Push/Fold Strategy (10-13bb)

Push/fold is the endgame of tournament poker. At 10-13bb effective stacks, a standard open-raise to 2x consumes 20%% of your stack, and a 3-bet essentially commits you to the pot. The correct simplification is to eliminate raising entirely and choose between shoving all-in or folding. This might seem limiting, but push/fold decisions are some of the most consequential in all of poker. Push/fold ranges are determined by a combination of factors: your position, your stack size in big blinds, the stacks of the players behind you, and whether ICM (Independent Chip Model) considerations apply. In a chip-EV environment (ignoring ICM), standard push/fold ranges at 13bb in a 6-Max game are approximately: UTG 12-17%%, HJ 16-22%%, CO 28-35%%, BTN 45-55%%, SB 50-65%%. These ranges widen as stacks decrease toward 10bb because the fold equity from shoving diminishes and the pot odds improve for callers, but paradoxically you still need to shove wider because the blinds and antes erode your stack faster. At 13bb from UTG, a typical shoving range includes pairs 22+, suited aces A2s+, suited broadways KQs-KTs, AKo-ATo, KQo, and sometimes KJo. This is roughly 15%% of hands. From the BTN at 13bb, the range explodes to nearly half the deck: all pairs, all suited aces, all suited kings, most suited queens, suited connectors, offsuit aces, and many offsuit broadways and kings. The key principle of push/fold is fold equity. When you shove 13bb, your opponents must call a significant portion of their stack, which limits their calling range. If you shove from the CO and the BTN, SB, and BB each need top 10-15%% to call profitably, the combined probability that at least one calls is manageable. This fold equity makes marginal hands like K8o or Q9s profitable shoves from late position. RangerPro's push/fold charts can be loaded in the range builder to study exact shoving thresholds. Compare the 13bb UTG range to the 13bb BTN range and you will see the same positional gradient as at deep stacks, just compressed into a starker all-or-nothing framework. ICM considerations modify these ranges significantly. On the bubble of a tournament, when the pay jump from busting to min-cashing is significant, shoving ranges tighten because the cost of busting is higher than the value of accumulating chips. In this context, medium stacks should shove tighter, while the big stack at the table can shove wider to exploit the bubble pressure. Similarly, at a final table where each elimination represents a significant pay jump, ICM tightens everyone's ranges. One practical tip for push/fold play is to memorize the key thresholds. For example, at 10bb from the BTN, you should be shoving roughly 50-60%% of hands. Any two suited cards, any ace, any king, most queens, all pairs, and connected cards down to about 86o are all shoves. Knowing these benchmarks lets you make decisions quickly under time pressure, which is critical in the late stages of MTTs. Calling ranges are equally important. When an opponent shoves, you need to know your calling thresholds. Against a short stack shove, you can call wider because the pot odds are better. Against a big stack shove, tighten up. Always calculate the pot odds you are getting and compare to the equity you need against the estimated shoving range.