Understanding tournament stack size strategy is one of the most misunderstood skills in MTT poker. Most players base their decisions on the field average — the number on the tournament clock — and completely ignore the only metric that actually determines their position: the stack distribution at their own table. This guide breaks down why your tournament stack size strategy should never start with the lobby average, and what to look at instead.

This is one of the most expensive habits in tournament poker.

The field average is not your reality. Your table is your reality. And once you understand that distinction — truly understand it — your entire approach to stack management changes.

The Field Average Tells You Almost Nothing

Joe McKeehan, the 2015 WSOP Main Event champion, put it plainly in Chip Leader Coaching’s curriculum: “The average stack is one of the most misunderstood metrics in tournament poker.”

He’s right — and the reason is simple. The field average is a mathematical output across hundreds or thousands of players sitting at dozens of different tables. It tells you nothing about the stack distributions at your table. You could be sitting with 250,000 chips in a tournament where the average is 180,000 — and be the second-shortest stack at your table because one player has 700,000 and three others have 300,000+.

You’re “above average” by the lobby screen. You’re a short stack in practice.

Conversely, Ben Lamb — 2011 WSOP Player of the Year and three-time Main Event final tablist — described a Mystery Bounty event where he held just above the field average in chips, sat down at his table, and was the runaway chip leader by a significant margin. Every other player at the table was short. His ability to leverage that was enormous — not because the lobby said so, but because his table told him so.

The Three-Number Framework That Actually Matters

Before you look at the tournament clock again, adopt this three-number framework instead:

Your big blind count — this determines what you can mechanically do (open, 3-bet, shove, call off).
The table chip leader’s stack — this determines how much pressure you’re under and how much you can apply.
The shortest stack at your table — this determines ICM dynamics and whether a bubble or pay jump is imminent regardless of the overall tournament position.

These three numbers are everything. The field average is noise.

How Alex Foxen Uses Table Relativity to Apply Pressure

Alex Foxen, the two-time GPI #1 ranked player in the world, discussed this concept in the context of table intimidation and fold equity. His insight: the moment you understand you’re the biggest stack at your table — regardless of the field average — you become eligible to apply a completely different style of pressure.

When you sit down with a new table draw, Foxen’s process is immediate: identify the chip leader, identify the stacks that are ICM-caged (typically players approaching the bubble with 15–25 big blinds who cannot afford to call off), and identify the players who are playing scared. That information is worth more than anything on the tournament clock.

This is also why stalling for a table redraw is sometimes the highest-EV play in a tournament. If you’re at a table of killers while the rest of the room is soft, the field average means nothing — every hand you play in that environment is likely a losing proposition. Playing fewer hands until the redraw is not weakness. It’s correct table relativity.

Big Stack at a Short Table: The Most Underused Situation in MTTs

One of the most revealing patterns from Chip Leader Coaching’s WSOP hand history content is how Chance Korneth plays when he’s the chip leader at his table — not the chip leader of the tournament, just the table. In this situation, opening ranges expand dramatically. Players with 12–20 big blinds to your left are effectively ICM-frozen. They can’t resteal profitably because they can’t afford to call off against you and miss the next pay jump. You’re opening with hands that would be marginal at any other table, and they’re folding everything except the top of their range.

This only works when you’ve correctly read your table. A player with 90 big blinds to your left changes this calculus entirely — suddenly that “dominant” position disappears. The field average says nothing about any of this.

The Specific Mistake: Chasing the Average

The emotional behavior this leads to is common: a player with 22 big blinds sees the average is 30 big blinds, feels pressure, and starts taking marginal spots trying to “get back to average.” This is a form of results-oriented thinking applied to a meaningless metric. Those 22 big blinds might be the second-largest stack at your table. Taking a bad spot to reach the average could cost you the chips you’re already leveraging.

McKeehan is explicit about this: “Don’t think about what could have been or where you were. Think about what you have right now and the best way to play it.” This principle applies equally to the field average chase. Your stack is what it is. How does it relate to your table? That’s the only question worth asking.

Practical Application: How to Assess Your Table in Under 60 Seconds

When you sit down — at any stage of a tournament — run this mental checklist:

Who has the most chips? Are they aggressive or passive with them?
Where are the 10–20 BB stacks? Are they to your left (threat to you) or to your right (opportunity for you)?
Are you covered or covering? If you’re covered by multiple players, the ICM cage locks around you — tighten up and wait for a spot. If you’re covering, widen up.
How close is the next pay jump or the bubble? The closer it is, the more the stack distribution at your table — not the field — determines how much pressure you’re under.

Once you have those answers, you have your direction for the next level. The field average is irrelevant.

The Bottom Line: Table Relativity Is a Skill

Most tournament players don’t think about this systematically because it requires active observation rather than a passive number-check. But the players who win consistently — Foxen, McKeehan, Lamb — all operate from this framework without having to think about it. It becomes automatic because they’ve prioritized it.

If you’re serious about improving your tournament poker strategy, the first mental habit to build is ignoring the field average and reading your table instead.

These concepts — and the full hand history where they’re applied in real WSOP conditions — are inside the Chip Leader Coaching Bracelet Hunter course at ElitePokerGuide.io. If you want the complete endgame framework that turns this awareness into mechanical action, The Closer builds it from the ground up across nine weeks.

Both are available with a forever license — no subscription, no expiry. Check current discount codes at our coupons page, and browse the full MTT poker courses library to see everything available.

Also worth reading: How to Play 10–25 Big Blinds in MTTs and the Best Poker Courses of 2026 — both directly relevant to the stack management frameworks covered here.

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Applying a table-first tournament stack size strategy — rather than chasing the field average — is what separates chip leaders from players who grind average stacks and bust on the bubble.