What is Stack in poker?

A player's stack refers to the entire collection of chips they currently possess on the poker table. In cash games, stack sizes are usually measured in monetary value, reflecting the buy-in. In tournaments, however, stacks are typically expressed in terms of big blinds (BB), providing a relative measure of a player's chipping power and how many orbits they can survive. For instance, a '40BB stack' indicates a player has 40 times the current big blind in chips. Managing stack size effectively is crucial for strategic decision-making, influencing bet sizing, shove ranges, and overall tournament survival or profit potential.

With 10,000 chips and the blinds at 100/200, your stack is 50 big blinds.

Stack (Stack) belongs to the General side of the game and shows up in almost every hand of Texas Hold'em. If you are just starting out, read the poker rules and the hand rankings first, then come back here. To practise risk-free you can play against our AI right on the site.