Strategy: S’n’G / tournament Welcome to Pokerstrategy.com, your professional poker school. In this video we would like to introduce you to the four standard charts for the push-or-fold-phase. Four charts for the push-or-fold-stage

The push-or-fold-phase In the long run, the push-or-fold phase is played according to the Independent Chip Model (ICM). To start with, 4 charts replace the ICM “Push”-chart, if everybody folded before you Three “rebound” charts – according to your position, when someone raised before you The charts are good to start with. Later you should take a look at the ICM The push-or-fold phase of a tournament is probably the most complex stage. When should you go all in, when should you fold? (*) Sooner or later you will inevitably be forced to take time to look into the mathematical background of the the strategy for this stage – the Independent Chip Model – ICM. Our ICM trainer is particularly helpful for beginners. (*) Since the ICM concept is extremely hard to comprehend for beginners, our SNG experts worked together with the German champion of 2006 Florian “Morgoth” Langmann to develop four charts that tell you what hands you should go all in with and when you shouldn’t. A total of four charts were created: (*) Nobody is involved in the hand yet. Then you use the push chart. (*) There are already players in the hand – it doesn’t matter how they were involved. Then you use the three so-called rebound charts, which differentiate between your possible positions. (*) These charts will give you a good advantage over your opponents on lower limits – particularly as a beginner. In the long term, however, you will be able to replace these charts with the ICM. 2

Important: You can download The push chart Everybody folded before you You have 13 or fewer BB Or all opponents behind you have 13 or fewer BB Important: You can download all charts! You should use this chart if *everyone has folded so far and you either have *13 big blinds or less or *all opponents behind you have 13 big blinds or less. *The construction of this chart is relatively simple: *in the first column you will find the possible hands you can play. *The head of this chart shows you your possible positions. Once you find your hand and your position, then you can find the entry that fits your situation. *Now you will find numbers from 4 to 13. As you could have already guessed, these numbers tell you how many big blinds you must have to go all-in with your hand in your current position. Warning: the number tells you the MAXIMUM number of big blinds. If, for example, there is a 10, this means that you or all opponents behind you must have 10 BB or less. In other words: your maximum loss in this hand may never exceed 10 BB. If, for example, you have *king-four-suited and you are in the *middle position, you will find the entry 6. If you or all of your opponents behind you have 6 BB or less, you can push – you go all-in. *Important: you don’t have to stop the presentation now to make a screen shot: all charts are attached to the article for this topic as PDF files! * 3

Rebound chart 1 Somebody has already entered the hand ahead of you You are not in the blinds Warning! In the top of the chart you will not see YOUR position, but rather the opponent who acted before you The so-called rebound charts show you when to go all-in * if somebody has acted ahead of you. It doesn’t matter if they raised or not. *You use the first chart if you are NOT in the blinds. *Again, you will find the playable hands in the left column. Now, however, there is a big difference compared to the push chart: *the top of the chart now shows the position of the first opponent to act in the hand, NOT your position. Just like the push chart, the fields tell you the maximum number of big blinds you may have in order to make an all-in profitable. A minus sign means that you should not not go all in with this hand – regardless of what happens, how many blinds you have and how tempting it is. An example: *you have ace-jack suited and a player in the *middle position raised. The entry says 6. If you have 6 or fewer BB, an all-in is profitable here with your hand. * 4

Rebound chart 2 – small blind A player has already entered the hand before you Only applies if you are in the small blind Works just like rebound chart 1 You also use the *small blind rebound chart if a player has already joined the hand before you *As the name suggests, it ONLY applies if you are in the small blind – otherwise, *it works just like the first rebound chart. * 5

Rebound chart 3 – big blind A player has already entered the hand before you Only applies in you are in the Big Blind And last but not least, *the big blind rebound chart. This also applies if a player has already entered the hand before you – this time, as I am sure you already suspect, it ONLY applies if you are in the big blind. 6

Summary Print out the PDFs and have them next to you while playing Stick EXACTLY to the guidelines In the long run, take time to explore the ICM To start, you should definitely print out the 4 charts and have them next to you so you can use them while you are playing. They should give you an advantage over your opponents, particularly during the lower limits. *Sometimes you will think to yourself “well, actually I would like to push here, even though its not in the chart”, Stick to the chart. It wasn’t created by guesswork, but rather, it is based on complex mathematical calculations. Even changing the number of big blinds can make a profit turn into a loss. *However, your long-term goal should be to outgrow the charts and understand the independent chip model – one of the most important tools for SNG players. 7

Your team from Pokerstrategy.com GOOD LUCK! Your team from Pokerstrategy.com wishes you good luck on the tables. Your team from Pokerstrategy.com