This was a snap call for me , didn't care much for the cards as this is my best chance to get ITM . If folded I'd be forced to shove (Into 3 players) the next hand when the blinds hit the other short stack . Don't think the table composition would change the play much as any player calls 2BB's with anything decent .

SNG-Wiz suggested calling ranges -

OP-Shove / +Equity calls

25% - 31%
50% - 49%
100% - 86%

Am i just being spewy taking the negative edge vs anyone in the SB ? Should I consider folding the very bottom?

Hero (BB) (t1375)
UTG (t6315)
Button (t4245)
SB (t1565)

Hero's M: 1.96

Preflop: Hero is BB with x, x
2 folds, SB bets t1540 (All-In), Hero calls t950 (All-In)

Flop: (t2800) 10, K, Q (2 players, 2 all-in)

Turn: (t2800) 6 (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: (t2800) K (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: t2800

I would call with ATC except say bottom 5%. If you fold then you are practically giving the other short stack your ticket ITM.

Played a bit with poker stove , and considering OP is shoving ATC (as he should) , the difference between bottom 5% and bottom 15% or even 25% is negligible .

32o has 32% equity vs random .

Was taking a while so I stopped the evaluation at 10% -

Bottom 5% vs random - 35%
Bottom 15% vs random - 36 %
Bottom 25% vs random - 38.7 %
Bottom 50% vs random - 41%

That's a tough spot. Probably folding any 23o, 26o, 74o, 83o type hand, but calling anything else --Tx, any suited, any 1 gapped connector. which is about 85% calling range I believe

it's 950 to win 1,800 correct? he's desperate, but with your stack I wouldn't put him on an ATC shove unless you feel he is a good player. Basically if he folds you two simply swap roles

As much as I hate calling 73o or similar , folding will have us in an even worse spot .

No fold equity from SB (maybe we catch a break and he folds) , the next hand I pick up A x and shove into 3 players , BB calls with 66 , and the other shortstack if he is a good player will overcall with anything decent to play for third (having the chip advantage and a short stack would give us ~30% equity to cash , I'm playing like this a ton of times with 3-5BB vs regs) . That if I have the luck to catch a hand and manage to get in decent without being dominated/crushed . Even if I double though the short stack he still has position on me with a the chance to take back the lead.

The race with ATC (even 72o) to cash still looks like the best line to me .

So many things could happen in the next couple of hands that having 2.5BB is not worse than calling someone with 23o.

You could easily see the other shrt-stack push with 66 and a large stack call with a wide range like AT+, 55+, KQ type hands, or you could pick up the same A6 and double or triple through.

Why do you think calling 950 to win 1800 on the money bubble as a 64/36 dog (73o vs. random hand) is the lesser of two evils? even if you win you still haven't burst the money bubble --although you are in much better shape

If his shove range is only 65-75% you're over a 2-to-1 dog. I've come back from worse situations than having 2.5BBs 4-handed. next hand you're in the SB and will likely get at least 2 to 1 on any call --possibly 3 or 4-to-1 --and who knows how the action will play out, you may be blind vs blind and likely to be in better shape than with 73o, or there could be two all-ins in front of you.

I'd assume that we folded the previous hand UTG to do exactly what we did here - call ATC in our BB.


I've only quickly looked at some numbers (which imo are overrated from time to time especially in situations such as this) but.....

As SB should be shoving ATC imo, numbers wise we're basically in the same boat whether we call (even down to 32o) or fold. Either way, we're throwing away ~5% equity so we may as well do it with a fighting chance of making some money.


Whats the alternative?

Fold, leave ourselves 2BB's and transfer our hopes of ATC winning from this hand to the next hand with a good chance that we're gonna have to call someone elses push then too? Or do we fold to someones shove next hand hoping the big stack BB takes them out and we sneak itm with 2BB?

The benefits of calling and potentially winning far outweigh the apparent benefits of folding and waiting.

Realistically this situation can go either way, but in my experience the chances that the SB is shoving ATC is less likely than him shoving the top 50%. Normally I would assume he is shoving 65%-75% here. Most players think of it as "the BB is definitely calling me here", so they don't indiscriminately shove.

Also, It would be interesting to know how you and the SB got into this situation in the first place; it would go a long way in determining the right play.

Personally I'd rather fold the bottom 10% and take my chances of tripling up in the next two or three hands with something at least suited --or watching another player at the table blow-up.