Table Selection - Donkey Stack

Ive been thinking recently about table selection. The fact is you make more money over the long term against players that you have a greater edge over. The bigger the skill difference the more profit can be made.

It makes sense to check your buddy list, hunt out certain fishy players and add yourself to waiting lists in hope to be sitting next to these losing players. This is fine. The problem comes when you are on numurous waiting lists with no tables open to play and no history with other players on other tables.


You can then scan for tables with high $vpip and high avg pot size but this is public data and with a lot of table scanning software out there you will struggle to be first on the list.

Now, heres my new thought. Take a look at stack sizes. Im going to identify 3 classes of players.

1) The Full stack

2) The Shortstack

3) The 'Donkey' stack

It is fact that the good regular players top up their stacks to full as and when they can. If you dont believe you are outclassed at the table then you should be at full or close to it. Full stacks should be seen as good players until proven wrong.

Shortstacks can also be good players. Ive never played a shortstack strategy but there is a strategy that works for a lot of these players. It does spoil the game of poker a bit but if there is profit to be made this way then players will still follow it.

The 'Donkey' stack. These stacks are the middle stacks. The 35-75bb stacks. More often than not these players wont be a good regular or a shortstacker. Usually when a fullstack loses some $ they top up back to the max. When a shortstack doubles up then leave for a new table to buy in short. Medium stacks represent a average players. These may not be huge fish but im betting that they are not decent players.


I tried this last night and I think im on to something. I added 3 or 4 times the number of names to my buddy list and they were all 'Donkey' stacked. Think about it. When have you made a lot of easy cash vs a full stack or a shortstack compared to a 'Donkey' stack ?