Stack 17–21bb in the tournament: preflop and postflop strategy

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Translated by order of the educational portal university.poker
Article author: PokerStars Learn, original source: PokerStars Learn

Although at the start of the tournament, participants are usually given a stack of 100 big blinds (BB) (and sometimes 150, and 200 BB), most of the tournament distance players have to go with a much smaller stack the long run. Therefore, it is so important to learn to play with an average (less than 40 bb) and short (less than 20 bb) stack. Our today's article is dedicated to the game with a short stack.

1. What is BB

Let's start with the basics. If you're new to poker, you might be a little confused at first about the big blinds. Large blinds are used as a unit of measure to determine the size of the current stack. A simple calculation will determine the number of big blinds on your stack.

• Example: you have a stack of 2000 chips, a small blind of 50 and a big blind of 100. You just need to divide your stack by the size of the big blind. So: 2000/100 = 20 big blinds

In addition, for the convenience of players, each poker room has an option to display the stack in large blinds in its settings.

2. How to play with a 17-21 BB stack

If you regularly participate in poker tournaments, this situation is familiar to you: after losing several large pots at the beginning of the tournament, your stack is only about 20 big blinds. Even with a stack of 20 big blinds (20 BB), you have other options than going all-in. And in most situations, alternative actions will bring more EV. Let's look at methods and strategies that can help you increase your stack or keep it running.

Don't play too passively

Many immediately narrow down their game and pray to give away a strong hand such as AA or KK, but the chances of getting aces are only 1 in 221. By then, you're sure to have spent all your chips on the blind payout. And even if you get the aces, you will lose about 15% of the time. Instead of waiting for the perfect situation, create it yourself!

Take advantage of a table position

Concentrate on the position as much as possible. By this point, you should have some information about your opponents' style of play.

By focusing on hands from a late position, you will gain more information to control the banks you decide to play. This will allow you to try to steal blinds by making small raises or re-raises to get your opponent to fold without risking your entire stack. Also, even with a short stack, you can play a raise-fold with hands that are suitable for opening, but not suitable for exhibiting.

At the same time, as a rule, sizing x2.2 - 2.5 of the size of the raise will be enough. Important! In short stacks, you can and should use bluff 3-bet in a pure exploit against certain opponents.

Adapt your strategy to your opponents

Observe the style of play of your opponents, their bet habits and the size of their sized stack. Everyone plays differently: with a huge stack of 200 BB, some players will play more loose and take more risks, while others will continue to play very secretly. The same goes for small stacks. Some players will wait to collect a strong hand, while others will give up and make a call with anything. You should try to determine which category your opponents are in.

Example 1: Tight player on the big blind
If the player on the big blind is very Tight (for example, if you often saw his game on the big blind), everyone else has dropped before you (and you are on the button), then you could make a small raise to steal blinds almost on the Eni-Tu hand. Do not forget to put a cbet (in such stacks, in most textures of the flop, a minimum sbet of 1BB is enough). 

Example 2: loose player on the big blind
If, on the other hand, the player on the big blind is a loser and he is fighting for all the pots, you will need a much stronger hand to participate in the draw. This is where your notes come in handy. For example, what bet is he ready to equalize on preflop? With what is he ready to stack-off on the entire stack? Wait until you have a strong hand, increase the size of your bet, and you may well double your stack against this type of opponent.

Opponent Stack Size

The smaller the stack of your opponents, the more you can expand your range. Obviously, you should also adjust this range according to your knowledge of the opponents at the table to teach you the basics.

• Example: You are on a button with 20 big blinds, and the player in the middle position is all-in.

As you can see, the smaller your opponent's stack, the wider your call range becomes.

Of course, there are many other information you should analyze before deciding whether to call or not:

​​​​​​The more information you gather, the better you will be able to make the best decisions in such situations.

Your image at the table

How do your opponents perceive your game at the table? If you played secretly throughout the game and opened only with strong hands, your bluff will most likely work, which will allow you to steal several pots. If you've played a lot of pots and tried to bluff and other players have exposed it, you can use a strong hand to double your stack because your opponents are less likely to believe you.

3. Bubble Stack Strategies 17-21 BB

Playing a doughnut with a 20 BB stack is also different. If the minimum win will significantly increase your bankroll or if you have qualified through a satellite for a larger event that you usually can not get to, it is probably better to play as secretly as possible to try to secure the game and guarantee yourself any prize place. Look in the tournament lobby and see how many players have fewer stacks than you. 

You can even watch some of these tables to learn how to play with these smaller stacks. Conversely, if you prefer to increase your stack and go as far as possible in the tournament, you will have to take more risks. The safest way to do this is to target player stacks with fewer chips than yours, which won't be able to knock you out even if you lose the pot. As we saw above, you will also have to take advantage of the image you represent to your opponents on the bubble.

Pre-Bubble Strategy

A good strategy is that if you have the opportunity to follow the lobby of the tournament, you need to start tightening the image that you show your opponents before they even start thinking about the bubble. Thus, once on the bubble, other players will see you as a secret player, and you can use this to steal many more banks with small raises and re-raises or against smaller stacks without risking your entire stack.

4. Focus and patience when playing in short stacks

Concentration and patience are important skills for a professional tournament poker player, especially when you have a short stack.

Never give up, don't get upset and play until the end. In short stacks, you can and should have a good EV, because your opponents are very uncomfortable playing in such conditions. Sometimes you drop out after a few hands. But from time to time you will manage to stay in the tournament and rise in the leaderboard. And who knows, once you master the art of playing with a 20 BB stack, maybe you'll make it to the final tables.