What counts as deep stacked in poker?

Stacks well above the usual 100 big blinds of a cash game, such as 150 or 200. The pot before the flop stays the same size, so more chips are left to bet after it.

How does depth change the stack-to-pot ratio?

In a pot opened to 2.5bb and called, it goes from 17.7 at 100 big blinds to 26.8 at 150 and 35.9 at 200.

Why does set mining get easier with deeper stacks?

The amount a set must win stays the same while more chips are left behind: to call a 3-bet to 9 big blinds on sets alone, 39.3% of the stack behind at 100 big blinds, 18.7% at 200.

Deep Stack Strategy: Same Pot, More Chips Behind

By the Poker Puzzle Trainer team · Published October 21, 2026

Deep stack strategy is about what changes when the stacks are much bigger than the pot. The pot before the flop stays the same size, so every chip of extra depth is left to bet after it. In a pot opened to 2.5bb and called, the stack-to-pot ratio goes from 17.7 at 100 big blinds to 35.9 at 200. Three pot-sized bets put in 13 times the flop pot: short of 17.7, and far short of 35.9.

Pocket tens facing a 3‑bet

You open from middle position with T♣T♦ at 100 big blinds, and the cutoff 3‑bets to 9 big blinds; the blinds fold. Fold, call, 4‑bet or jam?

This puzzle on its own page →

See the answer

A pocket pair flops a set or better 11.8% of the time. To pay for the 6.5bb call with sets alone, a set must win 35.8bb more on average after the flop. The share of the stack left behind that this represents falls with depth:

Stacks	Left behind after the call	Share needed
100bb	91bb	39.3%
150bb	141bb	25.4%
200bb	191bb	18.7%

The author's answer at 100 big blinds is the call: solid equity, set mining at about 1 in 8.5, and showdown value against ace-high; a 4‑bet would make the tens face-up against JJ+ and AK, and a fold gives up the set-mining value.

The stack-to-pot ratio by depth

With the sizes of the SPR page:

Stacks	Pot opened to 2.5bb, called	Pot 3‑bet to 10bb, called
100bb	17.7	4.4
150bb	26.8	6.8
200bb	35.9	9.3

Keep going

The ratio itself and how to compute it: stack-to-pot ratio.
What a set must win, step by step: implied odds.
The stack that counts in a hand: the effective stack.
The pair of the spot: how to play pocket tens.
Hands that want deep stacks: suited connectors.
One spot every day: the daily poker puzzle.
The other end of the scale: short stack strategy.

Today's spot →

To know where you stand, first count your stack size in big blinds.

Sources

A pair flops a set or better on 2,304 of the 19,600 possible flops; every ratio is computed from the stated sizes, checked on October 11, 2026.
The answer to the spot follows rules written by the app's author; it does not come from a solver.