As a big stack, you are a threat to every chip stack at your table. Maintaining a deep stack is an art form. By using strategic tactics and playing smartly, you can use your deep stack to your advantage to go deep and win poker tournaments.
Playing Deep Stack Poker
When playing the deep stack in a poker stars tournament, the last thing you want to do is sit back and relax. You have done a great job building your lead. Now is not the time to rest, allowing others to catch up to you. Remaining on the offensive while controlling the pace of the table is imperative to deep stacked poker play.
Choose your Targets
The best deep stack poker players are bullies at hear. When in a deep stacked situation, you want to pick on the medium and average stacked poker players, as a general rule. The medium stacks typically do not wish to become short stacks, or worse yet eliminated. Especially later in a tournament, by using your deep stack, you can often force medium stacks off a hand.
Avoid other deep stacked players when possible. It is not a pretty site when two deep stack players engage in a game of chicken near the bubble of a poker tournament. If you do not believe me, sit back and watch sometime. However, without the best of it, avoid being one of the parties involved in a deep stack battle royal. Leave the implosions to the novices.
Keep in mind that short stacked players at pokerstar.it are looking to double up or go home. With that in mind, when encountering a short stack, put them to the test.
Defend your Blinds and Re-steal
Send the message early and often that your blinds are your blinds. When someone attacks your blinds from later position, looking to steal – throw in a reraise to put them to the test. When you are in late position and a player raises to steal; take the steal move away from them. Use your chips and your position to your advantage.
By continually applying pressure to the short and medium stacks, a deep stacked poker player frustrates the table and ends up with a mountain of chips. Be the table bully while smartly steering clear of other deep stacks and you will do well while playing poker with a deep chip stack.
Gus Hansen was born February 13th 1974 in Copenhagen, Denmark where he lived for his childhood. Gus Hansen lived in Denmark until he moved to Santa Cruz, California on an exchange program for school. He quickly became interested in poker while in Santa Cruz and when he wasn’t in class he would usually be found playing poker at the Ocean View Card Room in Santa Cruz.
Before playing poker Gus was a champion backgammon and tennis player and seen success playing both throughout his life. After Gus finished his education he started playing poker professionally and then took a break three years later to try and play backgammon professionally in New York. He didn’t think the action was as good as it was at the poker tables so he went back to playing poker full-time.
Gus has seen quite a bit of success since starting to play poker and he’s an active cash game player at high stakes in a variety of different poker games. He has won most of his money in cash games and he thrives for the huge action which is why he loves poker so much. Gus has yet to win a WSOP bracelet, but there is no doubt in my mind that he will accomplish this before he retires from playing poker. Gus has won 3 WPT championships though and had several deep appearances on the EPT. You will also see Hansen playing a lot of poker on television shows as he’s always invited since he has a great style of play for the cameras.
Hansen has also spent a lot of time working on online poker sites such as Full Tilt Poker and others where he owns a stake in the ownership. Gus has done work broadcasting backgammon championships and does a lot of blogging for certain websites on the internet. Gus recently launched a poker television channel online as well where you can watch poker action all day long. Gus has also moved into the instructional DVD’s like some other poker players and has released a box set of training videos.
When Gus isn’t playing poker he still loves to gamble on just about anything you can imagine and he constantly gambles with friends on sporting events, tennis and much more. With all of the gambling Gus does and the massive cash games he plays in, it’s been reported before that Gus has run into money problems due to excessive gambling. The cash games he plays in are often for hundreds of thousands of dollars and he has lost massive amounts of money quite a few times in the past. Gus has admitted he lost millions before in a game and he also admits to being an under .500 sports bettor and would wish he could just stop rather then keep betting on sports.
Gus’s style of UB poker is loose and aggressive and he lives by the way he plays poker on FullTilt. Many people are often scared by his big bets, but they often get him in trouble as well. He does modestly well in cash games, but his style usually doesn’t help him last long in tournaments.