If playing with deep stacks (150bb+) makes you feel anxious or confused, this article
will make your life easier.
You’re about 3️⃣ to learn how to:
Adjust your preflop bet
sizing when deep stacked.
Choose the correct hands to 3-bet and 4-bet when deep
3️⃣ stacked.
Adjust your postflop game plan when deep stacked.
Let’s dive in!
What is Deep
Stack Poker?
A deep stack can refer to having 3️⃣ a large stack in a cash game, typically
more than 100 big blinds, as well as to a tournament with 3️⃣ a starting stack that is
relatively high when compared to the blinds and antes. Thus, these tournaments are
oftentimes referred 3️⃣ to as deep stack tournaments.
Preflop Bet Sizings
When it comes to
open-raising preflop, your sizings should remain the same as when 3️⃣ you’re playing 100
big blinds deep. If you normally raise to 2.5 big blinds, raise to 2.5 big blinds. If
3️⃣ you normally raise to 4 big blinds, raise to 4 big blinds. And so on.
Your 3-bet sizes
should be a 3️⃣ little bigger when you’re in position. When you are the 3-bettor in
position, you will have a huge advantage throughout 3️⃣ the hand because you always get to
act last. This situation will be very hard for your opponent to navigate 3️⃣ postflop.
Your
3-bet sizes should be a little bigger when out of position. If your opponent with a 200
big blind 3️⃣ stack is opening to 2.5 big blinds, for example, then making it 10 or 11 big
blinds instead of the 3️⃣ more standard 9 big blinds is a good adjustment.
The same
concepts hold true when 4-betting.
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3-Betting Ranges
When you 3-bet 3️⃣ in position, you don’t need to change your range
at all. It’s your out of position opponent that has to 3️⃣ make big adjustments.
When you
3-bet out of position, however, you need to make some changes to your 3-betting
range:
First, it 3️⃣ makes sense to polarize your range more since you are using a larger
3-bet size and you should avoid getting 3️⃣ into super big pots with your medium-strength
hands.
You should also 3-bet with more suited connectors to better your range’s board
3️⃣ coverage. This makes life a lot easier on board runouts that are disadvantageous for
your typical 3-betting range. You don’t 3️⃣ want to be forced to call off 200 big blinds on
the river with an overpair because it’s the top 3️⃣ of your range on a 6♦ 5♣ 2♠ T♦ 3♣
board. 3-betting with suited connectors becomes a viable adjustment to 3️⃣ avoid this and
similar problems.
Suited Ax hands remain just as, if not more valuable because they can
win extremely big 3️⃣ pots in flush vs flush situations. So, you should happily continue to
3-bet with them.
Note: According to the Poker Snowie 3️⃣ solver, you can still use the same
3-betting range at 100 big blinds and 300+ big blinds deep. The stack 3️⃣ depth doesn’t
make a big difference in Poker Snowie’s preflop solutions. From a human player’s point
of view, however, you 3️⃣ will probably find it easier to tighten up to avoid making
mistakes in tough spots.
4-Betting Ranges
When it comes to your 3️⃣ 4-betting ranges, you
don’t have to raise light for value. This is true for both in position and out of
3️⃣ position, but for different reasons.
When you face a 3-bet in position, you should be
happy to call more often as 3️⃣ it puts your opponent into this tough postflop spot
(playing out of position with a high stack-to-pot ratio). Thus, flat-calling 3️⃣ the
premium hands worse than KK (QQ, AK) is useful.
When you face a 3-bet out of position,
you want to 3️⃣ minimize your disadvantages and protect your ranges. Thus flat-calling the
premium hands worse than KK (QQ, AK) is best.
You can 3️⃣ also make a case for flatting AA
and KK, depending on how deep you actually are and how aggressive your 3️⃣ opponent will
play postflop. You should be less likely to 4-bet AA and KK as you get deeper and
against 3️⃣ aggressive players who will pile chips into the pot postflop.
Postflop
Strategy
The biggest postflop adjustment should be made when you’re in 3️⃣ a 3-bet pot as
the preflop raiser out of position. This is the most important deep stack adjustment
because this 3️⃣ is where the biggest stack-to-pot ratio change occurs.
Since you’re so
much deeper in these pots, you need to play a 3️⃣ slightly more defensive strategy. This
means you’ll have to do more checking, more calling, less betting, and less
check-raising. This 3️⃣ will be an especially valuable adjustment against aggressive
opponents that will relentlessly attack your perceived capped ranges.
In the other
postflop 3️⃣ spots, like 4-bet pots or 3-bet pots in position as the preflop raiser, your
strategy shouldn’t change much at all.
Final 3️⃣ Thoughts
Playing deep stacked can be
daunting, but it can also be a walk in the park depending on how you 3️⃣ set yourself up
from preflop. By making the adjustments discussed here, you will be able to navigate
with confidence and 3️⃣ put your opponents in tougher spots.
That’s all for this article! I
hope you enjoyed it and that you’ve found it 3️⃣ useful.
Want more? Read The Only Two
Reasons to Bet in Poker (Every Other Reason is Wrong).
Till’ next time, good luck,
3️⃣ grinders!
