Effective stack
The smaller of two players' stacks: the most either can win from or lose to the other.
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- What it means
- Chips beyond what your opponent can match are never at risk against them, so the stack that matters in a hand is the smaller of the two.
- How it is calculated
- Compare your stack with each player left to act and take the smaller number. Push or fold charts and stack depths in this app are read at the effective stack.
- Worked example
- You have 40bb and the villain has 15bb. The effective stack is 15bb: if you both go all in, 25bb of yours stays behind.
- Why it matters
- Reading a 40bb chart in a hand where only 15bb can go in gives the wrong answer, so finding the effective stack comes before picking a chart.
Try it: Push/fold calculator, Push/fold solver
Lessons that teach it: Compare the stack behind with the pot, The same fraction of the pot on every street · lessons other than the free one need an invite
See also: Stack depth, Stack-to-pot ratio, Covering stack, All-in