Poker Average Stack
The Q-ratio (also known as Q number or just Q) is used in pokertournament strategy. It is also known as the 'weak force.' The Q-ratio describes the relation of the player's stack to the tournament players' average stack. A low Q-ratio — less than 1 — indicates a below-average chip stack, implying disadvantage against opponents. It is an addition to the M-ratio ('strong force') and usually doesn't play a large role in tournament decision-making. However, its importance grows as the table average M-ratio drops.
Playing an average stack during the late stages of a tournament is a lot more difficult than playing an average stack at the start of a tournament, because the enormous blinds and antes will place far more pressure on your stack.
Q-ratio on freezeouts is calculated using the following method.[1]
- Average stack - a term relevant for tournament poker. Average stack is calculated by dividing the total amount of chips in the tournament on the number of remaining players. There’s the following formula to calculate an average stack in poker: (SP x OS) / RP. Where: SP - Total amount of players registered in the tournament (Starting players).
- The average stack does help by telling you generally how much play i left in the tourney. Ie if the average stack is 50BB's then everyone is still pretty deep. If the average is 10BB's then you.
For example, in a tournament starting with 50 players who have 10,000 chips, of which 30 have been eliminated, and one player has 20,000 chips:
This player's accumulation of chips has not kept pace with the elimination of players, and their chip stack is now below average.
Poker Average Stack Calculator
On rebuy and add-on tournaments, the calculation method is somewhat more complex and possible to calculate in a reasonable amount of time only on specific online tournaments:
Poker Average Stack Game
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Notes[edit]
- ^Harrington On Hold 'em: Volume II; The Endgame, p.127