PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t150 (6 handed) Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

MP (t1692)
CO (t1415)
Button (t1148)
Hero (t1500)
BB (t995)
UTG (t2250)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A, 4.
1 fold, MP calls t150, CO calls t150, 1 fold, Hero raises to t1500, 1 fold, MP folds, CO folds.

Final Pot: t600

I am confused. I think I'm ahead of their range, considering if they had an ace, they would have shoved before hand. Is this faulty thinking?

Depends on the quality of your opposition. Making this move at micro stakes, for example, is suicide because people have no idea how to play shortstacked and will often limp and then call pushes with hands like A6s or AT. The problem with pushing weak Aces is the increased likelihood of being dominated if called. Personally I'd rather push over the limpers with something like JTs than A4.

Agree with this.

Yeah, neither one of those stacks has any business limp folding.

I wouldn't just be worried about doing that in micro stakes. In the mid levels what does the original limper do that with? Is he trying to induce action with AA? Afraid that if he shoves as he should be doing with that stack that he won't get action?

I think this is more read dependent. Had they been limp/folding before? Have they gone to showdown with a limped hand? Limp folding here is extremely weak and I would be curious if we read them as horrible players.

Cmon, this is a 6 handed SnG and you have 10 bbs. there is no way in hell this is a push against two players with average stacks who have shown an interest in the pot.

Off to ICM.....

They were l/f almost every hand.

and ICM uses math. Math sucks.

[ ] imo
[X] Fact

I wouldn't be shoving A4 with the stack sizes so close. The only reason they folded is they were trying to limp with a crappy A (which may have been better than yours) or suited mid-connectors, trying to hit a flop. Clearly no one had a decent hand or you would have been called down.

PS: Limp folding is so horrible with less than 10 BB it's not funny...

This is a 6 handed SnG and you have 10 bbs. can this really be a push against two players with average stacks who have shown even mild interest in the pot?

Off to ICM.....


Fold equity: 16.8%

Push and beat both equity: 44.1%
Push and lose equity: 0 (ignoring the 170 chips you have left if you beat the bigger stack)

Push and beat one equity: 32.8%
Fold them both out equity: 19.8%


So for a push to be even equity (and assuming they are on the same range, and ignoring the small stack difference between the two):

equity = 44.1*P(call)^2*P(win vs 2) + 32.8*P(call)*(1-P(call))*P(win vs 1)+(1-P(call)^2)*19.8 to be compared to 16.8

Putting them at limping with a hand between top 25% and top 50% (assuming better hands will have raised) and each calling 1/2 the time (ie when they are in the top half of their range) your equity is roughly 13.5%<16.8%. Fold

If you leave their limping range the same, but only have them call 25% of the time your up to 15% equity...still a fold.

Simo, check my math!