Poker Strategies Guide by Mike Waters (Cash and Tournament Play)

I touched upon how some hands are not worth playing in some situations. Generally speaking, weak hands (like 2-7, 3-7, 3-8, etc) have no room in cash games, so I suggest you avoid them altogether. However, one-gappers or small suited connectors can be useful.

This is where deep stacks come in. A deep stack is typically a stack of at least 100 big blinds (or more). So, in a table with A$1/A$2 blinds, a deep stack would be A$200 or more.

Deep stacks allow you to speculate with hands like suited connectors or small pairs, so the deeper the stack, the more room you have to manoeuvre both pre-flop and post-flop and extract value.

Shallow stacks of less than 40 big blinds change the game. You will rarely get to play post-flop, so you want to focus on strong hands that can win at showdown without needing a strong flop. Premium hands like Ace-King, high pairs, and strong suited aces become your main weapons if you’re a short stack.

For example, let’s take a situation where you’re on the button with 120 big blinds and hold 9-10 suited, the early players fold, and the cutoff limps in. You raise, the cutoff calls, and you hit a straight on the flop. With the deep stacks, you can extract value from hands like top pair or two pairs.

Now, let’s imagine the same hand with 25 big blinds. You can’t really maneuver post-flop, so it’s often better to fold and wait for a stronger hand, which is why I suggest always adjusting your hand selection to your position and stack depth.

Stack Size	Hand Range	Primary Focus	Example Hands
< 40 BB	Premium hands only	Survival; limited post-flop play	AK, AQ, TT+
40–100 BB	Moderate range	Controlled aggression	88+, AJ+, KQ, suited connectors
> 100 BB	Wide range	Post-flop control, value extraction	22+, suited gappers, small pairs

My number one rule when playing the short stack in cash games is: Play tight when dealt bad beats, especially in early position, and only bet aggressively when in a good position and with a strong starting hand.

Believe it or not, though, being a short stack isn’t always bad. It can actually work to your advantage in certain situations in cash games. First, playing the short stack is simpler. You don’t have to worry as much about post-flop plays. You’re mostly deciding whether to fold, call, or shove pre-flop.

A short stack can also pressure medium or larger stacks with all-in. For example, if you shove with a strong hand like Ace-King or a high pair, bigger stacks often fold marginal hands, allowing you to pick up uncontested pots.

A short stack can be good for steals too, but only in late position! Remember how position is key? That’s even more important when you’re the short stack, as you can use it to push all-in and steal the blinds and antes.

Obviously, this is a risky strategy, and experienced players can sport short stacks and exploit you by forcing you into all-in situations with marginal hands. So, the best strategy is to avoid being the short stack altogether.

You can do this by being disciplined and avoiding overcommitting on weak hands. Play the situation, stay disciplined, and try to sit at tables where the average stack is similar to yours.

A deep stack in cash games gives you a lot of flexibility,  but it also demands more skill. Unlike short stacks, here, you do get more room to play, but you do need to stick to some important principles.

The first rule here is not to be too passive and allow shallow stacks in the hand cheaply. You should always charge a good pre-flop hand and not let others see the flop for free. Deep stacks reward aggressive pre-flop play when in a good position because there’s more room to win big pots.

When you’re in a late position with a deep stack, you can sometimes bluff effectively by making continuation bets, especially if the board is scary or your opponents are passive. A continuation bet is when you raise pre-flop and then follow up with a bet on the flop, even if you haven’t improved your hand, to maintain pressure and make your opponents fold weaker hands.

Mistakes to Avoid With Deep Stacks

Hands like suited connectors or small pocket pairs can become profitable with deep stacks, but the basic rules remain: only widen your hand range when in late position. Speculating in an early or mid position is a mistake in cash games, even if you play a deep stack.

Post-flop skill also matters more with a deep stack. They do allow you to play post-flop, so you can chase draws, float opponents, or apply pressure on second-best hands, so here, you need to pay attention to factors like bet sizing and the tendencies of your opponents. Deep stacks let you manipulate pots in ways short stacks can’t, so you should use them to exploit short stacks and not get trapped by them.

In many cash games (especially with low blinds), short-stacked players are often all-in or folding, so you need to make sure you’re not calling marginal hands against them.

