In chapter 12 of Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker, Jonathan Little describes 27–40BB as an awkward “trouble stack” where many deep-stack tactics lose power, but you still have too many chips to rely only on pure short-stack push/fold. The solution is a hybrid approach: selectively gamble to reach a more playable stack size, while avoiding…

In chapter 11 of Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker, Jonathan Little explains how play changes when you’re mid-stacked but approaching the danger zone (about 40–60BB). The emphasis is on avoiding tournament-ending mistakes, tightening your calling range slightly, and using clear commitment plans so you don’t invest heavily and then fold when pressured. Stay Aggressive, but…

In chapter 10 of Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker, Jonathan Little explains how strategy shifts once you’re mid-stacked (roughly 60–125BB). The core adjustment is that implied odds shrink as stacks shorten, so speculative hands and slow-play lines lose value, while pre-flop aggression, pot control, and clean stack-off decisions become more important. Why Mid Stacks Play…

In chapter 9 of Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker, Jonathan Little collects a set of technical and mental “glue” ideas that apply across streets and tournament stages. The unifying theme is practicality: make your choices easier, understand what your line encourages opponents to do, and avoid ego-driven poker that creates avoidable, high-variance problems. Make Your…

In chapter 8 of Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker, Jonathan Little explains that the river is where accurate range work pays off: if you can narrow your opponent to a small set of plausible hands, you can decide whether you’re value-betting, bluff-catching, bluffing, or giving up. He cautions that strong opponents deliberately use deceptive lines…

In chapter 7 of Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker, Jonathan Little explains why the turn is often the highest-profit (and highest-mistake) street in deep-stacked tournament poker: by this point you should have a clearer picture of ranges, and your decisions determine whether you win medium pots efficiently or bloat pots where your hand cannot comfortably…

In chapter 6 of Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker, Jonathan Little explains how to approach flop play when everyone is deep-stacked (125BB+), focusing on avoiding common valuation mistakes, building repeatable default lines, and then selectively mixing strategies so opponents cannot exploit patterns. He frames the flop as “simple in theory” but highly profitable for players…

In chapter 5 of Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker, Jonathan Little explains the core post-flop principles required to succeed when playing deep-stacked (125BB+), focusing on value betting, bluffing, pot control, and slow-playing. He emphasizes disciplined decision-making, range evaluation, and understanding how tournament dynamics alter otherwise standard cash-game logic. Value Betting: Extracting Maximum Profit Little defines…

In chapter 4 of Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker, Jonathan Little explains how to approach preflop play when very deep-stacked (125BB+), emphasizing a loose-aggressive, position-focused style that stays balanced, avoids huge preflop confrontations without premium hands, and adapts to opponent types and table dynamics. Core Preflop Philosophy When Deep Little argues that deep stacks allow…

In chapter 3 of Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker, Jonathan Little introduces how he wants you to approach deep-stacked tournament play (125 big blinds and up), framing it as a technical, adaptable system built around stack-size awareness, forward planning, and consistent bet sizing. Poker Requires Constant Adjustment Little opens by stressing that poker’s difficulty comes…