When to Move All-in in MTTs

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When to Shove in MTTs:

You’ll need to double up and several times in an MTT to get to the final stages, however most small nits only shove with their top 10% of hands and don’t realise that shoving is something you should regularly be doing in the middle stages.  3betting and bling stealing for value are tactics everyone employs and sometimes you have to double up fast before the next blind level. 

In terms of when or which positions to shove from, I’ve managed to find this MTT shoving graph which outlines which hands to shove depending on position, tightness of table and your M-ratio.  For example, if you’re dealt QJ0 in Cut-Off on a tight table than you can shove on a tight table when M=7.7 or less.  On a loose table this adjusts to M=3.3 or less and 4.9 for somewhere in the middle. 

M-Zone Calculator

Tournament indicator is a clever tool which calculates the M-zone for all of the opponents at your table for you.  I uses a colour coding technique too which shows green for a healthy M > 20, and red, orange and grey for small stacks with M < 10.  Tournament indicator also helps classify the opponents at your table and whether they’re TAG or LAG by their VPIP%, which again helps making decisions to shove over the top of an opponent’s pre-flop raise or steal.

MTT Stack Size Less than 4xBB

With a stack less than 4 big blinds you’re almost guaranteed to get called from anywhere at the table because your stack is so small.  Even hands as low as A3 from mid-position players will call you.  Your best chance is to shove your chips in as early as possible before anyone gets a chance to open-raise.  Basically you don’t have the luxury of waiting for the blinds to come round or waiting for specific hands, so you gotta’ push with anything and hope for the best.

MTT Stack Size 5 – 7xBB

Pushing all-in with 5 to 7 times the big blind still won’t compel most players to fold, however you have slightly more time to pick a hand.  In early position you should push with any pocket pair, suited connector or better – however I don’t recommend shoving with any Ace, King or Queen in because you’ll likely be dominated by callers.  In mid-position you should jam with your marginal hand ranges as well as A7+, and in late position basically any K or A will do.

MTT Stack Size 8 -10xBB

You’ll start to have some fold equity against average stacks so you can start pushing with your top 60-70% of hands. In early position I’d be shoving with a tight range of pocket pairs and mid-high Aces.  In middle position try shoving with any cards that have showdown value like suited connectors or any A orK hands, and in late position I’m jamming with everything.

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