Buying in deep
Marcus Bateman
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Marcus Bateman /
28 January 2009 /
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In low stakes games it is rarely correct to ever buy in short, simply because the skill level of players is such that you nearly always want to be trying to give yourself a chance at winning all of their chips
Buying in deep has one substantial advantage over buying in short. If you are sitting in a game with another player who is weak and also has a big stack, you give yourself the opportunity to win all of their chips in one hand.
If you were playing short stacked, then you would only be able to win a slim percentage of these chips - even if the hand would have gone the same way regardless (such as them overplaying top pair etc). The basic situation with deep stacked poker is that it requires much more skill. If you and an opponent are both playing deep then any edge you have will become much more obvious and the money will roll in much faster. Conversely, if you are not as good at deep stacked poker as your opponent, then you will lose money in a much faster manner than if you were playing short.
In low stakes games it is rarely correct to ever buy in short, simply because the skill level of players is such that you nearly always want to be trying to give yourself a chance at winning all of their chips. As you move up the stakes however, games start to appear where buying in deep may not be the best choice, and you can actually increase your edge by buying in short (this is mainly to do with many higher stakes cash game players being unsure as to the exact optimum strategy when playing against short stacked players).
Buying in deep allows you to win big pots from weak players, but it also allows you to lose big ones too. When buying in short, the psychological impact of any hand you win or lose is reduced substantially compared to deep stacked poker. If deep down you know that watching one hundred or more big blinds of yours get shoved towards your opponent, buying in deep is probably not the best idea for you.
As mentioned with short stacking, when playing live buying in deep can also draw lots of unwarranted attention to you. Having a big pile of chips in front of you is like a red rag to a bull in terms of attracting people with get rich quick schemes, backing proposals, and straight out begging. When playing live you should think closely about just want kind of image you are conveying to not only the players at the table, but also any onlooker.
If you feel you have a big edge against a player(s) then you should nearly always buy in deep to give yourself the best possible shot at winning their money. If you feel uncomfortable with not only the amount of money on the table, but also how that makes you look, it is probably best to stay a bit more under the radar and buy in shorter.
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