It has often been said that winning in poker takes the ability to worry about far more than just the cards that are being dealt. Any fool can win with pocket Aces and any idiot can recognize when their terrible hand has been bested. So what is that extra something that makes the game so much fun and so difficult at the same time? It is knowing not only when to bet, but also knowing how much to bet. In order to recognize this, you have to play poker game online with an idea of how your stack size impacts your own play and impacts the play of those around you.

The differences between playing in a poker tournament and playing in a ring game are pronounced, and this is especially true when talking about stack sizes in poker. In a cash game, every chip on the table has an actual dollar value that you can reclaim at the end of the session. When it comes time to play in a tournament, your chips are only good as a means to one of the winning places in the tournament. As you learn poker, you will recognizes the other differences between the different formats.

When you have a big stack, you have the ability to be something of a bully. You can push around other players and force them to make moves that they otherwise wouldn't. If you have played in a free poker online tournament, then you have seen this happen. When your stack is bigger than the guy across from you, he will be more likely to fold to your raises, since you have the power to put him completely out of business.

Likewise, a small stack puts you at a disadvantage, but it can also make you very dangerous. This is where your stack size and the pot size correspond. What happens if you have only twice as much as the pot left in your stack? It wouldn't do you much good to make a small bet, since you could maximize both your leverage and the value of your hand by pushing all in.

Typically, if you are looking to be the bully on a big stack, then you want to make bets that are about the size of the pot. Anything more than that is an overbet - a move that should only be used when you are trying to create a situation where your opponent won't draw at a hand against you. Another move is to make value bets, which are smaller than the size of the pot and are good enough for bringing an opponent into the action.