Push/Fold and Short-Stack Strategy in Tournaments

Sooner or later every tournament player has a short stack. With fewer than about 10–12 big blinds there is little room for tricks: most hands become push or fold, an all-in or a fold. Getting it right is worth more than almost any other skill in the late stages.

Why push or fold works

With 10 big blinds, a normal raise to 2.5 big blinds would put a quarter of your stack in the pot, and you would rarely be able to fold to a re-raise. An all-in does the same job, but it also takes away the opponent's chance to play after the flop. You win in two ways: the opponent folds (fold equity) or you win the showdown.

Measure your stack: M-ratio

The M-ratio is your stack divided by the cost of one orbit (blinds plus antes). At blinds 100/200 with an ante of 25 and nine players an orbit costs 525, so a stack of 5,250 has an M of 10.

The zones come from Dan Harrington's tournament books and are a rule of thumb, not an exact law.

How to decide on a shove

1. Position: the later you are, the fewer opponents can wake up with a hand, so the range widens. From the button at about 10 big blinds, solver-based charts shove well over a third of all hands. From early position at the same stack only pairs, strong aces and broadway hands go in.
2. Stack size: the shorter you are, the wider you shove. You cannot afford to wait; the blinds eat a large part of your stack each orbit.
3. Blinds and antes: antes make the dead money larger, so shoving is more attractive.
4. The players behind: a tight big blind who folds often gives you more fold equity than a loose one who calls with half of his range.

Calling a shove needs a stronger hand

The player who calls has no fold equity: they can only win at the showdown. Calling ranges are therefore tighter than shoving ranges, and they depend on the shover's position and stack. The wider the shover's range, the wider you can call; with a pot to win you can use the pot odds calculator to see the equity you need.

Resteals and the bubble

• Resteal: with 15–25 big blinds, an all-in over a late-position open with a hand that is not strong enough to call but has good equity, such as A9s or KQo, takes advantage of an opener who folds often.
• ICM: near the bubble, at a final table or in a satellite, your tournament life matters more than chips, so both shoving and calling ranges tighten (ICM explained). Use the ICM calculator for exact spots.
• Big stacks: a covering stack may shove wider against medium stacks that cannot afford to call. The short stack should not be afraid to shove against them.

Mistakes to avoid

• Waiting for premium hands and getting blinded away: when the stack falls, your hand needs to be less strong, not more.
• Limping or min-raising with 8 big blinds. It rarely achieves anything an all-in does not do better.
• Calling a shove with a marginal hand because you are "already committed".
• Ignoring ICM at a pay jump.

Related: MTT strategy basics, Spin & Go guide, PKO tournaments.