Preflop adjustment to antes and shortstacking 25-40bb deep

i have trouble grasping the concept of ante , i play mostly cash games so i never really researched about it but i think its one of the most important things and the main reason mtts are much different than cash games.

Well i know with antes you get better odds to steal and also your stack shrinks much faster than before , therefore you have to loosen up but the question is , how much should i loose up my open requirements? especially from EP and MP i have big trouble understanding how much loosen up is correct , for example in a very generic table how much should i loosen this range from EP : 77+ , AJs+ , KQs+ , AQ+? or this range from MP: EP range + ATs+ , KJs+ , AJo+ , KQo+ , 22+ ????

Also i have even more big trouble understanding how much i should loose up when im 25bb-40bb deep with or without antes because hands like suited connectors from EP or MP are generally loosing money in this stack depth.

Generally if the mtt pressure you through antes or because your stack is very low and you need to take a risk , how much should you loosen up your solid opening range? do you add middling hands like AT or KJ or even something like A9 kt QJs? what exactly are you doing and why you are doing it.

yep loosen up, the antes usually add an extra BB into the equation making your steal attempts much more profitable. Conversely, it also makes defending your blinds better because you are getting greater pot odds and a bigger pot in general post flop.


how loose or tight you are depends on a lot of factors. Generally just loosen your normal default ranges by a few pips. so if you raise ATs+ raise A8s+ as a default, but as always, the players at the table will dictate how wide or loose you need to can be. If they are nits, raise more, if they are loose defenders, raise a range for value and stack off lighter. Can't really help more than that, it's a pretty general topic/question. Post hands you are unsure about in the HA section to get more specific answers.

Once one or two of your blinds and ante steal attempts fail or if players suddenly start to play back at you it is time to back off until a run of better hands fall your way. The table will ultimately chop and change as the tournament progresses so do not worry if you have to play tight for a while. Just wait with patience until the next table re-draw.

Raise into tight players or those with short stacks in order to accumulate chips. Keep pace with the blinds and antes otherwise they’ll quickly eat away at your own stack leaving you with little room to make any moves. Stealing the blinds and antes is mandatory if you want to advance in any MTT.