Welcome to the poker push or fold calculator.This calculator is designed for full ring tournament poker players. Under 20 big blinds, depending on your hand, your position at the table, the ante percentage of big blind and your number of big blinds, the calculator tells you whether it is better to push or fold your hand to get nash equilibrium (as long as no one has raised before you). It is the latter that interests us with push or fold tables. While poker as a whole cannot be analysed mathematically solely through game theory and its applications, they can nevertheless prove very useful in certain specific situations John Nash and game theory.

The Nash push/fold strategies you’ll see in this poker strategy guide are used in Texas Hold’em games where it’s just you and one other player at the table. You could be playing heads-up cash poker at Ignition Casino, but these strategies will come in most handy when it’s a poker tournament and you’re down to the final two – although the presence of antes will change the math somewhat. Also, the stack sizes have.

Push Fold Chart Review

All experienced poker players already know that to be successful in online poker, you should use all available online instruments for analyzing your poker gaming. In this post, you will know all the essential info about the push-fold chart poker tool.

The push-fold chart is a perfect tool to be used while participating in Hold’em poker tournaments. The principal goal of this instrument is to assist players in choosing the best game strategy on a short stack. That is why the maximum effect from push-fold charts can be reached while playing poker tournaments because they usually end in the dangerous all-in or fold stage.

As you know, stack in poker indicates the total number of chips a player has at the table and can use to make bets. In Holdem poker tournaments, the stack size is determined by the settings of each tournament, but most often it varies from 1,500 to 3,000 chips. When a player loses his stack, he/she is eliminated from the tournament. Therefore, when talking about a short stack, we mean a player who has less than 100 Big Blinds in a given cash game. Therefore, a short stacker needs to rebuy to stay in the game. And it is a push fold chart that will help to choose the best strategy for short stackers.

Push-fold charts help to solve hand range with the help of math. They are arranged in a simple diagram, which should help you to play on preflop in the most successful way while participating in tournaments. In other words, when you are on a short stack or in push/fold mode, you have only two possible decisions on preflop – to fold or go all-in.

One of the best advantages of push fold charts is that you can use them during the game itself. It will help you to turn into s short stack guru quickly!

How does a push fold chart can help in a poker game?

As we have already mentioned, the main principle of push chart work is based on math. They offer pre-designed ranges for every hand. With the help of push fold charts, you can play all hands in the best way via the GTO strategy. Push fold chart helps you to be ahead of your rival`s range. This ideal mathematical module accounts for your equity when called. Moreover, owing to the push fold chart, you will know in advance which hands to fold or to shove.

Consequently, push fold charts are extremely valuable instruments that help you to identify the exact hands you need to play in any prearranged position with a particular depth of the stack. Therefore, depending on your position and the size of the stack, push-fold charts do the best to provide you with the most winning gaming options in poker tournaments.

How to make use of push fold charts in the best way?

Push fold charts must be used in a short stack game when your gaming options are limited to folding or going all-in.

A push fold chart is limited to the maximum of 10 big blinds.

However, in some situations, you can go all-in up to fifteen or more big blinds. That is why a push fold chart can be extended to deepen a depth of the stack.

Push-fold charts modifications

Poker Push Or Fold

We have already explained that push fold charts are one of the most important and working instruments to be successful while playing various poker tournaments. However, you should know that push fold charts should be used together with other tools for poker analyses such as FlopZilla or Holdem indicator. It is just a worthy recommendation from experienced poker players. Additionally, push-fold charts never account for such important aspects as еру table difficulty, hourly rate, etc.

Consequently, it is recommended that you should slightly adapt your folding/pushing ranges when you are in a certain situation at the table, which allows you taking advantage of your rivals’ style of playing poker.

There are some situations at the table, when you may have a certain desire to play alternatively. For example, you may feel like folding to a jam when your rival is playing exceptionally straightforwardly. Such an advantageous situation allows you stealing reasonably and not jeopardizing your own stack.

There is no single strategy allowing winning in all poker games. So, short stackers can modify push fold charts when they have ten or more big blinds. Depending on a particular situation at the table, you can expand or narrow your range by shoving, raising, or folding.

Alongside this, experienced players keep on reminding that you should practice much to get the necessary experience to modify push fold charts in the best way to take full advantage of your edge. Never expect that you will always win just after you have downloaded a push fold chart.

Therefore, to master push fold charts, you need to take into consideration the following aspects:

• Analyze field difficulty

There are situations when you play in a so-called soft field. Thus, you may have a great desire of pushing with a narrower range, while waiting for the most favorable handicap. On the other hand, if your rivals over-fold, it is high time for you to go all-in wider and steal the big blinds.

