Lesson overview
Medium-Stack Tournament Decisions
Navigate 15-40bb without an automatic shove rule
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Inside the full lesson
Does having 20 big blinds mean every playable hand must move all-in?
In the full lesson, you work through this scenario with interactive examples.
Start with 25bb, open small, and get called. Advance the streets to see how two ordinary bets leave less than a pot-sized bet behind.
What you’ll learn
- Track effective stacks and ante money
- Separate reshove fold equity from calling equity
- Distinguish chip EV from payout-sensitive decisions
From the full lesson
Plan the stack across streets
Referenced activities and other examples are available in the full lesson after sign-in.
Track effective chips behind, including opponents yet to act, and keep the dead ante separate from live bets. A 15–40bb stack permits opens, calls, folds and reraises. Before a bet, work out the next pot and remaining stack; then ask which worse hands continue. Small opens can preserve choices, but a plan must survive the actual response.
From the full lesson
Separate fold equity from calling equity
Referenced activities and other examples are available in the full lesson after sign-in.
A reshove can win when the opener folds or at showdown when called; estimate both branches. Calling an all-in has no fold equity and uses only the extra call as its cost. Chip-EV profit can still be unattractive near meaningful payout jumps. Stack distribution and payouts matter; bounties and satellites require their own models rather than a universal shove rule.
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