What is a stack in poker – interpretation and types of stacks

In any of the existing types of poker there is such a concept and phenomenon as a stack. Today we will figure out what it is, what types of stacks are, by what criteria they are divided, and also learn how to evaluate your stack at the poker table. If you are even a little familiar with poker, then you already know that the stack is your chips, designed to play at a particular table. There are five types of stack, which we will cover in more detail in our article today. What is a stack in poker A stack – or in English – a stack – is poker chips, your currency at the playing table. Your stack belongs to you and you can use it to place bets during the game.

The stack is not constant in its size and will vary depending on the size of the minimum bet, agreed in advance (set) for a particular table. In turn, stack sizes have a very significant impact on the entire process of the player’s game. Pros advise you to be careful if your stack is big enough. How to Calculate Your Stack There is a simple rule here – we need to figure out how many blinds “fit” into your stack. We count according to an understandable formula – we divide the total number of our chips by the size (price) of the big blind – a mandatory bet made by the player sitting second to the left of the button. Let’s say – 3,500 chips, and the size of the small and big blinds at your table are 50 and 100, respectively, which means we have to divide our 3,500 by 100 (big blind) for a total of 35. We draw simple conclusions – your stack is 35 blinds. Note that during major poker tournaments, the blinds, and because of them, the stacks are constantly and quite strongly increasing in size, so to speak. So at the first stages of the tournament, the stack can be equivalent (equal) to both a hundred and two hundred big blinds – BB, and closer to the final part – even a stack of thirty big blinds is perceived as a big stack. What is a deep stack – deep stack in poker Understanding what a deep stack is – Deep Stack. This is a special case when a set of chips that contains more than two hundred big blinds (BB). If there are such stacks behind the hundred, then the game process is a little “free” style. Players are more likely to accept and call bets. With deep stacks, players enter hands even with medium or weak starting hands, turning them into full-fledged combinations later on and creating very interesting moments. What is a full stack in poker Let’s move on to the full stack – as you understand it is less than the previous one and consists of a hundred or 150 big blinds – 140-150BB. After the 150BB mark, the stack is already considered increased, but not yet deep. A stack with a BB content of less than 90 or 80 is called shortened (but not yet incomplete) and needs to be replenished, so to speak, to a full state. Note that most of all poker strategies involve playing with a full stack, this is considered the best option. What is a short stack in poker The next type of stack is a short stack, equivalent to thirty or seventy big blinds – 30-70 big blinds. Experts say that playing with so many chips is not very comfortable and many decisions at the table will be difficult to implement. And because of the high chances that other table participants will easily call his bet, the player will no longer be able to bluff or semi-bluff with an all-in bet, that is, he will not go all-in. In the case when the game is a regular cash poker game, it would be advisable to buy more, replenish your stack of chips to the full. What is a small or short stack in poker A small or short stack – in English – short stack, is a stack that absolutely corresponds to its name – it consists of a small number of big blinds. Usually from ten to twenty-five – 10-25 BB. For such a situation, few types of poker, but still have their own specific strategies of behavior, that is, the manner and ways of playing with a short stack. For example, in Omaha or the popular Texas Hold’em, short-stacked (small) stacks play quite aggressively, often all-in and all-in. This is most likely due to the fact that risking a short stack is not as exciting as full or deep options. What is an ultra short stack in poker Judging by its name, the ultra short stack is the smallest of all of the above. This is the name of stacks in poker, which are equivalent to only ten big blinds of a particular table – 10BB. It is clear that the game with so many chips will not be easy and convenient. But at the same time, Texas Hold’em players managed to find a strategy for it too – it again consists in an aggressive style of play and is designed for all-in in the initial round of betting, meaning preflop. Note that this situation even got its specific name “Push Sklansky-Chubukov” or in English “Sklansky-Chubukov numbers” named after not exactly the players, but after the names of two people who conducted research on this topic – the world-famous poker theorist David Sklansky and professor of mathematics Andrey Chubukov. Summing up, let’s briefly go through the material again, the stack in poker is the number of chips given to the player for the game, the size of the stack directly depends on the size of the big blind at a particular table. Since the size of the BB increases during the game, this also affects the size of the stack. There are five main types of it – deep stack – the largest and consists of 200 big blinds, full stack – from approximately 150 big blinds, incomplete stack – contains from 30 to 70 big blinds, short and ultra-short – 25 and 10 big blinds, respectively. To calculate your stack – you can use a simple formula – divide the number of your chips by the size of one big blind at your table. In major tournaments, a player gets his stack by paying a buy-in to enter the game. During such competitions, especially towards the finals, the stack sizes can be very large, since the blinds at the tables are gradually increasing.