• Consider the given size of your stack

In a certain situation when behind you there are plenty of big stacks, which may force you to shove, you may desire to go all-in with a narrower range. In different circumstances, when you have many short stacks behind you, it is recommended that you should keep calm, control your anger, and go all-in somewhat wider.

Therefore, you should better use the mentioned aspects in a poker tournament to choose the most favorable push-fold strategy on a short stack.

Conclusion

Now you know the main principle of the push fold chart work and how it can help you while participating in poker tournaments. It is an ideal instrument for all poker players who desire to improve poker skills and, therefore, pocket good money.

A push fold chart will undoubtedly help to boost equity in any short stacked game.

We recommend that you should download push fold charts now and try to use them while playing poker. Therefore, as your stack size changes during the game, you will always have the best decision in every unique situation.

Introduction

Welcome to Poker Copilot’s Essential Strategy series, where we take a look at tactics, techniques, and concepts you’ll need to understand if you want to become a winning poker player.

Today’s post is about push/fold strategy – an approach that is crucial to understand and apply if you want to be successful at tournament poker.

Push/fold strategy is basically an “all or nothing” pre-flop mindset that a player goes into when their chip-stack is depleted to 10 x big blinds or below.

In a tournament, if the blind levels are 75/150 and you’re sitting with a stack of $1,480, it is time to stop thinking about limping, calling, or 3-betting preflop and consider each decision as either a fold or a shove.

Don’t let this simple explanation fool you into thinking that the concepts or mathematics behind this strategy are irrational – there is a very sound logic that drives this approach and many factors that should determine which one of these two options you choose.

Let’s start by looking at the principles and benefits of this approach.

Why Adopt This strategy?

(Source: stock.adobe.com)

In this section, we’re not looking at the finer points of what choice to make. There will be many factors that drive whether we push or fold, and in many cases, there will also be a definitive mathematical justification for the right call. For now, however, we’re going to keep it simple and just look at the basic principles of this strategy.

You’re Using Your Stack Effectively

When you’re at a stage in the tournament where the blinds represent more than 10% of your stack, it makes sense that having everyone at the table fold to you is a very positive outcome.

Let’s look at this scenario.

Your stack is worth $2,900 and the blinds are 150/300. Six players left in the tournament with the top five places getting into the money (this is a scenario referred to as the bubble).

Even without there being any limpers ahead of you, getting both blinds to fold to you results in a very welcome $450 in chips!

What are the chances of the big blind folding to you if you make a bet of $750 here? Well, if the player has a stack of $4,100, he may not think twice about calling you with quite a wide range of hands and unless you have the nuts, you do not want to take the chance on a coin flip on the bubble.

However, what are the chances of him calling you if you go all-in? Will he risk 70% of his stack with A4s? That is very unlikely in this scenario.

Don’t get us wrong here, we’re not advocating shipping with absolute trash just because you think the rest of the players at the table are playing conservatively. Simply realize that if you have a hand that you’d ordinarily bet with, it’s always a better decision to shove.

You’re Getting Maximum Value

(Source: stock.adobe.com)

In some cases when you’re applying the push/fold strategy, you’re going to get called wide by players who think you’re being reckless. This is a very good position to be in. When you find yourself with KK on the button you definitely want to be called by someone who thinks you’re just trying to steal the blinds.

What you do not want to do is give your opponent the opportunity to check/fold the flop when they don’t hit with their QTs. When you’re short-stacked, you want to get paid with your premium hands and adopting an aggressive approach here helps create a very helpful image of being loose – something that makes getting called by weaker hands all then more likely.

Doubling up when you’re short-stacked is the most effective way to get yourself back into a winning position; picking up the blinds every five or six hands will only get you so far.

What to Bear in Mind

There are many resources online that offer extremely helpful, if not downright essential, push/fold charts, online calculators, and tools that offer the information you need, but it’s still important to understand the basics here.

We highly recommend you have these on hand when playing your next tournament since they offer a mathematically sound guide on the cards that you should push or fold with in various situations.

Having said that, it is essential that you understand the reasoning behind these decisions. So let’s take a look at the factors that you should be taking into consideration when deciding whether you should push or fold.

Your Cards

When it comes down to it, the rules of poker and probability still apply whether you’re playing a standard or a push/fold game.

The math behind the push/fold strategy takes your probability of winning if you get called into consideration, so it’s essential that you don’t get into the habit of thinking that you’re only trying to get your opponents to fold.

Your shove is going to get called. Regularly. And when it does, you want to be ahead more often than you’re not. This is where the push/fold charts we mentioned above comes into play.

Your Position

As a rule, the more players who folded out of the hand before you, the wider your range for pushing should become.

