Stack Definition: All You Need to Know About Stack in Poker

Quick facts by PokerStrategy

Stack in poker means the amount of chips that you have on the table to play with.
Poker stacks are usually thought about in terms of the number of big blinds.
You’re always playing to the effective stacks in a pot, which is the amount actually in play.
Your poker stack size strategy should vary dramatically according to stack depth and SPR.

What Does Stack Mean in Poker?

Stack in poker refers to the number of chips that you have on the table to play with. In cash games, you can buy in and reload for any size stack. In tournaments, your stack size is an indication of your place in the tournament.

Stack sizes are measured in relation to the blinds. For example, if the blind levels are currently 100/200 and Player A has 2,000 chips, they have a stack size of 10 big blinds. Viewing stacks this way is useful when it comes to applying poker stack size strategy.

Effective Stack vs Actual Stack

It’s important to understand the difference between your actual poker stack and the effective stacks in play. Whenever you are involved in a pot in poker, you are always playing to the stack depths of the player with the shorter stack.

For example:

Player A has a stack of 5,000 chips.
Player B has a stack of 10,000 chips.
If these players are in a pot together, the effective stack size is 5,000 chips.

The effective stack is the true amount that can be won or lost in a pot. In this case, although Player B has double the chips, they only play for the value of Player A’s stack. Always think about effective stacks over actual stacks when it comes to your strategy.

Strategic Adjustments by Stack Size

Poker stack size is not only a measure of how well you are doing in a tournament or how much you have won in a cash game. You’ll also need to make adjustments to your poker strategy based on stack sizes.

Short Stack Strategy (10 – 20bb)

In short stack poker, your postflop betting options are minimal, and you’re generally reduced to shoving all in preflop. At the lower end of 10 big blinds, open-shoving from late position gives you the opportunity to steal blinds to build your stack back up. If you are called, you’ll go to the races and potentially double up.

With a short stack of 15-20 big blinds, you’re at the ideal stack size to three-bet all-in against loose late position raises. A successful resteal at this depth isn’t too risky, yet adds a huge chunk to your stack.

Short stack strategy is one of the simplest to master. Focus on learning preflop hand ranges at typical tournament short stack depths, such as 10bb and 15bb.

Mid Stack Strategy (20-50 big blinds)

A medium poker stack size of 20 – 40 big blinds is very common during the mid to late stages of tournaments. At this depth, you have a lot more options open to you when it comes to entering the pot and playing postflop.

Although your ranges should still be relatively tight, especially from early position, you can afford to raise-fold with this stack depth, call and play hands in position, defend the big blind wider, and use fold equity effectively by bluffing and semi-bluffing.

However, you still need to be careful not to play too many speculative hands or overcommit in marginal spots with a medium poker stack. With this stack depth, you’ll need to plan your betting line postflop and be careful not to overcommit on the turn.

Deep Stack Strategy (50 -100+bb)

Deep stack poker with 50-100 big blinds or more is only really found during the early stages of tournaments unless it’s a deep stack event. However, deep stacks of 100 big blinds are the norm in cash games.

In any case, all options become available to you with a deep stack. You can widen your ranges from middle and late position, bluff against weak opponents, and bet over the course of multiple streets with value hands and bluffs. Speculative hands, such as small pairs and suited connectors, become more powerful due to implied odds.

At the same time, pot control becomes very important in deep stack poker. Simply put, you have more chips to lose, so you’ll need to keep the pot small and make it to showdown with medium strength hands rather than simply stacking off on the flop.

Stack-to-Pot Ratio (SPR) & Its Importance

Stack to pot ratio (SPR) refers to the size of the effective stacks compared to the size of the pot. It’s an important poker stack size concept that helps you to make informed postflop decisions based on your stack size.

SPR = Effective Stack/Pot Size

For example:

Effective stacks are 10,000 chips.
Pot is currently 2,000 on the flop.
10,000/2,000 = SPR of 5

The SPR shows you how committed you are to your hand and what hands you should stack off with given the situation.

Low SPR (1-3): There’s little room for manoeuvre here. You’re pot committed with a lot of made hands and can profitably stack off with hands like top pair on the flop.
Medium SPR (4 – 6): With a medium SPR, use pot control with your medium strength hands, such as the top pair. You have more room for manoeuvre and can extract value or bluff over multiple streets.
High SPR (7+): With a high SPR, stacks are very deep compared to the size of the pot, which disincentivizes you from battling it out with medium strength hands. Pot control is key, and speculative hands gain strength because of the implied odds of hitting a monster.

You can use SPR as a way of planning ahead. For example, you don’t want to call raises or three-bets with weak hands and commit yourself on the flop. As you become more proficient, you can also use SPR to control the size of the pot to avoid becoming committed, or to force your opponents to commit when they shouldn’t.

Managing Your Stack in Tournaments

Cash games and tournaments are different in terms of how you’ll manage your poker stack. In a cash game, you can focus on pure chip EV decisions, always playing hands when the situation is profitable. If you lose the pot, you always have the option to reload.

In poker tournaments, you won’t be able to reload after a certain point, so your stack represents your progress. Lose it all and you’re out. An even more pressing concern is ICM, a concept that demonstrates that chip values are non-linear in tournaments.

Without going too far into detail on ICM, what that means is that there are some stages in a tournament when you should focus primarily on chip accumulation and chip EV spots, and others in which you should adopt a mindset and strategy that prioritizes survival.

Specifically, preserving your stack becomes more important than gaining chips as the bubble approaches and on the bubble itself, as well as when pay jumps are significant, such as on the final table. During these moments, making the money and laddering up is more valuable than risking your stack to gain chips.

Quick Tips by Stack Size

Here are some quickfire tips on poker stack size strategy, that you can test in real games using the best poker apps for real-money tournaments.

Short stack:

Stick to a positional push-fold strategy with a short stack.
Look for opportunities to maximize fold equity against tight players to steal blinds.
Don’t waste chips on marginal spots by limping or flat calling bets.

Mid stack:

Keep ranges tight, especially in early position.
Consider three-bet shoving preflop against wide open raises.
Avoid fancy plays; instead, stick to selective aggression.

Deep stack:

Open up your ranges and play more speculative hands in position.
Apply pressure postflop with multiple streets of betting.
Use pot control to keep the pot small and make it to showdown with medium strength hands.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many chips are usually in a starting stack for tournaments?

The starting stack size of tournaments varies according to the game format. As a general guide, players will start with around 50-100 big blinds in a turbo tournament, 100+ big blinds in a regular structured event, and 150 big blinds in a deep stack tournament.

What is the difference between a short stack and a deep stack?

A short stack in poker has very few big blinds, such as 10-20bb, and so is restricted when it comes to betting actions and strategy, particularly when it comes to postflop play. A deep stack has a lot more big blinds and, therefore, greater strategic flexibility.

What is an effective stack in poker?

Effective stacks in poker refer to the shorter stack(s) in play during the hand. Even if your actual stack is bigger, you can only play for the chips that the shorter stack has.

Why is stack size important in poker?

Stack size is important not just as a measure of how much you have won or lost in a game, but also has a huge impact on the poker strategy that you’ll use in a given situation.