The 10 BB (Big Blind) Rule – For Tournament Play
Somewhere around these parts is a primer called the “100 BB Rule” denoting a convenient point for reloading one’s chips during cash-game play. Here you’ll learn about the “10 BB” rule, which is completely unrelated to the other. The 10-BB rule applies to tournament play, not to cash games, and it describes that level that a short-stacked player will reach when it’s time to consider an all-or-nothing shove.
Jesus Says Put it All In
The rule, popularized by former World Series of Poker champion Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, states in general terms that if you have less than ten big blinds left in your tourney stack, and you plan on playing a given hand, then you’re probably best off just jamming all your chips into the middle, even if you hold a monster such as pocket aces or kings.
Remember Fold Equity with 10 BB
Beginning players tend to think that this level is far too high, but they’re ignoring a concept called “fold equity”. Fold equity is what you create whenever you’ve raised a pot; the “equity” is the cumulative value of the chances that all the other players might fold. Limping in or min-raising has two flaws which defeat the purpose of the move, besides losing all chance at creating that fold equity:
Don’t Let them Catch you
First, you’ve invited other players into the hand for free or for cheap, thereby increasing the chance that your own hand will be beaten, or “cracked”; second, it’s such an obvious ploy that players with any experience at all will become immediately suspicious of the move. Better to jam the pocket aces or kings with the same aplomb with which you’d jam K-Q or A-9 under the same circumstances. As Ferguson described it, the fact that every jam is done the same way hides the quality of the hand itself, and you’ll get more calls when you do have those aces or kings and sorely need that double-up.
10BB is for Larger Fields
Why ten big blinds, as opposed to five or six? In extreme short-handed situations, such as the final stages of a turbo sit-n-go, one can argue that slightly lower levels might work better. The 10-BB rule, however, is best designed for large-field tournament player, when other stacks at the table may have 20, 30, or 50 or more big blinds. If you’re the short-stacked player, you want to make your opponents realize that attempting to knock you out could put a dent in their stack, if but a small one. Also, the blinds and antes in middle to late stages are often worth capturing in and of themselves, especially in proportion to your meager stack.
You Got No Choice Now
If you let yourself dwindle down too far, to, say, five big blinds, then opponents are free to take a shot at knocking you out for cheap, realizing that they have little additional risk. Poker is not a risk-free game, but if you let yourself be blinded off to nothing, you’ve made it so for your foes. Sure, poker has its “chip and a chair” stories, but those are the exception, not the rule. You need to make a stand for your tournament life before you reach that point, because the big money’s at the top of the ladder, and a short stack has to grow to win.
Author: Joseph Falchetti (twitter)
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