Re: Is it good to take every EV+ opportunity to push as a short stack?
 

Yes. I think any other decision represents a leak in your game, and doing it regularly is a serious leak.

Passing up on an EV+ push is simply EV-. Players will pass up on EV+ pushes because they feel survival has merit. This is the case when:
The payout structure is flat (like on the bubble)
The player wishes to reduce variance (like on the final table where 9th pays 1/10th of first) Coward.
It is just wrong to think that: a better EV+ opportunity will present itself before hero is compelled to make a decision when on a very short stack, or that "stealing opportunities" are more EV+ for very short stacks. Hero is simply giving up chips (EV) to survive at a time when he doesn't have many to give up.

Re: Is it good to take every EV+ opportunity to push as a short stack?
 

If I have 5xBB, I can push with almost anything and it is EV+. However, if I steal the blinds, I will have 7xBB, so I will need to be more selective. Why should I push with 32o, even though it is EV+ when I will probably get better hands to push with?

I don't see that pushing with junk even though it is EV+ is always the best play. You have to look at the whole situation. Sometimes making a push that is EV+ .2xBB is not good in light of overall strategy. Sometimes a slightly EV- play is correct.

You can't treat a tournament like a cash game. You have to take into account strategic considerations as well as chip EV. I don't see this as cowardly or as a leak.

Re: Is it good to take every EV+ opportunity to push as a short stack?
 

I wont push with anything as a short stack on the button. However if i get a hand like Q10s or similiar, I'll push. I dont like to push with hands like j7o or similiar. I want suited cards with a chance to make a straight/flush. Sometimes if im a short stack and i get a hand like QJs, if 2-3 people go all in before me I'll go ahead and push myself. Its really nice when you hit your str8 or flush, I've come back many times after doing this. sometimes your Q and J are clean outs too, people overplay low PP's all the time.

I will never allow myself to get down to 5BB unless I lose a previous hand. At 11-12BB I start pushing, You have way more FE this way and people wont call with A5 as they would if you had 5xBB.

Re: Is it good to take every EV+ opportunity to push as a short stack?
 

Obviously every situation is different. And you are constructing circumstances where survival has merits.

Pushing junk is not EV+ IMO.

EV- plays are fine for both strategic and tactical considerations. I think EV- plays are an important part of any players game, starting with the tournaments they play in. Many of us make EV- plays to control the pot size and achieve other objectives.

Passing up EV+ opportunities on a final table is cowardly, but happens frequently, I have done it to reduce variance ($EV).

The fact is that you won't know what your opportunity cost for not pushing all those EV+ short stack situations because you didn't choose them, and your sample size is probably not meaningful given the high variance in MTT results.

Re: Is it good to take every EV+ opportunity to push as a short stack?
 

I am new to 2+2, but have been reading it for more than 6 months. I am a regular contributor to MJ's tightpoker forums, and had good success in small buy-in (5/1, 10/1, 20/2) MTTs (more than 5 final tables). I am writing this so that you don't just throw this away as a newbie's reply. I have been following this redzone theory for a while, and here are my comments.

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Now I agree with this if the opportunities are really good. I once pushed 6 hands in a row in a live tournament near the bubble. If you have 3xBB and the blinds and antes are 3xBB and the play is tight enough that you have a good chance to steal and at worst probably get one caller, then you pretty much have to push. You either double up without a fight or get haeds up with 2-1 pot odds.

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More often than not this is not true in online tournaments.

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It is fairly easy to just maintain this very short stack, stealing enough to make up for the increased blinds. Wait for a good opportunity, rather than forcing one. You stay in the tournament and may cash or move up in prizes. You also may get the right opportunities to become a much larger stack.

I posted an example of this about a rebuy I played yesterday. I just maintained a very short stack for a long time. I knew that there were a lot of bad players left and I was waiting for a chance. At one point I had 2xBB. Shortly after that, near the bubble I had increased to 7xBB. Then I doubled up 3 times in one orbit putting me in 4th place in the tournament. One of the double ups was QQ vs. AK, but the other two took advantage of questionable loose aggressive play by my opponents. I was the tournament chip leader for a while and finished 5th. I have made many final tables by following a similar strategy of maintaining a very small stack for a long time.

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I have seen this working myself, but this works usually after you are in the money, because some people suddenly start playing loose. If the opponents are good, it will be quite tough to make it to final table from a short-stack, because of the ever increasing blinds.

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This is basically a lot of what I was trying to say in my original post when I said it was OK to stay in the red zone.

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I agree that a short-stack might be easier to play on particular tables and in particular situations, but trying to stay in the red zone is not something I would do.

BTW, I appreciate the time you spent explaining all this.