Deep stack no limit is a complex game where a player will hold over 200 big blinds in their stack. You are not following a poker tournament strategy where you are limiting yourself to the “top ten poker hands” and folding everything else. In a cash game, most hands like pocket pairs, suited connectors, one gapped hands and any Ace are playable in the right situations. Position at the table becomes very important as does specific deep stack poker concepts.

Deep stacked games are complex because you are forced to play all three streets of action. In short handed games, even tournaments, you are generally all-in very quickly which eliminates some of the decisions that define the skill edge for the quality poker professionals. This is why the pros love it when you play deep stacked games as they can maximise the advantage they hold over a weaker player.

You need to ensure that in a big confrontation you hold a good hand. As standard betting in any form of poker sees the bets get progressively bigger as you are betting in relation to the pot size (especially in No Limit), your hand strength must be adequate to what the betting is telling you your opponent might hold. Patience and position are important. There is a big difference between getting away from a 50 big blind bet on the turn acting last or making a 50 big blind bet and being forced to fold with the same hand.

Hand values change dramatically in deep stack poker. In a short stacked game you are like to raise with AQ and if you hit your top pair you go all-in knowing you are likely to be ahead. If you lose you do not lose a lot because of your limited stack size to begin with. Try this with a deep stack, however, and playing three streets of action with this hand will see you lose big pots and win small ones. Hands like 9hTh become more valuable because of implied odds if you hit big. It is concealed and likely to be strong in a big hand versus big hand situation. In a 200+ big blind pot, top pair does not normally cut it.

Rather than think of big hands think of “big pot hands” and try to play them in position. Pot control is a massive part of No Limit cash games when played with deep stacks because you want to win small pots with the small pot hands and win big pots only when you hold a monster. You need to avoid getting into raising wars on bluffs anymore than necessary. You can afford to wait for hands and not worry to much about the blinds as when the big pot hand does arise you can get your money in knowing that any win will more than make up for previous blind losses.

Position and patience really is the key to playing winning deep stack cash game holdem.

By Malcolm Clarke