When your stack starts to shrink

There is a moment in every long tournament when your stack stops feeling safe and the blind levels climb at a brisk pace. It feels like a ticking time bomb, and every decision decides your survival. That is often where I find poker at its most interesting.

When you have plenty of chips, there is room to play your way out of smaller mistakes. When your stack gets shorter, that margin disappears, and every decision carries more weight.

The most important thing I have learned is not to shrink mentally while the stack shrinks. It is easy to start waiting for the perfect hand, but a short stack that never applies pressure rarely gets the chance to build back.

There are three things above all that I try to keep in mind.

The first is position. I do not just look at my cards, but also at where I am sitting, which players are still to act behind me and what stacks they have. A perfectly okay hand can be right to play from late position, but an easy fold from early position.

The second is not to become too passive. I would rather take a well-considered spot where I can put pressure on someone who has something to lose, than wait until I am so short that my opponents can call without a hard decision.

The third is to take one hand at a time. It sounds simple, but it helps me not get stuck on the next pay jump, how many chips I had earlier or what a loss would mean. The only thing I can influence is the decision in front of me.

What makes staking valuable in these moments is that you do not carry the whole financial risk yourself. When others have chosen to back you, it becomes easier to focus on making the right decision instead of playing scared.

At the same time, it comes with a responsibility. When others are following your journey, you want to be prepared, disciplined and do your best even when the margins are small.

When your stack starts to shrink, it is not about avoiding every risk — it is about choosing the right risk at the right moment. That is often where a tournament is decided.