Stacks, Shoves, and Tournaments
Stack depth, ICM, antes, shove/fold decisions, tournament pressure, and all-in mechanics.
Add-On
An add-on is a one-shot extra-chip purchase that everyone still in the tournament can buy at a fixed break, usually the end of the rebuy period. It is not a rebuy (which replace...
All-in
All-in is the rules state of having every remaining chip in the pot for the current hand. Once you're all-in you can't bet, raise, or fold for the rest of the hand — your hand s...
Ante
An ante is a small compulsory bet every player posts before cards are dealt. Unlike blinds, which only come from specific positions, the ante comes from every seat and goes dire...
Big Blinds
The big blind is a mandatory bet posted by the player two seats left of the dealer button before cards are dealt. The small blind-the player immediately left of the dealer-posts...
Bubble
The bubble is the tournament stage one elimination away from the money — when busting earns nothing and surviving locks in a min-cash. Pay-jump pressure twists correct play: sho...
Bubble Factor
Bubble factor is a multiplier on how much equity you need to break even on a tournament call. Chip-EV says 50% is enough; bubble factor says you might need 60% or 70% because bu...
Commitment Threshold
The commitment threshold marks when chips already in the pot, relative to your remaining stack and pot size, make folding usually incorrect. Once you've invested enough, calling...
Effective Stack
The effective stack is the smallest stack among all players involved in a hand. It sets the practical ceiling for how much can be bet, lost, or won between those players on that...
Final Table
The final table is the last table of a multi-table tournament — the moment many tables collapse into one nine-handed (sometimes eight-handed) table where the steepest pay jumps...
Final Three
Goal: Know which additional hands become playable and when to open more often as the table shortens.
Freeroll
A freeroll is a poker tournament with no entry fee but a real prize pool. The operator or a sponsor pays for the prizes — cash, tickets, seats, or merchandise — instead of the p...
Freezeout
A freezeout is a poker tournament where one buy-in is your whole tournament. There are no rebuys and no re-entries: when your chips are gone, you are out. Most major tournaments...
Hand-for-Hand
Hand-for-hand is a tournament procedure where every selected table plays exactly one hand, then waits until every other selected table finishes that same hand before the next de...
ICM
The Independent Chip Model (ICM) assigns a monetary value to each player's tournament chip stack. It estimates each stack's share of the remaining prize pool, reflecting diminis...
ICM Pressure
ICM pressure is the felt decision environment in tournaments where chip math and dollar math diverge. Medium stacks avoid busting, big stacks can apply pressure with steals and...
Jam
A "jam" is an all-in bet - you push all remaining chips into the pot. This play forces opponents to call for all their chips or fold. Jamming can represent a very strong hand, a...
Late Registration
Late registration is the window after a tournament has started where new players can still buy in. The window has two effects: you can skip the slow early levels and arrive clos...
Leverage
Leverage is your ability to bet any amount, up to your entire stack, to force difficult opponent decisions. In No-Limit play, that freedom turns chips into pressure tools. A sin...
Medium Stack
Medium Stack (20-50 BB) in No-Limit Texas Hold'em
MTT (multi-table tournament)
An MTT is a multi-table tournament: a single poker event with one buy-in and a fixed start time, played across many tables that get consolidated as the field shrinks. The format...
Nash Push/Fold
Nash Push/Fold simplifies short-stack preflop decisions in No-Limit Texas Hold'em by reducing options to two actions. Instead of navigating open-raises, calls, and post-flop pla...
Orbit
An orbit is one full rotation of the dealer button around the table. Every participating player occupies each table position once during an orbit. The orbit ends when the button...
Pay Jump
A pay jump is the dollar difference between two consecutive finish positions in a tournament payout. Some jumps are tiny (a few extra buy-ins between 81st and 80th), and some ar...
Pay Ladder
A pay ladder is the full ordered list of dollar prizes a tournament pays out, from the lowest paid finish all the way up to first place. Where a pay jump is one step on that sta...
Push-Fold
Push-fold is the short-stack tournament mode where every preflop decision compresses into one binary fork: shove all-in or fold. Min-raises and small opens stop earning enough a...
Rebuy
A rebuy is the option to post the buy-in again during an early window of a tournament if your stack falls below the starting amount or you bust. The window typically runs throug...
Reshove
A reshove is moving all-in after another player bets, raises, or shoves. It appears most often preflop in tournaments. The play mixes fold equity - the chance opponents fold and...
Satellite
A satellite is a tournament whose prize is entry into a bigger event, not a scaled cash payout. The standard form awards multiple equal-value seats, so finishing first and finis...
Short-Handed
Short-handed means fewer players at the table (6-max or fewer). With fewer opponents, the chance someone holds a premium hand falls, so you must play more aggressively. Blinds-f...
Short Stack
A "short stack" is a player with few big blinds relative to the blinds or table average. Big blind refers to the larger forced bet posted each hand. Short stacks have limited be...
Shove
Shove (All-In) - When and How to Push Your Stack
Shove/Fold
Shove/Fold: Push/Fold Strategy for Short Stacks
Size Sequence
A planned sequence of bet sizes controls expected value by shaping fold equity and bluff ratio. If your sizes jump around, opponents map size to strength and exploit you. A repe...
SPR
SPR (Stack-to-Pot Ratio) equals the effective stack size divided by the current pot size. Effective stack means the smallest remaining stack among players in the hand. SPR shows...
Stack Depth
Your chip count in big blinds, measured against the smaller (effective) stack. The bb count picks the band: deep multi-street, medium mixed, short shove-or-fold.