DECISION POINT: In a multi-table tournament 40% of the field remains with about 12% of the field getting paid and blinds are at 2,000/3,000 with a 3,000 big blind ante. You are in the Big Blind with A♠4♣ and a 52,000 chip stack. It folds to the Button (with an 80K stack) and they open to 7,000, the Small Blind folds, and action is on you.

What do you do here?

PRO ANSWER: We are in the middle to later stages of a multi-table tournament with around 40% of the field remaining and a standard top heavy payout structure with around 12% of the field making the money. The blinds are 2,000/3,000 with a 3,000 big blind ante and we have 52,000 chips remaining in the Big Blind after posting the blind and ante. We are dealt As4c and it folds around to the Button with 80,000 chips who opens to 7,000.

We are firmly in what is known as “awkward stack” territory at this stage of the tournament. As our stack starts to dwindle below 20 big blinds it can become a weapon we can use to try and pick up chips. One of the primary moves with this type of stack is to re-shove, which is simply a re-steal that is all-in. When we’re doing this as a move and not because we expect to have the best hand when called, the primary factor to consider is the Button’s Range Gap.

The Range Gap is the difference between the number of hands an opponent will raise with versus the number of hands they will call an all-in with. Since there are already 15,000 chips in the pot and we have 52,000 remaining, if the Button were to fold 75% of the time we would barely need any equity when called to show a profit. A4o can be a great hand choice as well because it often has ~30% equity when called as your Ace or Four will be live with the exception of the instances your opponent has exactly pocket Aces.

The fact that you hold an ace blocker is another key factor to consider in this scenario. The Ace in your hand makes it harder for the Button to also be holding an Ace, which slightly increases the likelihood they will fold to a reshove. Players may sometimes overestimate the effect of this Ace blocker on calling frequency, however even if they only fold 2-3% more often to a reshove that can be a significant difference in EV.

Another key consideration in this spot is to determine if calling might be more profitable. Our specific hand A4o can be a tough hand to navigate to showdown on many run outs, which also helps tip our decision toward re-shoving. To illustrate how close this spot is, the output from a simulation shows A4o is a shove and A4s favors calling. Against a GTO opponent, calling has a slightly higher expected value, although shoving reshoving is still profitable.

Considering all of the key factors together including the Button’s range gap, your blocker effects, and the 30% equity you are getting when called, this becomes a great situation to reshove and try and add a nice chunk of chips to your stack.

Moving all-in is the best play.