How to be the chip leader

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47goonz

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I find myself struggling with chip lead a lot. Not struggling with, let's say a 5:1 chip lead heads up, but struggling with in a 3 handed game where I have 1.5:1 on one player and 2:1 on another. What strategy do you guys take with this kind of lead?
 
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Jdawg0913

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There is no real strategy that specific. The key is just to play solid poker. Know what to do with different stack sizes. Understand icm situations based on the payout structure. Don't be over aggressive just because your chip leader. Play solid and your results will improve.
 
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Swickster007

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Becoming the chip leader sometimes just falls into your lap. It can depend solely on who is at your tables and what hands they have when you have the best hand. If you have a full house...and no one has a pair, then you probably aren't going to get many chips, but on the other hand, if you end up with a river flush over a straight, then the pot will probably be pretty hefty. All in all, just have patience and play consistent poker. Being chip leader does not mean you have to throw the chips around because someone will eventually call and you'll lose them quickly.
 
vinylspiros

vinylspiros

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Adapt to your table and try to be solid. If they are playing really tight and straightforward and the blinds mean anything. Try to steal a little wider. If they are playing loose, tighten up and let them eliminate each other. In more general terms though, tight is right. Chip leads come and go if you play bad.
 
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TheNoobie

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Vinylspiros basically covered everything. You need to watch out how they play, steal blinds as much as possible, since in most of the time everyone wants to advance and wait for a big hand, they fold more, thats where you come in. You can raise from SB or the button, but make sure your raises are big enough to mess up his decisions. For example if the blinds are 2500-5000 with total ante 500, you are on the button and you raise the big blind to 7500. Now he already has 5k in the table, the pot is 8k and he only needs to call 2500. This is an easy decision, you wouldnt want to make it so easy for him. And the other thing you want to watch out for is if when these two people knockout eachother, how much chips will the survivor have? Say they both have 2k and you got 5k, when one of the players knockout the other he will have 4k chips. Do you think thats good enough for you? Can you still win? If the answer is yes, you play solid premium hands, aggressive. If not do your best to eliminate atleast one of them for the chip advantage.
 
Arjonius

Arjonius

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For example if the blinds are 2500-5000 with total ante 500, you are on the button and you raise the big blind to 7500. Now he already has 5k in the table, the pot is 8k and he only needs to call 2500.
Unless it's your entire stack, you can't open for 7500 when the BB is 5000.
 
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