K♦10♣ Under the Gun, what do you do here?

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DECISION POINT:
In a Tournament with 500-1000 blinds and a 100 chip ante, you are Under the Gun with 10,000 chips and K♦10♣. Action is on you, what do you do here?

PRO ANSWER: When you have a stack of 10 big blinds or less, you should generally either fold or move all-in preflop. This is known as Push/Fold play.

Since you have so few big blinds, you should maximize your stack’s ability to cause opponents to fold by moving all-in in situations you choose to play. Do not limp in or call raises with stack sizes this small.

The factors that influence whether or not you should shove are the big blinds in your stack, the size of the antes, the number of opponents behind you, and the strength of your hand. In this case, we have 10 big blinds, the ante represents 10% of the big blind (a standard ante size) and you hold K10 offsuit with 8 opponents behind you.

Continued below...

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The number of opponents behind you makes this a fold. If you were even one or two seats to the left (with 6 or 7 opponents behind you), you could shove with K10 offsuit.

However, the probability of you getting called by one of your opponents is too great with 8 opponents. You must simply fold this hand.

Having the discipline to fold this hand and wait for a better situation (ideally with fewer opponents) is crucial to winning short-stack play.

Folding is the best play.

What would you do here?
Share your answer in the comments below!



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