Playing with the big stack

In large tournaments there is, especially late, a person with a 3 to 1 chip stack to everyone else.

Some people continue to play conservative and Others Bully the table.
It seems to me, a Conservative, that the bullies seem to win the tournaments.

Do you Bully or Play conservative and what are the pro's and con's of each?

mathematically, if you do have a big stack it makes more sense to raise more often, for smaller amounts, as your stack grows and the field reduces with all the short stacks all looking to bump up a pay grade as opposed to building a stack, as such.

ya, i'd definitely be cautious when you get a big stack, it probably wasn't easy to get those chips, so why just give them away? I agree that you can put some looser raises in but I would make sure I had good position. And I wouldn't start calling all-in's with crappier cards just because you can afford to. Next thing you know your chips will be gone. I see this happen all too often from not so good players, big stack to eliminated just like that.

My mistake is playing too conservatively with a big stack or picking the wrong times to use that big stack.

I have big stack issues from time to time as well.. if your still within the first third or half of the projected tournament its still wise to see more flops (mostly regardless to position) while the blinds are still low, you get to play more hands and the possibility of multi player action is greater.. be careful because this is not a good reason to call every hand, only loosen up slightly from what should already be a patient, cautioned game plan to the first half of the tournament.. When the blinds get higher, position becomes crucial to growing ur stack and not moving the other way.. Mix up your play, have ur opponents confused and on their feet, your stack is intimidating regardless of what cards you have, remember that.. I keep trying to refine my big stack play but always seem to get trapped to some ridiculous hand.. and that always brings me back down to around average lol

^ exactly you dont want to raise every pot like some people do, this just makes your play very obvious to the rest of the table. eventually people will start reraising and testing your cards. its best to have a controlled aggresion & to pick your spots smart.

lilturkgirl86 said:

^ exactly you dont want to raise every pot like some people do, this just makes your play very obvious to the rest of the table. eventually people will start reraising and testing your cards. its best to have a controlled aggresion & to pick your spots smart.

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Agreed, then you start putting yourself in spots you shouldn't be in. Ie. you raise then someone min raises you, now your odds are so good to call the small reraise, you flop top pair J's with a 3 kicker and someone bets a small amount you call, next card is a 2 you both check river comes a blank villain checks and you put in a raise and then get reraised and you call cuz its not too much more, villain flips over AJ, you lose a bunch of chips...on a hand you shouldn't have been in.... just made that ex up obviously but u get the idea.

Bullys like a constant flow of raising because most will cower in fear as they wait for that big hand. Problem is by the time you get that big hand, youre very low on chips and the allin will just force the bully to spit out the hook youre trying to set.

I think this is the perfect time to loosen up and play that bully with your soft ace, kq, kj and the like. Let the bully set the raise pace as you limp. When it comes to the river more ofter then not you can draw the bully in because the additional chips vs the pot wont be enough to chase the leader away. You stand a real good chance of winning that hand even with a pair.

I love it when they turn over their 8 6 off suit. Walla you are back in the middle of the pack and can see some light ahead.

Of cause, with big stack I start playing looser, but I doesn't mean I start doing a really bad moves or playing hands that better not to play at all. For instance, I can't understand the example above with a pair of J's and a 3 as a kicker. I wouldn't play J3 anyway regardless of how big my chip stack is. Some people get really crazy by having a huge stack and start playing almost maniacly, I see this happens often, especially on freerolls. They start playing depending only on their stack size but not on other essential things, such as: your opponent, your cards, table dinamics, your and your opponent's ranges, whether your opponent is pot-commited and so on. Not a nice idea. You can play looser, of cause, but stay smart with your game. I always wonder how can people, for example, call someone with about 5% to win (with lowest pair or something) even though it's a bubble time and their stack is 5 times bigger. I would say that you, as a chipleader on the bubble, should eliminate other shortstacked players from a tourney, not to help them stay alive.

playing a big stack definitly has a advantage.moving to a new table even gains more allowing bigger raises and others folding not knowing your card range

If I am shooting to run deep, and have the $ for rebuys and addons...

Then I play a lot more aggressive at the start. I usually aim to get a decent chip stack that I can be more conservative with, an not have to worry about blinds. Once you have a big chip stack, its not always wise to continue playing aggressively. The amount of blinds/pots you can steal is often little compared to the risk.

The main thing to remember is don't feel obligated to call all-ins because you are the big stack.