MSS Advanced (1) - The Basics

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Besides SSS and BSS, mid stack strategy is now the third NL strategy variant that you can learn here. As the name indicates, your stack in MSS is bigger than it is in SSS. However, it is not yet a full stack as in BSS.

This article explains which player types the new strategy is for, what its differences to other strategies are and what you should keep in mind when you start or switch to playing MSS.

Who is MSS for?

Mid stack strategy is particularly suitable for former short stack players, since preflop play in MSS is similarly important as in SSS. Particularly important are small equity edges preflop, which you have to try to exploit. On top of that, MSS can make it easier for you to switch from SSS to BSS. By playing MSS, you add one street to your game (as you also have to make many decisions on the turn here). This prepares you for BSS.

It is also suited for BSS players who want to try something new. Perhaps you simply want to take a different perspective. Maybe you feel insecure against other BSS regulars and want to restructure your game. You don't just play mid stack because you think "I am a fish and if I play mid stack I will only lose half". It can be interesting for BBS players to play MSS if they have come to a point in their game where they don't exactly know how to proceed and want to revive their game with a new strategy.

A new strategy will help you widen your horizon and improve your abilities to evaluate your BSS game. It is important for you to work on yourself and continuously improve your play. Even high stakes players sometimes decide to start out with a mid stack. Which strategy you decide upon is not a question of good or bad.

Advanced MSS particularly addresses players in the limits NL100 up to NL400 full ring. Adjustments are necessary for higher and lower limits as well as for short-handed games.

Differences between mid stack and short stack strategy

In MSS, equity is no longer the only factor to take into account when specifying your open-raising ranges. In addition to those hands, you also play hands that have a good playability. As a mid stack, you can and need to take into consideration postflop play much more than a short stack does.

Due to the bigger stack, it is easier for your opponents to effectively attack your open-raises with 3-bets. As the 3-better doesn't automatically commit himself against you (as opposed to a 3-bet against a short stack), you are theoretically more vulnerable to 3-bet-bluffs.

The same applies vice versa: The 40BB stack leads to changes in your own and your opponent's 3-betting ranges. The opponents will either adapt by open-raising tighter or by going broke more loosely against your 3-bets and making bluff 4-bets.

Another mathematical fact is the change in the stack-to-pot ratio caused by the mid stack. This results in a higher required equity for calling an all-in after your open-raise to 2.5BB. Whereas you only need an equity of 43% with a short stack, you need 46% with a mid stack.

This also explains why you have to fold more hands to 3-bets. This is of course also true for your opponent, since he also needs an equity of 46%. If you take this thought one step further, it also means that you finally have fold equity when making an all-in shove. As your opponent needs a larger fold equity and at the same time isn't committed through his 3-bet, he could fold to your all-in.

A 4-bet-shove therefore no longer merely depend on the equity, but also on the frequency with which your opponent folds. That's why the expected value of your shove is composed of the fold equity plus the equity you get for a call.

Differences between mid stack and big stack strategy

As for the rules, the strategies differ in the number of betting rounds that you actively participate in. In mid stack strategy, you rarely have to make difficult decisions on the river because you will most likely already have gone all-in or folded in these betting rounds.

When playing BSS, you go all-in a lot less frequently because you have much more money available. That's why you still have to make decisions in the later rounds. Therefore, big stack strategy is more difficult to play than mid stack strategy and mid stack strategy is more difficult to play than short stack strategy.

As you have to make fewer difficult decisions, it is possible to play more tables in order to increase your hourly win rate. As a mid stack, you enjoy the advantage that BSS players might not adapt correctly and for example underestimate their implied odds. You can profit from this because you will learn to judge situations much more accurately in your own game. At the same time you should not make the mistake of playing too many speculative and unprofitable hands.

A disadvantage of MSS is that you only have half a stack available to exploit the leaks of big fish with 100BB. That's why we recommend to make use of the above advantage at very profitable tables and not to leave too early. A big stack will always be able to extract maximum profit here. In tough spots, on the other hand, you can only lose a mid stack, which will make a lot of decisions much easier.

Getting Started

We recommend a general BRM of at least 50 stacks. This is not yet a conservative BRM; of course you can raise the number a bit because the swings in MSS can be quite large. It might happen that you will run 40-50 stacks below EV after 50,000 hands. You should be prepared for this and adjust your limits correspondingly.

This also depends on how resistant you are to tilting as well as on your mindset. If you are rather sensitive, we recommend a more conservative BRM of around 80 stacks. This will put you on the safe side and you will be able to handle rather big swings. Depending on how you deal with having to move up and down the limits a lot, you should choose a bankroll management of between 50 and 80 stacks.

In general you can say that the higher the limit you play, the tighter your BRM should be. This is because the swings tend to be larger due to more aggressive play and the losses will hurt more. Irrespective of your BRM, you should move down a limit compared to the limits you usually play whenever you try a new strategy.

If you play SSS on NL400, you should therefore not automatically switch to NL400 MSS. The absolute monetary figures are twice as big and you have to get used to the new strategy first.

The fundament of MSS is fold equity, which you always want to exploit. No matter if you make a contibet or a bluff 3-bet preflop, it is important to know how much fold equity you can expect. To determine this, it will help to have stats on your opponents who you try to exploit.

This leads to an important point: Adaption. We can't give you strict general rules for playing MSS that will always work against all opponents. This is something MSS has in common with SSS or BSS. You have to adapt to your opponent and always choose your lines based on the opponent you are facing in a given situation.

If you 3-bet a player twice and he 4-bets both times causing you to fold, you should not try to bluff again. All the players at the table now know that you bluffed twice. You can take advantage of this - the third time you will have a strong hand and use your image to your advantage.

Depending on the platform, the buy-in can vary between 35-40 BB. Although this leads to slight differences when playing the strategy, these difference are not fundamental. It is your plan not to re-buy anyway. With a smaller stack you can use the mathematical advantages you have with them. You should not re-buy before you are down to 15 BB.

This brings several positive aspects for you. The first and most important one is stats faking. As your game varies with different stack sizes, the stats your opponents have on you somewhat decrease in reliability. Although the sample size might be sufficient for several stats, they are derived from a mixture of different playing styles (MSS and SSS). That's why it's harder to categorise you based on your stats. On top of that, you enjoy a mathematical edge with a short stack.

If you have made profit of at least 10BB, you should leave the table. Your preflop as well as your postflop game changes considerably with this stack size and you will lose some of your edge against the BSS regulars.

Of course you can also stay at the table with an increased stack under the following circumstances: You are not on scared money and don't play too cautiously because you are scared to lose your stack. There might be weak players at the table against who you would definitely like to play with a bigger stack. However, you have to individually evaluate this in a given situation and make a decision for yourself.

Conclusion

This article has introduced you to the fundamental principles of MSS. You have learned about the differences between SSS, MSS and BSS, as well as the basic game plan that you should follow. In the upcoming parts of this series, you will find out more about the concepts of open-raising, 3-bets and 4-bet (bluffs) in MSS. 

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