Money Management - Part I
An advanced concept for playing poker is Money Management. What is the size of the pot relative to your stack (your cash on hand)? By saying that its 10 dollars to call or 1,000 dollars to call is all based on the percentage of what your total stack is. For example, saying that its 500 dollars to call when you have 75,000 dollars does not seem like a lot. But when all you have is 1,000 dollars, that’s 50% of your stack.
Deciding on whether or not to make a call requires you to make fast calculations of what the pot odds are relative to your odds of winning. Early on in a Texas Holdem tournament, the blinds are extremely low and you will be playing more hands. The percentage of the blinds to your stack makes most minimum bets an easy call. But as the game progresses and the blinds start to increase, you must be constantly looking at your chips in relationship with others.
How do I stack up? Am I so far behind that only a miracle will save me? Or am I in the top of the players list and I can afford to take my time. Knowing what you have on hand and how that relates to the pot and other players is essential for success.