The reasoning behind this rule is simple. Even though you’re playing a different strategy than traditional poker, you still need to base your decisions on all the information that your opponents are giving you about the strength of their hands. And the more who players acted before you, the more information you’re getting about who you’re potentially going up against in a showdown.

This also takes into consideration the number of players who still have to act after you – the fewer there are, the stronger your hand becomes.

888 Poker Push Or Fold

When there are only four players left at the final table, you’re not going to be thinking in terms of your position relative to the button anymore. Terms like “under the gun”, and “cutoff” become irrelevant in this scenario.

This is the reason certain push/fold charts don’t refer to position, but rather the number of players who still need to act after you.

Limpers Ahead of You

(Source: stock.adobe.com)

Poker Push Or Fold Napkin

Nothing in life is simple, right?

Sadly the math behind those invaluable push/fold charts is based on you being the first to enter the pot voluntarily. That means a limper (a player who enters the pot by calling rather than raising) or two makes referencing a chart pointless.

Does that mean you’re always folding when there was a limper ahead of you? Absolutely not! But your play is going to be reliant on some good, old-fashioned observation.

Reevaluate your decision based on what you know about the limper. Do not make a marginal shove against someone who you don’t have any data on. Ideally, you’ll have a poker heads-up display (HUD) such as Poker Copilot installed to track your opponent’s preflop playing style and you’ll have some knowledge about their VPIP range.

In the absence of this data, you’ll need to have paid attention to all your opponents’ preflop play before making this decision. Don’t shove over a limp if you don’t have any type of read on your opponent.

How many times have you seen them limp into a pot before? What was their stack size? Did they fold to a continuation bet? Did they see the river? And, most importantly, what were they holding?

It is crucial that you can answer the majority of these questions before shoving with a marginal hand – a limper severely reduces the strength of your cards.

Table Dynamics

There are going to be specific scenarios where following the push/fold strategy to the letter may not be ideal and following your read of a certain player’s temperament as well as the mood at the table may be more prudent.

As you near the bubble, you might get a read on certain players getting extremely aggressive or impatient, shoving regularly in an effort to either double up or scare their opponents. If you feel like it’s a matter of time before someone is called on their wide shoves, by all means, tighten up and ride out the storm.

Making the money when you’re short-stacked should be your number one goal and if the action at the table tells you that the bubble is about to burst, a good case can be made for letting it happen without you risking it all.

Your Opponents’ Stack Sizes

It will happen frequently that you will be in push/fold mode but have more than one player at the table with significantly fewer chips than you.

In this situation, it is often again a good move to tighten up and wait for their extremely wide pushes to get called, or for the blinds to eat away at their stacks.

Playing Against the Push/Fold Strategy

So what do you do when you’re dealt a hand that you’re planning to go all-in with, but you’re beaten to it by another player? Do you call with the same range of hands that you’d push with?

This is again extremely dependent on your read of the player and paying attention throughout the session is crucial. Alternatively, use a HUD to build data on your opponent’s preflop aggression levels.

The benefit of using a tool such as Poker Copilot is that any previous tournament you faced that particular player will be factored into the statistics the HUD displays, making your “read” on him even more accurate.

If you want to take a slightly more binary approach to this conundrum, you can use Independent Chip Model (ICM) equity numbers to calculate whether or not a call is profitable.

Since equity and pot odds are calculated based on the monetary value of the pot you’re going to win (in the case of cash games) and since tournament pot sizes aren’t a 1:1 reflection of real-currency value, how do you work out what the real-world value of your chips are?

The ICM offers a solution to this question and if you are the type of player who likes to base your decisions on cold, hard data, it is critical that you understand it and how to apply it in the heat of battle. Click here to read more on this topic.

The Math

(Source: stock.adobe.com)

If you’re inclined to understand the finer points of the thinking behind the push/fold strategy, read up on John Nash and how his work in the field of game theory influenced games of chance, manipulation, and strategy.

It is because of this Nobel Prize-winning mathematician and economist’s remarkable work in this field that people were able to compile push/fold charts and also the reason they are often called “Nash equilibrium charts”.

Read more on Nash’s theorem and how you can use it to your advantage by clicking here.

Conclusion

Push/fold strategy is arguably the closest a poker player is going to get to playing the game according to a model that defines their actions for them. This may or may not appeal to your sensibilities as a poker player, but the benefit of applying this approach is undeniable.

Poker Push Fold Strategy

Having said that, nothing beats having a solid read on your opponents in addition to working according to a solid statistical framework that guides your actions.

Poker Push Or Fold Bias Tape

Avoid becoming too mechanical in your decision-making and continue paying close attention to every person at your table or install a HUD to ensure that your reads are solid.

Thanks for reading our guide to playing a push/fold strategy.

Poker Push Fold Chart

See you at the tables!