Playing short stacks in MTT

LongJohn45

LongJohn45

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Recently, In some of my most recent MTT, i've ended up playing with a short stack, due to things like calling a flush draw and not getting it and things similar to that.

Anyway, my question is when you do get short stacked and the Blinds start to represent 20% or more of your stack, do you become more obligated to shove all-in? In my latest tournament loss, I had a stack of 1,600 chips with the blinds, 200/400. And I got A-Q off suit. I was Utg+2. Anyway, I push all-in, somebody calls, he has 5-5 and i get busted.
And in loss before that, someone pops in all-in with me having AJ suited, i call, and he has AA.

My question is, would I have more long term success Not aggressively playing hands like AQ when short stacked? Or was what I did reasonable and should I just shrug my shoulders and wish for more luck next time?
 
BluffMeAllIn

BluffMeAllIn

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4bb - AQ - standard shove from any position unless of course your in LP and have a bunch of allins or raises before you (then you have more to think about), but in EP with blinds approaching you are unlikely to get any better before loosing a bunch of chips to blinds.

Edit: Should add with 4bb in UTG+2 I'd be pushing much worse than AQ.
 
Arjonius

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The shorter your stack, the more you have to be willing to stick it all in. With 4-5bb, a hand as good as AQ is basically an automatic open-shove from any seat. So are quite a few worse holdings. I won't go as far as saying I'd never do anything else, but it would take some highly unusual circumstances.
 
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Tiltt2424

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Started a very similar thread entitled "short stack strategy" as I was also unsure about my shove with KQs and 11 BBs in a MTT. My shoving range is pretty wide now when I get in late position and under 10 BBs, especially if there are antes.
 
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trent32la

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with ~5bbs that play is fine with AQ...you have a premium hand and should be shoving with under 10bbs from that spot....agree with bluffmeallin you should be shoving a very very wide range that short stack.....most likely any PP any ace or king heck even queen...and connecting cards...your looking to double up quickly there so u don't get eaten alive by the blinds
 
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rumsey182

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your likely cashing pots with middling stacks and low equity manage your stack if you can but in the end this will happen often just learn a good push fold game
 
Jacki Burkhart

Jacki Burkhart

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in general, yes you absolutely want to be shoving a wider range the shorter your stack relative to the blinds and also relative to the average stack....so for instance if you are in a crappy tourney structure and the average stack is only 15BB and you have 12BB you might exercise a teeny bit more caution than if you have a 12BB stack and the average stack is 30BB....hope that makes sense.

The other concept to apply is "first in vigorish" meaning that you'd rather pick a marginal hand and be the first one in than to pick a stronger hand and try to come over the top of a raiser or even a limper. (this doesn't apply to premium hands which of course you are happy to shove regardless of the action ahead of you).

so, for example if I had 10BB and I picked up A7 UTG I would shove it. But if somebody first raised to 2.5x and then I picked up A8 or A9 I would dump it and wait for a spot I could be first in....even if that means I'm pushing a weaker hand like 89o....I'd still rather be first in.
 
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