A deep stack will tempt you to overcommit on marginal hands, thinking your stack can “absorb losses”. That’s what short stacks live off – your tilt. My number one rule for cash games remains the same regardless of your stack: always stay disciplined and stick to hands and situations that have the best pot odds.

Tip from Mike Waters: I see deep stacks as a weapon, not a shield. They give you leverage to outplay your opponents post-flop and extract maximum value, but they can also lure you into bad spots if you start playing too many hands. Stay patient, use your position, and let your opponents make the big mistakes.

Pot Odds & Implied Odds

The easiest way to explain pot odds and implied odds is via an example.

Let’s say you’re chasing a draw, like a flush or a straight. At this point, it’s important to think about pot odds. Pot odds tell you whether the amount you have to call is worth the chance of completing your hand. For example, if the pot is A$100 and your opponent bets A$20, the pot odds are 5:1. If your chance of hitting your draw is better than that ratio, calling is profitable.

You also want to consider implied odds, which take into account the potential chips you can win if your hand hits. In other words, even if the pot odds are not exactly perfect, you can justify a call if you think you can win extra chips on later streets.

I don’t expect you to be able to calculate implied odds precisely every time because that’s impossible even for someone with 20+ years of experience, but I do recommend estimating implied odds rather than calculating them exactly. Think about whether your hand, if it hits, can win additional bets from your opponent on later streets.

If it can, that often makes a call profitable, even when the immediate pot odds aren’t perfect, because they will rarely be perfect.

Even in cash games, which are played indefinitely and discipline and patience are key, advanced strategies (and your knowledge) separate good players from great ones. They include techniques like reading your opponents, floating, and double barreling. They’re about consistently extracting value and staying one step ahead.

Reading Your Opponents

In cash games, your opponents’ tendencies are often more telling than their cards. Watch how they bet: do they consistently raise with strong hands, or do they bluff frequently? Do they call small bets with weak hands or fold under pressure?

Admittedly, it’s incredibly hard to recognise these patterns in cash games because players come and go constantly. New faces join, some sit out, others leave mid-session. This rotation makes it almost impossible to get a full read on everyone, so what you can do is focus on your game and notice tendencies quickly. Read the table and adjust on the fly.

Floating the Flop

Floating can be a powerful strategy in cash games, but it only works against predictable and aggressive players. The idea is simple: you call a bet on the flop with a weaker hand in an attempt to take the pot away on a later street if your opponent shows weakness.

The problem? You need time to learn your cash game opponents, so you need to be very careful when picking your spots, because floating every player is a recipe for disaster.

Double Barreling

Once you’ve floated or made a continuation bet, consider a second bet on the turn. This is called double barreling. In cash games, you can use double barreling to pressure opponents who are hoping to catch draws or have medium-strength hands. However, you need to be very strategic about it, as smart players might start calling you down with weaker holdings, so you’ll have to change the table.

As the poker tournament progresses, your strategy should change with it. It’s all about adapting to the changing conditions, like rising blinds, ante, short vs deep stacks, and the psychological pressure of elimination. What worked in the first hour can destroy your stack near the bubble, so you need to be aware of the table dynamics and tournament structure at any point of the game.

Stage	Focus	Best Approach
Early	Preserve stack	Play tight, observe opponents
Middle	Build chips	Pressure mid/short stacks
Late	ICM awareness	Apply selective aggression
Final Table	Controlled aggression	Pressure cautious players

In the early levels, your focus should be on preserving your stack and avoiding unnecessary variance. There’s no reason to take big risks when the reward is minimal. Just stick to premium hands and play hands like big pairs, strong aces, and suited broadways in position.

This might be easier said than done, especially in freerolls or low buy-in tourneys, so there’s no real way to avoid the early chaos. Play tight and wait for them to bust themselves, but if the opportunity arises (a premium hand), don’t be afraid to go all in. You’ve made the right move, so even if you bust out, you’ll know that you did nothing wrong.

In higher buy-ins, opponents are more disciplined, so you can start mixing in speculative hands in position even early on, but I would still avoid chasing marginal draws without good odds. It’s just not worth it early in the tournament.

In fact, the best thing you can do (if your position allows it) is to observe. Note who’s loose, who plays scared, who’s over-aggressive, and so on. Don’t worry, the blinds will start to bite soon, so you’ll use this to your advantage.

