Push/Fold Stack Size Calculator
Calculate the effective push/fold threshold in big blinds for poker tournaments.
Know when to push all-in or fold based on stack depth.
Why push/fold exists
Once your tournament stack drops below 15 big blinds, post-flop play becomes mathematically inferior to open-shoving or folding. You no longer have the chips to make pot-controlled raises, you cannot afford to fold to a 3-bet, and your opponents know it. Push/fold collapses the decision tree to one question: shove or muck.
Stack depth and strategy by big blinds
| Stack (BB) | Mode | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 25+ | Full strategy | Open-raise, 3-bet, post-flop play all normal |
| 15 to 25 | Selective shove | Open-shove from late position; raise/fold from earlier |
| 10 to 15 | Push or fold | Open-shove much wider; rarely just open-raise |
| 5 to 10 | Pure push/fold | Nash ranges apply; every hand is a binary decision |
| Under 5 | Any two | Shove any two cards from button or small blind |
Nash equilibrium pushing ranges
The Nash equilibrium for heads-up push/fold (small blind shoving, big blind calling) gives the mathematically unexploitable range. For a 10 BB stack, the small blind shoves about 53% of hands; the big blind calls about 38%. At 5 BB the small blind shoves about 70% and the big blind calls about 50%. These are the ranges to beat. Memorising a 10 BB chart for both sides covers 80% of late-tournament situations.
Antes change everything
The “effective big blind” (effBB) accounts for the antes pulled in each hand:
effBB = BB + (ante × number_of_players)
A 600/1200 level with 200 antes at 9 players means each pot already contains 1200 + 600 + (200 × 9) = 3600 chips before the cards are dealt — three big blinds. Your 12,000-chip stack is 10 BB nominally, but only about 6.7 effBB. That is the number that matters for shove ranges. Antes make push/fold more aggressive, not less.
ICM and bubble factor
The chip-count math above ignores tournament payouts. Near the money bubble and on the final table, a chip you might lose is worth more than a chip you might win because busting in 10th costs you the 9th-place pay jump. Standard chip-EV push ranges over-shove in those spots. Real-world tournament players use ICM-adjusted ranges that fold more from middle stacks and shove wider as a chip leader. Software like ICMIZER or HRC is the working pro’s tool here.
The fold-equity reality
Push/fold lives or dies on fold equity. If everyone calls every shove, the math collapses — you are just gambling on equity. Look for tables where late-position opens are getting folded around enough that your shove picks up the blinds and antes uncontested. Free chips are worth more than coinflips.