Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 5,363
Stack depths affect the risk versus reward ratio of many decisions in NL. It doesn't have a significant effect in limit except if someone has only a few bets left.
The simplest example is when you move all-in. Deeper stacks in relation to the size of the pot mean your opponent has to win more frequently in order to make a profitable call. If you are bluffing, you are risking your stack for the amount in the pot, so deeper stacks mean your opponent must fold more frequently for the bluff to be profitable.
Second, if you bet or raise a smaller amount than all-in, this is much more threatening if you have a lot more chips you can bet on the next streets.
Third, if you are considering calling with a draw, you should consider the implied odds. The true reward when your draw hits on the next street is often much more than the pot, since you might expect to win additional bets, particularly if your draw will be completed by a card that does not look threatening. The stacks provide a limit to your implied odds.
When the stacks are under 40 times the big blind, in general, you should be aiming to make a good hand often, such as top pair with a good kicker or an overpair. When the stacks are over 80 big blinds, you should aim both at those hands and at rarer stronger hands like sets, straights, and flushes. When the stacks are under 10 big blinds, you often want to move all-in preflop to attack the blinds and any limpers.