When to Push Short Stacked

[betgo]

Paradise $40 MTT 13 of 70 players left. 10 places pay. Blinds 300/600/50. I am one of shortest stacks with T3000 5xBB. I can probably fold into the money, but that is not my goal, as I would get blinded down pretty bad.

7-handed it is passed to me with the following hands on successive deals: 65o in CO, Q6o with 4 players to act, and A3 with 5 players to act.

I didn't play 65o or Q6o, but pushed with A3o. Is this right? Generally A3 is dominated if called, but in this situation I figure I might be called by a K or Q high hand or by the BB without much.

The wound up getting called by 99 and busting out.

Which if any of these hands would people push with?

[sekrah]

6-5 in the cutoff would have been my move.

A-3 with 5 to act would have been my LAST move.

[danger_mouse]

Unless my reputation is laggy, or the blinds include a big stack call station, I'm pushing 65o when folded to me. The A3o push is not great. I'd do it if it was all I had to choose from, but it looks like you may have let a few opportunities slip by. But, then again, I wasn't at your table.

[betgo]

[ QUOTE ]
A-3 with 5 to act would have been my LAST move.

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Do you fold A3 in 2nd position? It seems the alternative is to push UTG or usually defend the BB getting 5-3 pot odds.

It is true I need to push into more players in early position, but the earlier my position, the fewer hands before I have to make a move.

[davidross]

I'm pushing all 3 of those hands unless there is some circumstance you haven't told us, like the BB stack ensures a call.

[A_PLUS]

Once I get blinded down to 5xBB, I am pushing the first time it is folded to me, this is questionable in a structure without antes, but here, I think it is definitely correct.

Look at it this way. Your opponents most likely have a set calling range for your push regardless of your position. It may tighten somewhat when you are in EP, but with 5xBB, probably not that much.

Lets give them a fairly generous range of
AA-44, AK-A6, KQo, KTs.

Against this range, A3o has a <2% equity edge vs 65o. But the chance that someone does get a hand that will call you goes up by >10% for each player left to act.

You really need to improve the relative strength of your hand by a large margin to account for the lack of position here.

[A_PLUS]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm pushing all 3 of those hands unless there is some circumstance you haven't told us, like the BB stack ensures a call.

[/ QUOTE ]

In isolation, I agree. But I dont know about the 2nd if the first works, and the 3rd is out if 1st 2 work.

[RiverDood]

This is a great quiz -- because it reinforces a lesson that takes most of us a year or two to learn. Pushing from the short stack isn't about waiting for halfway decent cards. It's about waiting for halfway decent position.

In most cases, any two from the CO, as first to act, is better than A-rag from EP. It takes some poise and discipline to pull it off with rags in a live game -- but online it should be pretty straightforward.

You have an M of 3 and are very desperate. If you were the first to enter the pot, you should have moved all-in with all three of these holdings. With such a low M, you are more concerned with the first in vigorish, than your actual cards. You should only be folding the very worst hands here. This may seem aggressive, but conservative play will not save you at this point.

[Pulplife]

[ QUOTE ]
You have an M of 3 and are very desperate. If you were the first to enter the pot, you should have moved all-in with all three of these holdings. With such a low M, you are more concerned with the first in vigorish, than your actual cards. You should only be folding the very worst hands here. This may seem aggressive, but conservative play will not save you at this point.

[/ QUOTE ]

Is your real name Dan Harrington? Glad you joined the forum Dan!