When you’re running low on chips during a poker tournament, you might only have two reasonable options. Either toss those cards into the muck or push it all in. This is a classic “push-fold” situation, and it’s more common than you might think.
Learning how to play optimally in these spots is crucial if you’re going to bounce back from being short-stacked. So, if you want to consistently enjoy success in poker tournaments, perfecting your push-fold strategy is vital.
A useful tool to help you do that is a program known as a poker push-bot. This type of software can teach you which hands to shove with and from which positions.
Why Do You Need Push-Botting?
First, push-bots shouldn’t be confused with poker bots, a kind of online poker software that plays automatically. These programs are nothing like push-bots. Automatic playing software is completely banned by online poker sites because it’s essentially a form of cheating.
Instead, push-bots are trainers. They won’t make the moves for you. But every MTT (multi-table tournament) and sit-&-gos player should soak up the push-fold strategy these trainers teach. They’re built to show you what to do when your stack is so small that postflop play is nearly impossible. With just 10 or 12 big blinds left in front of you, pushing all in and folding are the only logical choices you have.
This is a time for making moves and hopefully doubling up to make it into the money. Calling or min-raising just invites more players into the pot, which makes your chances of winning the hand plummet.
Push-bot trainers help you choose the right hands to shove or throw away. Online poker players who want to be competitive in tournaments are already studying this strategy and have been doing so for many years. Here are the reasons why.
Why is the Push-Fold Strategy Effective?
The push-fold strategy uses selective aggression to work its magic. If your stack is around 12 big blinds, you shouldn’t try to see cheap flops or play postflop poker. For example, if the tournament is at the 50/100 blind level, a stack of 1,200 chips is equal to 12 big blinds (BBs).
When you push all in, you’re putting a lot of pressure on your opponents. They’ll likely fold some hands that are beating you, making a multi-way pot less likely. Shoving can win you the hand right away. But if you’re called, it’s much more probable that you’ll find yourself heads-up against a single opponent. And that’s ideal for a short stack looking to double up. The more players in the hand, the less likely it is that you come out on top, even with a monster like pocket aces.
With a bit of push-fold training and studying range charts, the shove hands become more clear. You’ll learn to commit with optimal hands rather than playing sub-par holdings, and hopefully, your tournament performances will improve as a result.
Benefits of Using a Push-Bot Trainer
What benefits does a push-bot trainer give you, the player?
- Optimal strategies for the late stages of an MTT or sit-&-go poker tournament.
- Personalized simulations for your position, stack size, and many other metrics.
- Customizable poker charts of push and fold hand ranges.
- A greater understanding of the push-fold ranges of your opponents.
- Replay tools to help analyze your past plays.
While your untrained opponents simply hope for strong hands, you’ll learn exactly which cards to play in these push-or-fold situations. They’re going to be waiting around for ace-king suited, but you’ll already know the right hands to play from each spot at the table.
Which Push-bot Apps Can You Use To Train?
To bring your MTT poker strategy up to speed, you need to be aware of push-fold concepts. Luckily, you’ll leave this post with a better understanding of this strategy and how to get better at it through push-botting tools.
The internet is littered with poker training sites, though not all of them have the tools you want. ICMIZER is one of the biggest names in this sphere and is a great place to start. It’s released multiple versions of its software, and it’s one of the most convenient push-bot trainers for players of all levels. With this tool, it won’t take you long to learn poker strategies that’ll serve you well during your playing career.
If you aren’t already aware, you need to know about poker HUDs, or “heads-up displays,” before buying into your next tournament. Many online poker rooms allow these tools, which display valuable information about how your opponents play. Combined with push-fold strategy, players with HUDs can be formidable opponents.
Are There Downsides to Using a Push-Bot Trainer?
A push-bot program will certainly improve your late-stage tournament play, but not in every tournament you enter. Imagine, for instance, that you’re playing in a freeroll that doesn’t even cost you a single cent to join. Would you expect your opponents to be pushing and folding logical hands in such a game? Of course not.
The point here is that push-folding and push-bot trainers aren’t always the way forward. Even in higher-stakes games where push-folding is a common concept, the dynamics with other players, the stakes, and various other factors all affect your strategy.
Start with the broad strokes and general concepts of push-folding, then increase the complexity as you raise the stakes.
You can use range charts and push-bot trainers to improve, but this strategy is not one-size-fits-all. Further, it doesn’t account for the bluffs you’ll need in your arsenal. Not the ones with blockers and high cards but the unorthodox low-equity bluffs a poker coach would weep after seeing.
In general, push-folding is a much more prevalent concept among online players, but live poker players are starting to use it more.
Your Bankroll Is Going To Love This New Strategy
The idea of push-folding is not to turn you into any kind of AI in poker games. You’ll still need to be aware of your opponents and make unique real-time adjustments tailored to each player and situation. But basic push-fold training will help you to recover from short-stack spots more consistently.
One of the best practice methods is simply to get onto the tournament tables. It takes no time at all to register an account with respectable and secure poker rooms like Borgata Online. Enter MTTs and sit-&-gos while playing cash games in between. If you’re watching the daily schedule, you’ll even find a selection of freerolls to enjoy.