Card Dead and getting Blinded Out

I fairly understand M from Dan Harrington. I believe it is the right play with a top 15 hand, but I don't like it with just any playable hand such as J,10s or 5's. The problem I'm having is what to do with an M of 5 or less. I am very patient but at that point A5s or AJo or a pair of 8's or less looks like AA. Now with an M of 10-15 you still have to make the other stacks think. But with an M of 5 you will typically get called by any 2 and most likely by 3 or more players. So you don't get any protection.

So my real question is, what range should I be pushing with? Connectors or suited Q or K high even if my kicker is 7 or less. Too many times I push with the suited A junk and get called by a pair or better Ace. Even when I push with AJo or suited I get called by AQ or AK. Is it better to have the live cards such as K2o or Q7s?

Once I get down to 10 -15 BB my shoving range would be very wide to include any Ace, Suited connectors and low pocket pairs You cant always wait for premium hands sometimes you will have to gamble with lesser hands.

I agree with steve except instead of ace rag i would rather shove two suited or one gappers like six eight but thats just me.

Don't wait for M=5. The hands you would shove at M=5, do it at M=10 instead. Your hands will get more respect due to your stack size and when in late position you can even steal blinds. Once your stack size is too small, as you've noticed, people will call you with almost nothing (especially the larger stacks).

I don't like to play Ace rag either, but if short stacked and it looks like I'm going busto because I am getting blinded out, then I will shove with A rag

Flsnookman said:

I agree with steve except instead of ace rag i would rather shove two suited or one gappers like six eight but thats just me.

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With an A rag and someone calls with less than an ace, (like QJ) they have to hit their 6 outs (assuming you don't hit your ace) to win the hand. Whereas if you push with 8 6 and get called by an A rag, you have to hit your hand.

A8 vs QJ = 54%

68 vs A9 = 37%

I get that aero but imho since your callers are likely to have a better ace you are less likely to be crushed with the one gappers. That said please give more weight to aero as I am a fish just learning the game myself.

Usually if I'm down to 10 -15 BB I become hyper agressive with A*, K* and pairs in late position. and in early position, A10 and up...K10 and up and sometimes any two face cards... and if they are suited, sometimes even more agressive... I also take into consideration the others players and how agressive they are depending on my position... but most importantly, it's better to push with less than optimum cards while you still have the chips to scare the other players with than to wait for premiums and get blinded out. or worse yet, finally get AA when your down to your last blind.... oh and of course, AA, KK, all in always... and QQ,JJ, 1010 most times...any position.

"M" is a great factor to use, BUT it's not what I use when I get to M 10-15, or even 5-10.

I play mostly at Party in the 3 min, 5 min and 15 min blind level MTTs. An "M" of 10 is different in each one of these tourneys and if you play 6 max or 10 max with the 3 different blind levels, it changes what an "M" of 10 is again.

Normally I use 10-15 BBs as my guide to when I get to push/fold mode. Which most time is any Ace any pockets or any Broadway cards.

Bit I'm a nit... so what do I know. :beer:

Yeah I dont see much good in ace rag you are almost always in a flip or worse with that hand, how can you be ahead by even a marginal hand kj suited is almost the same as ace duece off and I cant imagine ppl calling you with something like k2 or some kind of weird raggy hand.

Pick your spots to GII with your stack. Don't wait too long. f you're in CO/BTN and its folded to you just shove it and if you get called, whatever you'll be flipping with just the BB most likely.
This is better than waiting for a better hand but because you're in early position your raise gets called by more people than you'd like and your chances of winning the pot are reduced by a lot and you'll be knocked out most of the time.
Also shove lighter from MP/LP when blinds are on guys who fold them alot. Don't wait too much. You have to be aggressive once antes are involved and stacks get shorter. You can't win by just playing your cards. You have to play the fold equity.

What I look for:

10 BBs or less - looking for a good spot to ship allin. The position matters far more than the hand in this case.

11-15 (and even up to 20) blinds - looking for a good 3B ship spot, preferably against a decent aggrotard who has the ability to raise/fold.

Flsnookman said:

I get that aero but imho since your callers are likely to have a better ace you are less likely to be crushed with the one gappers. That said please give more weight to aero as I am a fish just learning the game myself.

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If you shove with A6o and only get called by better Aces or pairs, they are folding 85.7% of the time. That alone would make it profitable. But, you also have 31.3% equity when you're called. Truth is, they will be calling much wider than that. Against a person calling with just over 30% of their hands, you have 45.6% equity when called (plus the almost 70% folding equity).

86s, on the other hand has 36.3% equity when called by 22+,A7+ and 37.5% equity against the previous 31.5% calling range. Your fold equity remains the same against both ranges, but you're doing much worse when called.

The other factor to consider, if you are holding an Ace, it is 25% less likely that your opponent has a better Ace than if you are holding 86s.

I know that it feels like they always have a better Ace, when you get called by one. But, it's just not true. Obviously, you want to be the first in the pot and in as late of position as possible (fewer people to fold is better for you), but don't be wantonly folding A-x hands, when your stack gets low, because you're worried about better Aces.

pierceisgod said:

Yeah I dont see much good in ace rag you are almost always in a flip or worse with that hand, how can you be ahead by even a marginal hand kj suited is almost the same as ace duece off and I cant imagine ppl calling you with something like k2 or some kind of weird raggy hand.

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If you're very short stacked a much bigger stack can and will call with anything because for one they know you're desperate and your shoving range is wide open, and two even if they lose it makes very little difference to their stack. If I'm at 6-7BB or less I'm shoving any Ace from any position, especially if there are antes. The worst thing you can do is to let yourself be blinded out, it's better to shove with garbage and die with your boots on if you have to. Even 74o can win against AA once in a while, but if you let yourself get down to 1-2BB you have to double up multiple times to even get back in the game.

Don't blind out it is one of the worst things you can do really. Try not to get too low and look for spots to get your stack in. Sometimes the table dynamics make it difficult but try to get in against stacks that you can hurt but not too short to be desperate.

Also JTs and 55 are pretty decent hands so you should be happy to get those in when short.

I think an exchange a friend and I had is appropriate here. My friend was a VERY tight player and once said to me "I never run good" and I told her "Honestly? Its because you don't get your stack in enough so you don't even give yourself a chance to run good"

you should try checking out some videos on youtube. Some are useful, they will help you understand a little about fold equity, position, and shoving ranges. It's good not only to know what to shove with but to know what to defend your blind with when your opponent shoves. You can't let yourself get robbed all the time.