Playing the mid stack in MTTs

Marcus Bateman / Marcus Bateman / 27 October 2009 / Leave a Comment

The basic problem with the mid stack is that you have too many chips to just go all in with, but too few to avoid committing yourself to the pot if you just make a standard raise.

One of the hardest stack sizes to play in no limit hold'em is one between ten and twenty big blinds. Below ten big blinds and your life is pretty simple - the only move you have is to go all in. Above twenty, you have a decent amount of chips to maneuver with, and can simply play regular poker. The basic problem with the mid stack is that you have too many chips to just go all in with, but too few to avoid committing yourself to the pot if you just make a standard raise - so what is the best course of action?

One of the most important plays to understand - and be capable of making - when playing the mid stack is the re-steal. Although you have too many chips to usually just open shove with if folded to, you have the perfect number of chips to shove over the top of an opener's standard raise. This play has the added bonus of winning you many more chips than you would get through a regular blind steal, and a few of these plays made at the right time can quickly get you back to a playable stack.

They key times to look to make this play is against loose, deep stacked late position raisers. As they are loose and deep stacked, they will be looking to apply pressure whenever possible, and will opening a very wide range of hands in late position - perfect when looking to get them to fold. This is not a good play to make against standard tight players raising from early positions unless you have a very strong hand - their range of hands is pretty small and they will nearly always call.

It is still OK to open with a mid stack to a standard amount if you have a big hand - no one minds being pot committed with a big hand after all - but you should not be opening any hand that you are not prepared to go all the way with unless you have a very significant read on the blinds. Conversely, there are situations where shoving is a completely legitimate move with this stack size - particularly when blind on blind on when folded to on the button - when you have a medium strength hand such as weak Broadway cards or an ace.

Whatever the situation, you do not want to be playing medium stacks for long in tournaments. You need to try and work out the most effective strategy to get yourself back to a stack capable of allowing you to make more than just a few moves. Being able to have enough chips to weather the various storms that tournament poker throws at you is crucial to long term success, and the best tournament players are masters at getting themselves back in the hunt as quickly and as safely as possible.

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