How to Stack Your Chips Correctly

Did you know that a professional poker player can make some fairly accurate assumptions about your style of playing poker just by looking at your chip stack? Obviously I do not mean if you have a massive chip stack they think “He/she is a good player” because you are winning, I mean the way that you arrange your chips can give them indications about your level of experience and the way your mind arranges information.

This may further persuade you to prefer playing online poker to live poker where such things are disguised thanks to the automated way chips are counted, handled and stacked in online poker. But discussing how to stack chips to disguise your inexperience for live poker tournaments this article will help you in that spot where getting that bluff through means the difference between bubbling out and cashing for you. As you will be aware already, not appearing as a poker novice gives you an edge on the competition and you can look novice if your chip stack is disorganised and not stacked in a professional way.

Remember when players do not know who you are they must look for anything to help them classify you. You could be a top professional online player that no-one has seen live or you could be a lucky fish who is dead money and it is a race for your opponents to get your chips before you bust out.

Chips need to be stacked and you cannot leave them in a big pile to disguise your chip stack size. Some players play with their stacks and create mini towers to alleviate the boredom between hands. Providing they are stacked in such a way where you can quickly count your chips and know where you are in terms of stack size at all times you are heading in the right direction. As the blinds go up in a poker tournament knowing your exact amount of “M’s” or big bets is important in knowing whether to call, raise or simply shove all-in.

My personal preference is stacking them like pool balls in a rack. For example, if I have $1.5 million chips I would stack them in stacks of $100,000 so ten of them would be in a large triangle. I know straight away that is $1 million chips. The rest of the chips would be stacked in similar round number amounts so I can quickly count them up. Any chips left over from the round numbers I keep together in a small stack that I either shuffle or sit on top of the chip towers so I can either use them to bet with or count separately. Quickly counting your stack makes you look in control and experienced.

Juan Carlos Mortensen, the 2001 World Series of Poker Main Event winner, is known for very elaborate chip stacks that when he has a large stack look like minor works of art. This reflects Mortensen’s very create mind and his style of poker reflects this. John Juanda, on the other hand, likes to keep his chips in a straight line. It is no co-incidence that his poker playing is very organised, solid and well thought out. What clues do you give away about your own play in your chip stack?

Only a very observant and good poker player will look at your stack and make assumptions about your poker game, but remember that these quality players are the ones we need to shield information from most of all. Stack you chips carefully, always know how many chips you have and change up your style of stacking if any player mentions that you stack a certain way. Keep your opponents guessing at all times during any poker cash game or tournament.

By Malcolm Clarke