One of the questions I’m often asked about staying above water when you find yourself short stacked is how to decide exactly when to make your last stand and push all-in. No matter what type of poker format you’re involved in, this is a crucial decision.
In a cash game you never want to find yourself without chips and in a competition your entire tournament life is on the line. I’ve seen so many players not take this decision seriously and find themselves all-in with mediocre cards either too early, too late or out of position.
There are just a handful of factors to take into consideration before all your chips make their way into the centre of the table. The first is the size of your chip stack compared to the current big blind.
1 – The 10 Blinds All-in Rule
You want to move all-in when you’re sitting at about ten times the amount of the big blind. If the blinds are $30-$60 and you have just $400 in chips, you’ve missed the prime opportunity. You should have been looking for a chance to go all-in when you had around $600 in chips.
2 – Don’t Wait For A Premium Hand To Make Your Push
The second factor is your hand selection. Unfortunately, you can’t be too choosy in these situations since the odds are you won’t be dealt a premium hand before all your chips get blinded off.
3 – Position Will Determine How Loose Your Hand Selection Is
This is where you can use the third factor, your positioning in the current hand, to help you with card selection. If you’re in early position and look down at A-2, you’ll probably still want to fold the hand since there are at least half a dozen players left to act after you move all-in.
If you’re on the button with A-2 though, and there are only two players that have called and no one has raised, then your ace has a much better chance of holding up. It’s the little things that you need to think about in order to make the best decision.
Chris
- Chris Laquinta is a magazine editor, content specialist and poker fanatic with 10+ years writing experience and over 1,500 published articles. Chris is a naitive of Southern California, where he spent his entire life learning gaming concepts and theories from relatives that had been former professional gamblers. He currently resides in Torrance, CA where he works as a professional content writer and part-time SNG professional.
