When hearing the term “leverage”, you might think of trying to gain an advantage while buying a car or a house. However, the concept of leverage can also be applied to poker since it will gain you a big advantage over opponents. But in order to gain this advantage, you must first understand what leverage is in regards to poker.
What is Leverage in Poker?
As mentioned before, leverage provides a means for you to get ahead of someone else in some capacity. As far as poker goes, leverage begins with having a big stack to back up your moves at the table. For instance, if you have a big stack and bet into a small pot, you’re more likely to make the smaller stacks fold simply because of the big bets they could face on later streets.
Putting Them All-In
Obviously, having the ability to force others to put more money into the pot on later streets is a huge advantage. To illustrate this advantage, take a look at the following example:
Let’s say you make a $12 call on the flop; when the turn comes around, you will probably be looking at an even bigger bet such as $35 since the pot has grown. Now this won’t be such a predicament for you assuming you’re the big stack. However, shorter stacks have to fear even placing bets on the flop with drawing hands since they may be forced to go all-in later. By the time the river rolls around, the short stacks might have to call an $80 or $90 raise just to stay in the hand with you!
By having the biggest stack, you have the most leverage at the table, and can do what you want. If you can accumulate this big stack, make sure to use your advantage to exploit the other players at the table.