As antes appear and blinds start to rise, pot sizes grow too, so stealing blinds can become a good source of profit. You can now start widening your range from late position and use continuation bets, 3-bets, and selective aggression.

At this stage, however, be prepared that most players will tighten up because they need to make it to the money, so this might be your chance to apply pressure on mid and short stacks that are trying to survive. My suggestion for this stage is to target players who avoid confrontation and fold to aggression.

That said, discipline is now more important than ever. Don’t overcommit with weak top pairs or medium hands that can get trapped by stronger ranges. If you’re not a short stack in this stage of the tournament, you should try to control the action instead of reacting.

The late stage of the tournament is when the Independent Chip Model (ICM) becomes crucial.

It’s a mathematical model that assigns a real money value to your tournament chip stack based on the prize pool and how many players are left. The ICM helps you understand how valuable your stack really is in terms of potential prize money. The ICM is important because losing 50% of your stack in a tournament hurts more than doubling up helps.

So, if you’re near the money bubble or the final table, each chip lost is very painful. That’s why you need to play according to your stack size and the stacks around you (much like in cash games)

• If you’re a short stack (under 20 BBs), stick to a push-or-fold strategy. Realistically, you won’t get enough room to see flops, so you need to focus only on hands with strong showdown value and premium hands.
• If you’re a medium stack (20-40 BBs), you should pick your moments very carefully. Try to steal blinds from tight players, re-shove against raisers, and try to protect your stack. This is one of the hardest positions to be in because you’re “under threat” by both short and big stacks. Whatever you do, don’t bleed chips for nothing!
• If you’re a big stack (40+ BBs), you must stay in control of the table dynamic. Don’t let short and mid stacks pressure you. They’re just trying to survive, and your job is to eliminate them. Keep being aggressive, don’t allow limping, and try to lean on others and grow steadily.

I still remember the first time I reached a final table at a tournament. It’s a major milestone for every poker player, so you’ll (likely) feel relieved at first, but try to compose yourself because the prize jumps between places are often massive.

Be prepared: players tighten up dramatically, especially those with shorter stacks. Surviving just 1 more player can bring you double the prize. If you’re a big stack, this can be a good opportunity to steal blinds and ante. Try to pressure opponents who are scared to bust, but be careful with the aggression.

Attack only players who are protecting their stacks, not those who are desperate and ready to gamble. Patience and timing are crucial here, so you need to wait for your spot and adjust your gears. Switch from attack to defense as often as you need to, and use your position wisely.

When to Go All-In

The decision to go all-in in tournaments isn’t just about your hand, but about timing, stack depth, and fold equity. Once your stack falls below 20 big blinds, the strongest tool you have is the all-in shove.

However, you should only try to push when you’re in a late position and the action folds to you (ideally, both of these, but one can work as well). It’s not a mistake to go in with a hand like Ace-King suited or a medium pair because these hands have decent equity if called, and unless your stack is very small, you will often pick up the blinds uncontested.

Whatever you do, however, avoid calling other players’ all-ins unless you have a really premium hand. Your fold equity disappears once you call, so you’re purely relying on luck. Calling gives you only one way to win, while shoving gives you two: they can fold, or you can win the showdown.

Stack Size	Recommended Strategy	Hand Range
< 10 BB	Shove all-in with strong hands	Any pair, Ax, broadways
10–20 BB	Push-fold strategy	AJ+, KQ, 77+
20–30 BB	Selective aggression	QQ+, AK
30+ BB	Avoid all-ins unless premium	AA, KK

How to Play in the Bubble at Poker Tournaments

The bubble stage is when only a few players need to bust before everyone else makes the money, so it’s the most critical point in any tournament. And trust me, everyone will have the exact same mindset here: tighten up massively until someone busts.

However, now can be your chance to attack. With everyone so scared to bust, you can apply pressure if you have a medium or big stack. Open more pots from late position and target players who are trying to fold their way into the payouts. At this stage, you can steal blinds and antes almost risk-free because many opponents will fold hands they’d normally play.

If you’re the short stack, your priority is survival, so this is not your chance to increase your stack. However, if your stack is about to be blinded out, it’s better to shove with a decent hand and try to double up, because you might not get another opportunity.