Playing Big Stack


Tips for Playing the Big Stack in a Nine Player S&G Tournament

* First and foremost you need to protect your stack and make sure that you always remain near the lead until there are three players left. Once there are three players then you can do what you need to do in order to win. The worst feeling though is when you’re winning one of these tournaments at Full Tilt Poker and then you come in fourth or fifth because you didn’t protect your stack so be careful.

* Once you’re down to five or so players most players are going to be scared of getting involved in any pots with you because you’re the leader and have more chips then them. Most players will be working to finish in the top three which means you’ll be able to steal the blinds most hands. Throw in small raises most hands and nine times out of ten you’ll win the pot without any showdown. If you get re-raised then forfeit the small raise and get out of the hand.

* When small stacks go all-in you’re going to be the one who needs to call them most times. If the odds are in your favor meaning getting 2:1 or more on your money then you should call no matter what your cards are. If its going to cost you a fair bit of your stack then make sure you’re confident with the hand. If not then wait for the next hand at PokerStar.net for the short stack to go all-in and catch them then. There is no rush to knock players out when you’re in first so take your time and what for some cards.

* Once it’s down to four players you should basically sit-out and allow one of the other players to knock someone out to get to the top three. Once you’re in the top three you’ll have won at least 20% of the winnings.

* Now it’s time to start playing a lot more aggressively and putting the pressure on people. Basically every hand when it’s three players is an all-in from someone so make sure you’re collecting some of the blinds. Blinds are high at this point and you could lose the lead if you don’t start playing more marginal hands. Your hand selection should be wide open and you should never flat call anyone when you’re down to only three players. You need to decide whether you’ll just fold or raise all-in.

There are other tips as well out there that will help you play the big stack in nine player sit and go tournaments on www.betfair.com, but if you follow these tips then you’ll do fine. The most important tip is to protect your stack, just because you have a lot of chips doesn’t mean you should call players down to the river hoping to hit a flush or straight. This is the classic way of losing your chip lead quickly and once you do it’s hard to get back.