Deep Stack Poker Tournaments

A “Deep Stack” tournament, is one in which players start with an amount of starting chips that is high in comparison to the blind levels, this can be; 5000 starting chips with 10/20 blinds, 10000 starting chips at 25/50 blinds or any other combination when the starting chips are much larger then the starting blind levels.

These tournaments will also normally feature slower blind levels, an example is PokerStars $22 Deep Stack tournament which takes place daily at 1:15PM GMT. This tournament features 5000 starting chips, 10/20 starting blinds and 30 minute blind levels.

The purpose of “Deep Stack” tournaments, and why many professionals favour this tournament structure is that with the increased number of hands played, due to smaller and reduced length blind levels, the “variance” of cards dealt will be considerably lower. An example being, in a typical tournament with 1000 starting chips and 10/20 blind levels with 10 minute blinds. If you don’t receive a “good” hand for 30 minutes, blind levels are already moving up to 50/100. In a deepstack event blinds would only just be moving up to the second level 15/30. So with the deepstack structure players have a much better opportunity to be patient and wait for premium hands, rather then be killed by the blinds.

Deep Stack Stack Tournament Strategy

Betting Size : In deep stack tournaments, the size of your bet becomes more important. In the early stages, with big hands it’s definitely worth trying to build a big pot with a premium hand, while it’s unlikely to “stack” (eliminate) an opponent in the early stages of a deep stack event it’s definitely worth trying to do so. Don’t Over Commit : When you’re sat with a average hands, it’s worth remembering that the event is setup in such a way it’s likely you’ll be dealt a “good” hand, so don’t over commit your stack with average hands, as this means you’ll have less chips to work with when you hit premium hands. Protecting Hands : It’s important to protect your premium starting hands in the early stages of deepstack tournaments. When your dealt hands such as; AA,KK,QQ,JJ,AK it can often be worth raising substantial amounts to protect your hands from inferior hands outdrawing you and costing you more chips. If you are looking to try some deep stack poker tournaments you should check out PokerStars (US Friendly) or alternatively Titan Poker (Non US Only). Both of these are great online poker sites and offer a wide range of deep stack tournaments to choose from.