After you’ve won a few good Texas Holdem poker hands and have amassed a fairly big stack of chips, it is not the time to relax and slack off. One thing you have to remember when you are the chip leader in your poker game is that you are now the target. The other players want your chips; they know that you can bet big and if they have good hands then that is exactly what they want you to do bet big. Though it feels good to have a big stack, it doesn’t necessarily give you the security that you are looking for. Poker is the kind of game that takes constant vigilance, whether you have a big stack or a small stack. Things can turn around rather quickly when the player with the big stack starts getting sloppy.

Having a lot of chips to bet can be a good thing. It can help you scare opponents out of a hand, and it can be a buffer when you find yourself on a small losing streak. You should usually, however, go into every hand like you and your poker opponents are on the same level, and bet and play accordingly. If you have three clubs after the flop, that doesn’t necessarily mean you should chase the pot right to the river because you have the big stack to do so. You still need to try to figure out your odds of getting those other two clubs as best you can, and you have to pay attention if the flop might be giving someone else a possible full house or higher.

Sometimes it’s best to forget about your big stack and just play smart every hand, in the style that you are used to playing and that has served you well all along. You may even find that while you are still playing smart, your opponents may be getting sloppy trying to take those chips from you.