The Importance of Stack Sizes

md261 on 3rd March 2010

I am writing this while playing. The tables are tough so rather than play 7 tables where i'll make $2 a table, I am playing the 2 most profitable, while writing this post.

PokerStars Game $70+$6 USD Hold'em No Limit - Level V (75/150)
Seat 1: hero (2635 in chips) 17.5BBs
Seat 2: villain (2005 in chips) 13.4BBs
Seat 3: player 3 (2280 in chips)
Seat 5: player 5 (2080 in chips)
hero: posts small blind 75
villain: posts big blind 150
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to hero [7s 7h]
player 3: folds
player 5: folds
hero: raises 225 to 375 (2.5BBs)
villain: raises 1630 to 2005 and is all-in
hero: calls 1630
*** FLOP *** [Js 2s 2d]
*** TURN *** [Js 2s 2d] [As]
*** RIVER *** [Js 2s 2d As] [Ks]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
hero: shows [7s 7h] (a flush, Ace high)
villain: shows [7d Ad] (two pair, Aces and Deuces)
hero collected 4010 from pot

One of the most important factors in deciding what action to take in a hand is the stack sizes of yourself and your opponents at the table, in relation to the blinds.
In the hand above it is folded around to me in the small blind, the villain is an aggressive regular player who seems to play hyper-aggressive against me. As the villains stack is about 13-14 Big Blinds, my effective stack is also 13-14BB's, as I can risk no more than this amount of chips.
Against a player this aggressive, pocket 7's is a very strong hand for a Blind vs. Blind situation with stacks of this depth. As it is strong enough to get all in with, I want to find a way to make him get all his chips into the pot with the widest range of hands.
Pushing all in would make him fold many worse hands which he may make a move with. Raising a full 3BB's to 450 may make him question if I will fold to a reraise after commiting so much.
If I limp he will raise with alot of hands, including many rubbish ones, which he will then fold if I go all in, I will win the chips he raises, but when I am called, I will hardly ever be better off than 50/50, furthermore there is always the possibilty he checks behind me, which leaves me playing a medium pair, out of position, against an aggressive player.
Raising to 2.5BB's will put him to the test, I know he is aching to make a move against me, and this looks weak, he thinks I bluff all the time, so he will reraise all-in with any semi-decent hand, as well as occasionally with a terrible hand, just because it's how he plays against me.

md261