When to shove blind/ with any two?

michael900

I was in the 500 freeroll on fri and at around the one hour mark I found myself with exactly 4bb ( those blinds sure rise fast, eek).

I was on the button, action folded to me, and without looking at my cards I shoved.

Sb folds and BB strangely calls approx 60% of his stack with Q3. It turns out I had 63, he hit a Q on the flop and I was dead at the turn.

Was this a legit move do you think?

Should you start shoving with any two in this kind of situation? I would not have expected a call with Q3 when its over half of his stack.

I always start moving all-in well before I get to 4bb, which I had done and lost a good portion of my chips to a coin toss.

Drebin15

I don't think you should ever push blind with any two. To me it is just a bad play. You should at least have some kind of hand. Minimum I would push with in this situation is perhaps Jack-eight or high suited connectors at a pinch. At least something that has a good chance of winning if you get called. It's about picking your spots and keeping calm.

If you get as low as 4 big blinds you are gonna get called by the big blind anyway most of the time so you should at least go in with something that has a chance of being ahead.

I know it can be tough but you've just got to be patient. If you had waited a few more hands you might have picked up some decent cards. Going in with 6-3 there is just a stupid move.

Also you said the big blind called with Q-3. To call like that it sounds to be that he must have been a pretty wild and active player. Did you factor that in when you pushed? If you're gonna make this move you should at least make sure the big blind is a player who is likely to fold marginal hands in this situation.

dowzer

The trick is to not let yourself get to that point - with only 4 BB most people will call you with anything meaning the impact of your shove is zero.  If you are going to shove with any two do it with 6 or 8 BB - put a decision on people rather than making it easy.

NoseyBonk

10 BB is the cutoff for me. Once I end up below that level it's FOLD or SHOVE, no calling or 'standard raising'.

scotty77

It depends on many factors.

First of all the stack sizes of the other guys at the table...if they all have 50bb stacks and you have 5bb then you are gonna get called so light that you should wait until you have something that is better than average.

As a general rule its 8bb for me, but that changes as to how the table has been playing/my image etc.

Also another thing is it depends on your BR situation...say you are on the bubble of 55 left with 50 being paid...now if you aren't worried about the cash then you should just push ATC when below 10bb here as everyone is playing so tight and hoping to cash that it is unlikely they will call.

However if cashing means something like £100 and your BR is only £100 then you should just aim to cash and use the tricks such as timing down etc.

FishingPhi

For an MTT, you should be starting to think about push/fold hands when you get below 20 big blinds. Once you get down to 10, you're pretty much done for, so pick a good hand while they're free and if you've had nothing and the big blind is yours next round, it's time to shove. An all-in from such an early position indcates a monster hand which gives you that extra bit of fold equity. On the downside, most players (especially in a freeroll) don't even understand position, so they're calling with anything that looks pretty.

mr_mbro

Hi Mike,
All the advise youve been given is very good, but if you want to, go blind WHEN YOU feel the time is right, just dont moan if you get beat. They are your chips you do what you want with them.
Ive done this live and won some, lost some, so enjoy.
col