skills and knowledge to the ultimate test. Success requires mastering the technical aspects of the game and being brave enough to follow your instincts at the right moments.
The first two articles in the Big Stack Strategy (BSS) series will teach you how to play full ring games (7-10 seats) successfully.
You will learn…
- how long term success depends on effective bankroll management
- the basic strategy for winning in low and middle limits
- when to play which hands
- how to evaluate the strength of your hand in later betting rounds
Be sure to read the other articles in this series entitled "The mathematics of poker" and "After the flop" before you start playing BSS.
DOWNLOADS
The starting hand chart as a PDF file
What is bankroll management?
The online poker boom has been changing the face of poker. Young players from all over the world are entering the scene and working their way up the limits; some at an impressive pace.
The fact that you can play poker 24 hours a day online, has made it possible to make as much progress in 2-3 years as a land-based player would have made in half a lifetime just one generation ago. It is also creating new demands on the players themselves. To be successful, you have to be more than just a good poker player. You have to be your own coach and financial manager.
Poker isn't just a game; it's serious business. You don't just throw your money into the pot and see what happens. Betting on a hand is like investing in stock, you weigh the risks and when you see a good opportunity to make a profit, you invest. Your bankroll is your capital; without it you have nothing to invest. Managing it effectively is crucial to your long-term success.
The size of your bankroll tells you which limits you can play to find the right balance between...
- winning as much as possible and increasing your bankroll
- and limiting your losses, so as not to lose a significant portion of your bankroll in a single sitting.
You want to win big and avoid heavy losses. The best way to do this is to follow the 25 buy-in rule.
The rules of bankroll management when following the BSS are as follows:
Always buy in with a full stack (100 Big Blinds). 100 BBs are therefore one buy-in.
- You can move up a limit when you have at least 25 buy-ins of your present limit in your bankroll.
- You must move down a limit when you have 25 buy-ins or less of your present limit in your bankroll.
You'll be the fish at the table if you start playing above your limit; the players in the higher limits are just waiting for players like you to sit down. You can't win in the long run without good bankroll management - no one can. Even the best players in the world go bankrupt when they lose discipline and play beyond their bankroll.
You have to start small. The first Apple computer was built in a garage; Bill Gates wrote his first program with a pen and paper.
Start by playing the lower limits and gaining experience. Your bankroll will slowly grow and at some point, you will be able to move up to the next level, then the next, and so on.
It's kind of like a video game. First you have to deal with the easy opponents, then the level boss and at some point you reach the final boss. It would be boring to skip straight to the end. And even if you could go straight to the final boss, you would probably lose the fight. If you do somehow get lucky and win, the game is over and you've missed out on most of the action.
How do you win in No-Limit Hold’em?
Every time you play a hand differently from the way you would have
played it if you could see all your opponents' cards, they gain.
(David Sklanksy - Theory of Poker)
You could also just ask, "How do you earn money in poker?" A lot of people searched for an answer to this question in vain until David Sklansky, a professional poker player and author of several benchmark books on poker theory, came up with it.
His book Theory of Poker has two players pitted against each other with their cards face up. Each player knows what his opponent has and can calculate all possibilities and probabilities. This allows him to always make the right decision according to the situation at hand.
According to Sklansky, you make a profit if your opponent doesn't make the decision he would have made if he could see your cards, in other words, when he makes a mistake. You lose money in the same way: by not making the right decision.
Sklansky named this principle the Fundamental Theorem of Poker. This theory will follow you throughout your poker career.
It's about more than just your cards and your opponents. Whether you're playing in higher or lower limits, or even the final table at the WSOP in Las Vegas, the formula for success is and always will be: make as few mistakes as possible and make as much money from your opponents' mistakes as possible.
If you want to learn how to make money in No-Limit Hold'em, look at the mistakes other players make. The most common mistakes found in lower limits and at tables with up to $100 stacks are:
- They play too many starting hands (and poor starting hands).
- They play too passively.
- They don't know when to fold; they often invest too much in speculative hands.
- They bluff too often and in the wrong situations. They create large pots by bluffing with nothing.
- They don't pay attention to their position at the table.
- They have poor bankroll management and are in danger of going bankrupt.
You must do the exact opposite and exploit these common mistakes to turn a profit.
- Only play good starting hands (see the Starting Hands Chart).
- Play aggressively.
- Fold in marginal situations. Don't stick to your cards.
- Only bluff in the right situations and never create large pots with your bluffs.
- Adapt your game according to your position at the table.
- Manage your bankroll effectively. Invest when you know it is the right decision. The fact that you might lose shouldn't put your bankroll in danger.
Tight aggressive play
Tight aggressive play is the best way to exploit the common mistakes found in lower and middle limits. Three of the above mentioned factors are key to tight aggressive play:
- Play tight.
- Play aggressively.
- Play in position.
Playing tight means not playing every hand you get. There are lots of hands that look bad. Others, such as KJ, may look better but they are still not good starting hands.
Don't fall in love with every pair you hit on the flop. Knowing when you're beat and when the price is too high to stay in the hand, will save you a lot of money.
There's one simple principle in Texas Hold'em: it's better to bet/raise than to call.
As you know, your profit comes from opponents' mistakes. And most people make a mistake when they have to make an important decision under pressure.
You make a lot more money in Hold'em when you force your opponent to constantly make decisions under pressure, because he will make mistakes. The only way to do this is by playing aggressively.
You can also save a lot of money by avoiding situations in which you are being forced to make a decision. Be wary if an opponent has you playing defense.
Cold-calling (calling an opponent's bet before the flop) is a deadly sin in poker. There are some exceptions to this rule, but you will usually find yourself in a bad situation beyond your control. You can only win by hitting a big hand, which is less likely than some small players seem to think.
Poker legend Doyle Brunson once wrote: "position is everything in Texas Hold'em. Trying to win when you're not in position is hard work, and it is dangerous."
What does this mean? When you are the last to act, you are in position. If you have to act before an opponent, you are out of position. Being in position allows you to react to your opponent's play and gives you priceless information about his hand. There are also a number of profitable moves you can make when in position.
Paying attention to your position will make life easier for you as a poker player. Don't try taking money from an opponent when you're not in position.
Conclusion
This article may have been more of a review for you, but it is always helpful to be reminded of the importance of managing your bankroll and playing tight aggressive poker.
As you move through the limits you will develop your own style, but the basics will always stay the same. Take the information in the articles to heart.
The next article in the series will cover playing in position and how to choose your starting hands.
Go to this article: How to play before the flop
